UN: Not the right time to repatriate Rohingya

United Nations says repatriation should not take place without the informed consent of refugees.

un-rohingya PETALING JAYA: The United Nations (UN) has expressed caution over the repatriation deal signed last week between Myanmar and Bangladesh, warning that the time is not right for the Rohingya to return to Rakhine.

A spokesperson for the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said last Friday that safe and sustainable returns might not be possible at the moment.

“Refugees are still fleeing, and many have suffered violence, rape, and deep psychological harm.

“It is critical that returns do not take place precipitously or prematurely, without the informed consent of refugees or the basic elements of lasting solutions in place,” Adrian Edwards said in a report by Al Jazeera.

Last Thursday, Myanmar and Bangladesh inked a deal following weeks of tussling over the terms of repatriation.

Dhaka said they had agreed to start returning the refugees to mainly Buddhist Myanmar in two months, and that a working group would be set up within three weeks to agree on the arrangements for the repatriation.

It remains unclear how many Rohingya will be allowed back and how long the process will take.

Rights groups have raised concerns about the process, including where the Rohingya will be resettled and how their safety will be ensured.

In a press conference after the deal was signed, the Malaysia Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (Mapim) said any agreement on repatriation must include protection and compensation for refugees in Bangladesh, Al Jazeera reported.

Mapim president Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid also questioned how repatriation would be implemented “when the Rohingyas’ lives are totally destroyed”.

Malaysian ambassador for the European Rohingya Council (ERC) Tengku Emma Zuriana, meanwhile, said repatriation should be a voluntary process.

She said in the report that the Rohingya must be allowed to return to their homes, not put into camps.

“And if there’s any loss of property and life, it must be compensated fairly.

“Until the Myanmar government is serious about improving the situation, the Bangladesh government should not agree to any repatriation plan,” she was quoted as saying.

She also called on Myanmar authorities to review the 1982 citizenship law and grant full citizenship to the Rohingya.

More than 600,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled Myanmar since a military crackdown was launched in Rakhine in August, which the UN and watchdogs have said amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Myanmar however has denied the accusations, insisting the military’s clearance operation was necessitated by national security concerns after Rohingya militants attacked 30 security posts in northern Rakhine on Aug 25.