Bangladesh authorities should halt relocations to Bhasan Char island until freedom of movement and other rights of Rohingya refugees are protected, Human Rights Watch said today. Refugees and humanitarian workers said the authorities have already identified hundreds of families in the mainland camps to be relocated, starting imminently.

These relocations would contravene the October 2021 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed with the Bangladesh government establishing a framework for UN support for refugee operations on Bhasan Char. The government should ensure that the UN refugee agency can fully support and protect Rohingya refugees living on Bhasan Char island, Human Rights Watch said in a recent letter to donors. Donors should insist that Bangladesh fully halt relocations until UNHCR has developed a process for ensuring free and informed consent.

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“Bangladesh’s October agreement with the UN doesn’t provide a free ticket to forcibly relocate Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char,” said Bill Frelick, refugee and migrant rights director at Human Rights Watch. “On the contrary, donor governments will now be scrutinizing Bhasan Char to ensure their assistance doesn’t contribute to abuses.”

Bangladesh authorities have already moved nearly 20,000 Rohingya refugees to the remote, flood-prone island, claiming that the relocations were necessary to ease the overcrowding in the Cox’s Bazar camps. Many refugees were transferred to the island without full, informed consent, and have been prevented from returning to the mainland.

While the agreement permits the UN to have a presence on Bhasan Char, serious concerns remain regarding the island’s safety, as well as the processes through which fundamental principles such as informed consent and freedom of movement will be upheld.

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