Bangladesh says agreed with Myanmar for UNHCR to assist Rohingya's return

More than 600,000 Rohingya sought sanctuary in Bangladesh after the military in mostly Buddhist Myanmar launched a brutal counter-insurgency operation in their villages across the northern parts of Rakhine State following attacks by Rohingya militants on an army base and police posts on Aug. 25.

Faced with a burgeoning humanitarian crisis, the two governments signed a pact on Thursday agreeing that the return of the Rohingya to Myanmar should start in two months.

Uncertainty over whether the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) would have a role had prompted rights groups to insist that outside monitors were needed to safeguard the Rohingya’s return.

Addressing a news conference in Dhaka, the Bangladesh foreign minister gave assurances that the UNHCR would play some part.

“Both countries agreed to take help from the UNHCR in the Rohingya repatriation process,” Ali said. “Myanmar will take its assistance as per their requirement.”

The diplomatic breakthrough, came just ahead of a visit by Pope Francis to Myanmar and Bangladesh on Nov. 26 to Dec. 2 that is aimed at promoting “reconciliation, forgiveness and peace”. 

While the violence in Rakhine has mostly ceased, Rohingya have continued to stream out of Myanmar, saying they have largely lost access to sources of livelihood such as their farms, fisheries and markets.

Thousands of Rohingya, most of them old people, women and children, remain stranded on beaches near the border, waiting for a boat to take them to Bangladesh.

Ali said a joint working group, to be formed within three weeks, will fix the final terms to start the repatriation process.

After leaving the refugee camps in Bangladesh, Rohingya who opt to be voluntarily repatriated will be moved to makeshift camps in Myanmar near to their abandoned homes, he added.

“Homes have been burnt to the ground in Rakhine, that need to be rebuilt. We have proposed Myanmar to take help from India and China for building camps for them,” the minister said.

The UN and United States have described the Myanmar military’s actions as “ethnic cleansing”, and rights groups have accused the security forces of committing atrocities, including mass rape, arson and killings.

The United States also warned it could impose sanctions on individuals responsible for alleged abuses.

Led by Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar is in the early stages of a transition to democracy after decades of military rule. But civilian government is less than two years old, and still shares power with the generals, who retain autonomy over matters of defence, security and borders.

The commander of Myanmar’s armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, has denied that soldiers committed any atrocities.

On Friday he met with China’s President Xi Jinping in Beijing having been told earlier in the week by a top Chinese general that China wanted stronger ties with Myanmar’s military.

Under the deal struck with Bangladesh, Myanmar will take measures to see that the returnees will not be settled in temporary places for a long time and Myanmar will issue them an identity card for national verification immediately on their return.

There were already nearly 400,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh before the latest exodus, and the Bangladesh minister said they could also be considered for the repatriation, under the terms of the agreement.

Some independent estimates suggest there were still a few hundred thousand Rohingya remaining in Rakhine.