Rohingya Repatriation: US for ‘go-and-see’ visits

November 15, 2018, 09:50 PM
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UNB News
Publish- November 15, 2018, 09:50 PM
Update- November 16, 2018, 01:43 AM

Rohingya Repatriation: US for ‘go-and-see’ visits

File photo: UNB

Dhaka, Nov 15 (UNB) - US Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) Richard Albright has laid emphasis on the value of ‘go-and-see’ visits as recommended by UNHCR to enable Rohingyas to visit their villages of origin and the transit facilities in Myanmar.

This will help Rohingyas and their families make ‘informed choices’ about their voluntary returns, said the US official who completed his six-day Bangladesh visit on Thursday.

Albright visited Rohingya refugee camps and host communities in Cox’s Bazar from November 11 to 13 to assess conditions and speak directly with Bangladeshis and refugees, including some who had just recently arrived from Myanmar.

While in Cox’s Bazar, Albright, accompanied by the USAID Mission Director Derrick Brown, visited the Kunapara Border crossing, Rohingya camps, including the UNHCR Transit Center, as well as a number of facilities providing services such as medical care, food distribution, and nutrition services, implemented by partners, including WFP, Unicef, the government , Red Cross Movement, and IOM.

This visit was part of PRM’s regular travel to monitor humanitarian assistance programs and meet with key government, United Nations, and non-governmental organisation stakeholders.

The US has provided more than $345 million to assist Rohingyas and host communities in Bangladesh since the start of the current crisis in August 2017.

Besides, the US has contributed 40 percent of the total contributions to-date to the 2018 Joint Response Plan, said the US Embassy here.

The USA commended the government of Bangladesh’s generosity in keeping its borders open to Rohingyas and hosting the more than 700,000 that have arrived since the outbreak of violence in Rakhine State in August 2017.

It also appreciated Bangladesh’s continued efforts to ensure humanitarian assistance reaches the affected population, saying that they are following developments closely regarding joint plans of Bangladesh and Myanmar to repatriate approximately 2,000 Rohingyas.

The US said they agree with UNHCR’s assessment that conditions in Myanmar are not yet conducive to returns.

Full access to Myanmar is needed to understand the conditions in the areas of return and to allow refugees and internally displaced persons to make an informed choice about returning, it said.

The US welcomed the Bangladesh government’s continued commitment to informed, voluntary, safe, and dignified returns and giving UNHCR the lead in the repatriation process.