On a four-day visit, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is conducting an official trip to Bangladesh from August 14-August 17, upon the Bangladesh government's invitation. This is the first-ever visit to Bangladesh by any UN High Commissioner for Human Rights since the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was established in 1993. The visit comes ahead of the fifth anniversary this month of the Rohingya exodus from Myanmar to Bangladesh.
The massive exodus of Rohingya was sparked by the “Clearance Operation”, a military crackdown by Myanmar, which the UN called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and other rights groups, and the USA dubbed as “genocide”.
Although Bangladesh is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Bangladesh didn’t apply the non-refoulment principle and violated the Humanitarian Assistance principle. Since then, Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.2 million forcefully displaced Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar district despite emerging security problems.
However, acknowledging Bangladesh’s great difficulty in dealing with the Rohingya crisis, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Bachelet assured the UN’s continued efforts to realise the safe and voluntary return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar. She made the assurance when Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said that the protracted stay of the displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh bears the risk of the spread of radicalism and transnational crimes and thus may hamper regional stability.
During her trip to Cox’s Bazar, the high commissioner visited camps housing Rohingya refugees from Myanmar and met with the displaced Rohingya people, officials, and non-governmental organizations. High Commissioner Bachelet appreciated Bangladesh’s humanitarian gesture towards the Rohingya and recalled that the government took good care of the displaced Rohingyas during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing vaccines.
Bangladesh hopes that the UN Human Rights body chief’s visit to Rohingya camps is expected to refocus attention on the repatriation of Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, discussions of which have been stalled or delayed due to a lack of cooperation from the Myanmar government.
It is important to have a conducive environment for repatriation as the last two attempts have fallen through due to a trust deficit among the Rohingya about their safety and security in the Rakhine state. The UN’s top rights official can cooperate with other UN bodies, including UNDP and UNHCR, to undertake projects in Rakhine to create a conducive environment for the return of the Rohingya. It is clear now that, without a sustainable and conducive repatriation environment, in which citizenship, safety, and the right to work in Myanmar are guaranteed, any attempt to repatriate them will also fail.
Bangladesh hopes that the rights chief's visit will play an active role in the quick and safe repatriation of the Rohingyas staying in Bangladesh. Several countries and organisations influence Myanmar, especially India, China, Japan, ASEAN, the European Union, and Singapore. The UN Security Council and the regional bloc of ASEAN have not done enough to force the Myanmar coup leaders to facilitate the repatriation process meaningfully. The UN human rights body may play a vital role here in bringing all the stakeholders to the negotiation table as soon as possible.
The human rights violations committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar amount to the worst atrocities, including crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide. The UN’s highest court ruled last month that a landmark case accusing military-ruled Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya could go ahead. Analysts and rights activists believe that the verdict has created a new scope for the world to mount pressure on Myanmar’s military to ensure justice for the Rohingya. It is time for an urgent, renewed effort to restore human rights and democracy in Myanmar and ensure that perpetrators of systemic human rights violations and abuses are held to account.
The ICJ’s decision to proceed on the merits to examine the Gambia’s genocide allegations against Myanmar also allows a diplomatic push on repatriation. It is expected that the legal course will gather new strength. Similarly, with the legal proceedings moving forward, it is high time to pile up political pressure on the Myanmar military junta, too. The United Nations human rights chief can take practical measures to convince the world leaders to ramp up the pressure on Myanmar’s military rulers to cease violence against the country’s people and quickly repatriate them.
Crimes against humanity are still happening in the Rakhine State. The human rights office continues to receive reports of ongoing violations of the rights of Rohingya remaining in northern Rakhine, which include allegations of killings, disappearances, and arbitrary arrests, as well as widespread restrictions on the rights to freedom of movement, health, and education. Hundreds of thousands of people in several parts of Rakhine also remain deprived of their rights to freedom of movement, basic services, livelihoods, and right to a nationality. Over the last 40 years, it is evident that the Rohingya have been subjected to a slow genocide by Myanmar.
Last year, Ms Bachelet said that Myanmar’s military forces are committing human rights violations with the impunity they perpetrated four years ago during the violent persecution of Rohingya and against other ethnic minorities in previous decades. Rights activists believe that the top executive of the UN Human Rights body can focus on the humanitarian issue in all international sessions to take concrete measures to hold the Myanmar military accountable.
For the last five years, Bangladesh has been bearing the substantial socio-economic burden of supporting the persecuted Rohingyas, which has now become next to impossible as there has been a significant slashing of external donations for supporting the Rohingya. Humanitarian agencies need more than US$881 million this year to support approximately 1.4 million people, including 920,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhashan Char, and around 540,000 Bangladeshis in neighbouring communities. As of May 2022, the Joint Response Plan is only 13 per cent funded. The world must remember the refugees’ lives depend on how the international community responds to caring for them, as Bangladesh, with a population of 160 million, alone cannot afford to support this huge Rohingya population because of its limited financial resources and capabilities. So, along with the repatriation talks, the visiting UN High Commissioner should underscore and urge international donors to continue providing emergency humanitarian funds needed for the Rohingya.
To ease pressure on the overcrowded border camps, the Bangladesh government has developed Bhashan Char with all modern amenities to provide temporary shelter for more than one lakh Rohingya at a cost of around Tk 3,95,000 crore Bangladeshi Taka. Without the relocation of the refugees to a new location, it will not be possible to provide safety and security in the overcrowded camps. So, all international organizations must underscore the importance of starting the work in Bhashan Char following the signing of an MoU between the Government of Bangladesh and the UNHCR in October 2021.
Bangladesh hopes that the High Commissioner will realize the Rohingya’s needs and security challenges in Bangladesh and the region and will use her good office to effectively engage with Myanmar and repatriate the Rohingya to Myanmar. She can take “extra initiative” and “pro-active” actions to expedite Rohingya repatriation. This would be a real achievement if the displaced Rohingya people were able to return to their homes in Myanmar in a just, safe, and sustainable manner.
Kamal Uddin Mazumder
Human rights activist and independent researcher
Dhaka, Bangladesh.
