The Bangladesh government should permit Rohingya refugees to leave Bhasan Char so they can safely reunite with their families at the refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar, Human Rights Watch urged.
The government, which is reportedly finalising plans with the United Nations to start operations on the island, should make the safety and protection of the refugees a priority, including by allowing them freedom of movement to return to Cox’s Bazar, HRW said in a statement on Tuesday.
Recently a fishing boat carrying more than 40 Rohingya refugees, including children, fleeing Bangladesh’s remote Bhasan Char island capsized on August 14, 2021, in the Bay of Bengal, leaving at least 11 dead, Human Rights Watch said.
“The arrests of Rohingya refugees trying to escape what has been described as a ‘prison island’ shows that assurances from Bangladesh authorities of voluntary relocation and freedom of movement were a hoax,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“The government needs to demonstrate that Bhasan Char is safe and habitable, including by allowing refugees to come and go freely.”
Following a meeting in July with a UN delegation, Bangladesh authorities announced that they would relocate an additional 80,000 refugees from Cox’s Bazar to the island starting in October.
It is unclear how Bhasan Char will sustain a population of over 100,000 given that the 20,000 people currently living on the island already face inadequate health care, a lack of education and livelihood opportunities, food shortages, and abuses by security forces.
A recent diarrhoea outbreak on the island claimed lives because of a lack of medical supplies during the monsoon season, the statement continued.
Media reports suggest that the UN is planning to commence operations providing aid on Bhasan Char in the coming months.
The UN should press Bangladesh authorities to respect refugees’ freedom of movement and to allow the UN unfettered access to the island, including to speak with refugees without Bangladesh authorities present, Human Rights Watch said.
Refugees who manage to cross safely to the mainland are at risk of arrest. Local residents detained some and then handed them over to the police.
The Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have fled crimes against humanity and acts of genocide by the Myanmar military. On August 25, it will be four years since the military began a massive campaign of ethnic cleansing that forced over 730,000 people to cross the border.
Bangladesh, which is now hosting over a million Rohingya refugees, wants them to safely and voluntarily return to Myanmar.
“Despite facing decades of atrocities in Myanmar, the Rohingya desperately want to go back to their homes,” Ganguly said.
“But until it is safe for them to do so, the UN, humanitarian agencies, and international donors should press the Bangladesh government to uphold its obligations to protect refugees instead of forcing them onto an unstable island,” Ganguly added.
