Bangladesh: Rohingya

(asked on 25th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the United Nations plans to relocate Rohingya refugees from the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh to the island of Bhasan Char.


Answered by
 Portrait
Mark Field
This question was answered on 1st April 2019

I do not believe that the United Nations plans to relocate Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char Island. In a press release on 25 March UN Bangladesh stated that "The UN's position is to engage constructively with the Government [of Bangladesh] on Bhasan Char. We are discussing with the Government the critical protection and operational issues that should be considered before any relocations take place, in order to ensure that refugees would be able to live in safe and sustainable living conditions on Bhasan Char."

I and other Ministers have made clear to the Government of Bangladesh, most recently in my meeting with State Minister Shahriar Alam on 27 March, that any relocation of refugees to Bhasan Char Island must be safe, dignified and in accordance with international humanitarian principles. We fully support the UN's position on relocations to Bhasan Char, which includes asking the Government of Bangladesh to allow full and detailed technical and protection assessments to be conducted of the island. The UN are examining the potential requirements, time frames and costs involved in setting up a humanitarian response on Bhasan Char.

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