Christian aid and development groups are among more than 60 which have joined in calling for the human rights of Rohingya Muslims to be respected in Myanmar and for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh to participate in decision-making processes about their future – including their possible return to Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
In a statement released last week marking two years since some 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh, 61 NGOs working in the two countries – including Christian Aid, World Vision, and Caritas Bangladesh, also called for the Rohingya to be given access to education, work and protection and for the international community to identify medium and long-term solutions to their displacement, both within and without Myanmar’s borders.
The NGOs pointed out that while conditions in the camps at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh – which for the past two years have housed hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees – have been improved thanks to the collective efforts of the humanitarian community under the leadership of the Bangladeshi Government, “living conditions in the camps remain dire, with growing concerns about safety and security”.
“Gender-based violence and restricted freedom of movement increase the risks faced by refugee women and girls,” the statement said. “Persons with disabilities and serious medical conditions experience barriers in accessing essential services. With shrinking funds and continued restrictions on refugees’ access to education and livelihoods, the crisis is likely to worsen.”
Meanwhile, back in Myanmar, the NGOs said some 128,000 displaced Rohingya and people from other Muslim communities are still living in camps in Rakhine state where they have been confined since 2012.
“Discriminatory policies in Myanmar mean that Rohingya communities in Rakhine State continue to face severe movement restrictions, as well as limited access to education, healthcare, and livelihoods opportunities,” they said.
Noting that a recent “upsurge” in violence in central and northern Rakhine state had “worsened the already precarious humanitarian situation”, the NGOs said that conditions in Myanmar were “not conducive” to the Rohingya refugees’ return at this time.
They said that, instead, the international community “must respond and stand beside” Bangladesh – where some 500,000 people living near the camps are continuing to “bear the socio-economic and environmental impact of the influx” of refugees – to deliver a “well-funded response that will improve living conditions and allow refugees and host communities to live in dignity”.
Deborah Hyams, humanitarian policy and advocacy advisor at Christian Aid in the UK, said the international community needed to act now.
“Most urgently, the UK and other governments need to address the funding shortfall – the 2019 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya crisis is only 35 per cent funded to date – and to help ensure that no refugees are repatriated to Myanmar against their will,” she said in a statement.
“Beyond that, the UK and other governments must stand up for the rights of Rohingya communities and all those internally displaced in Rakhine State. To ensure safe and dignified return for Rohingya refugees, it will be essential that their rights are fully respected, including the freedom of movement and access to livelihoods and citizenship.”
