US Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs of the State Department Afreen Akhter on Tuesday said that the conditions in Myanmar are “not conducive to repatriation” after visiting a Rohingya camp in Ukhyia, Cox's Bazar.
“We also discussed how any repatriation should be voluntary, should be dignified and should be safe, and that there should not be any forcible repatriations because unfortunately, the conditions in Myanmar are not conducive to repatriation,” she said after meetings with the government and UN officials in Cox’s Bazar and talking with some Rohingya refugees.
She arrived in Dhaka on Monday for a two-day visit.
Her comment on Rohingya repatriation came as Bangladesh with the Chinese mediation was working on sending some refugees who want to go back voluntarily.
Afreen Akhter said Myanmar's government has not agreed to allow humanitarian access to the camps.
“They've not allowed Rohingya to settle in villages of their choice or in their home. And so, we really don't think conditions at this time are right. But we will continue to work closely with Bangladesh and the international community to find a long-term solution that includes eventual repatriation, but also in the near term providing humanitarian support,” she said.
Cox’s Bazar Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Mohammed Mizanur Rahman said she inspected various UN-run activities in the camp and exchanged views with a delegation of Rohingyas.
“The US delegation reached the registration centre of Kutupalong Camp No 4 in Ukhiya around 10:30am and inspected the registration activities of Rohingyas,” he said, earlier.
After completing her visit, Afreen Akhter told journalists about her overall visit in Bangladesh that included meeting with foreign secretary Masud Bin Momen.
She said: “We discussed a wide range of issues including our broad and multifaceted relationship with Bangladesh, which includes economic growth, trade and investment, our long-standing development partnership, women's economic empowerment and a whole host of other issues.
Stressing the importance of free and fair elections in Bangladesh, she said: “We believe that it's incredibly important that elections are conducted in a free, fair and peaceful manner in support of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's stated commitment to this goal.
“We also talked about how free and fair elections are not just about the way elections are conducted on the day itself, but allowing in space for civil society, for media, for all of those actors to engage freely in the democratic process in these months before the election,” she added.
Talking about her visit to Rohingya camp, Afreen Akhter said: “I just want to thank the Bangladeshi government for its incredible generosity and hosting 10,00,000 refugees in a very small and populated country. We cannot thank you enough. We know that it's an incredible strain and we really appreciate your generosity,” she said.
“I want to emphasize that the United States is the single largest donor by far when it comes to supporting Rohingya refugees. We have provided more than $2.2 billion to date since 2017. We far outpace anyone else in our support for Bangladesh in their response to this crisis,” she mentioned.
