The UN refugee agency UNHCR has clarified its position on reports that some Rohingyas ready for repatriation to Myanmar are not getting food aid, saying it will continue to provide all support to them.
In response to a question from Dhaka Tribune, UNHCR on Tuesday said: “UNHCR will continue to provide food, healthcare and some essential non-food items to the four Rohingya refugee families currently staying at the government-managed repatriation site in Kutupalong. No refugee should be deprived of basic assistance, including food aid.”
“UNHCR has asked the authorities to share information on the future of this group, which was brought from Bhasan Char to Cox's Bazar on May 25 ahead of a visit by a delegation from Myanmar in Teknaf on May 26, although they were not taken to participate in that meeting.”
Should this group decide not to return to Myanmar, UNHCR said it proposed that they be facilitated to return to their shelters in Bhasan Char, where they were registered and could also access the humanitarian assistance they were entitled to.
UNHCR said it continued to advocate for creating conducive conditions in Myanmar so that refugees could go back safely and with dignity, and returns could be sustainable. Refugees who wished to return should have access to clear, comprehensive and factual information to be able to make a free and informed decision, the UN agency added.
“Under no condition should refugees be forced or coerced to return. During the recent visit of the UN deputy high commissioner for refugees, Kelly T Clements, she was assured by the government of Bangladesh that this would not happen.”
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry on Tuesday afternoon summoned UNHCR Representative in Bangladesh Johannes van der Klaauw in this connection.
A ministry official told Dhaka Tribune that it had conveyed that Bangladesh did not want any impediments from UNHCR to its repatriation efforts.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reportedly stopped providing food assistance to 23 Rohingya people belonging to four families in Cox's Bazar on Monday.
Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Md Mizanur Rahman said their food aid had been stopped since Monday morning.
“These 23 Rohingyas of four families have agreed to repatriation under a pilot project. Food aid for them has been stopped since Monday morning, but UNHCR did not say why the food aid has been stopped," UNB quoted him as saying.
These Rohingyas were being provided with food assistance in an alternative way, he added.
Bangladesh and Myanmar recently decided to undertake a pilot repatriation project under which a group of verified Myanmar nationals will return to their country of origin in the first batch.