Bangladesh plans to move Rohingya refugees to remote island, UN expresses concern

The Bangladeshi government is expected to move hundreds of Rohingya refugees from Cox's Bazar to Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal in the coming days amid concerns of inadequate facilities on the island. The Bangladeshi government this week announced its plan to start relocating Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char, which is a low-lying island in the Bay of Bengal and is prone to regular flooding and cyclones. The move has garnered criticism from the United Nations and Refugees International, who has called the decision "short-sighted" and "inhumane". 

Read: 'Every Rohingya Owaisi Protects Will Be Removed': Tejasvi Surya Slams AIMIM Chief

UN demanding independent assessment

The decision of the Bangladeshi government to relocate Rohingya refugees is also receiving flak because of its denial to give access to the United Nations for an independent assessment to review the safety, feasibility, and sustainability of Bhasan Char. The Bangladeshi government has been constructing the site for several years now and is seeking to ease pressure on the overcrowded camps at Cox's Bazar. Currently, there are more than 1 million refugees living in camps at Cox's Bazar, which international human rights groups say is not a humane condition to live in because of scarce space and unhygienic environment. 

Read: Myanmar General Elections: UN Chief Hopes For Return Of Rohingya Refugees In 'dignity'

The camps that the Bangladeshi government has built at Bhasan Char is suitable for at least 1,00,000 refugees, it says. The government has said that the facility with more than 100 shelters has been built 14 feet above ground level to prevent monsoon flooding and claims that the housing can withstand winds of up to 260 kilometers per hour. The government also claims that there are two 20-bed hospitals and several clinics with on-site medical staff for the medical requirements of the refugees and it also has three schools. However, the United Nations and other refugee organizations are demanding permission for an independent assessment, which the government is yet to provide. 

"The United Nations has also consistently maintained that any relocations to Bhasan Char should be preceded by comprehensive technical protection assessments. These independent United Nations assessments would review the safety, feasibility, and sustainability of Bhasan Char as a place for refugees to live, as well as the framework for the protection and the assistance and services they would be able to access on the island," the UN said in a statement. 

Read: Myanmar Election: Incumbent Aung San Suu Kyi Projected To Win Despite Rohingya Crisis

Rohingyas were forced to flee genocide in Myanmar's Rakhine state after facing state-sponsored persecution. The international community including the International Criminal Court (ICC) had called out Myanmar for the ill-treatment of Rohingya Muslims, which the South-East Asian State dismissed calling it a legitimate security action to target terrorism in the country. More than 1 million Rohingyas fled to neighbouring Bangladesh and other Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, and Cambodia. 

Read: Rohingya Crisis Created By Myanmar; Must Be Solved By Them: Bangladesh PM Seeks UN Focus