By Filippo Grandi,
United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees,
13 February 2018.
Mr. President,
Members of the
Security Council,
Abdullah is a father
of eight from Buthidaung, in the northern part of Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
Fleeing to
Bangladesh in September last year, he became a refugee for the third time.
The first was in
1978, when he came to Bangladesh as a young boy, and the second in 1991. That
time he remained for three years, and then returned to Myanmar as part of an
organised voluntary repatriation operation, anxious to recover his home and his
four acres of land.
Back home, he and
his family started to rebuild their lives. They had seven cows, and were able
to make a living. But, he says, around two years after his return, ‘hope
started to fade away.’ Forced labour, confiscation of crops and cattle, and
relentless, incremental restrictions on their freedom of movement, their right
to worship, and their access to livelihoods constrained their existence.
Last year, his
village was attacked, houses were burnt and others in his community, including
his own nephew, were shot dead. Hiding nearby, he saw his own home torched. He
had no choice but to flee again. And he is, once again, living in a flimsy
shelter in Kutupalong refugee settlement together with his family, despairing
at the prospect of ever being able to build a safe and stable life. ‘My
decision to return was wrong,’ he said recently. ‘That’s why we are suffering
now.’
Mr. President,
It is almost six
months, as we heard, since the current rapid, chaotic outflow of more than
688,000 refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh began, driven by violence and
destruction, following decades of repression and exclusion.
That movement is now
significantly reduced - but still continues. Already this month, some 1,500
Rohingya refugees have arrived in Bangladesh.
The Government and
people of Bangladesh continue to receive refugees and to provide them with
protection and support. For this, they are to be deeply commended. With reports
of insecurity continuing, it is critical that the border remains open and that
those still fleeing are able to access safety.
The Government,
together with highly-skilled national and local organisations, and the United
Nations and other humanitarian agencies, with solid donor support, has mounted
an impressive response. Yet conditions remain overcrowded and precarious for
many, including host communities. Disease outbreaks, including diptheria, have
been met with decisive action, but remain a significant risk.
We are now in a race
against time as a major new emergency looms.
The monsoon season will start in March. We estimate that more than
100,000 refugees are living in areas prone to flooding or landslides. Tens of
thousands of particularly vulnerable refugees need to be urgently relocated.
Their lives are at grave risk. The foundations of existing shelters need to be
strengthened, bridges built and reinforced and new land found and made ready.
The Government is steering a massive emergency preparedness effort, but
international support, Mr. President, must be stepped up to avert a
catastrophe.
The Kutupalong area
in Cox’s Bazar is now the largest refugee settlement in the world - with its
own character, economy and emerging social structures.
As we have repeatedly
said, resolving this crisis means finding solutions inside Myanmar. However,
while these are pursued, as they must be, significant support will be required
in Bangladesh. Humanitarian action and funding must be sustained, but longer
term support will also be required to help the Government reinforce the local
infrastructure and economy, and ensure access to opportunities for refugees and
the communities hosting them.
Education, and
opportunities to develop skills and earn an income will be critical to avoid
the deep despair that can set in when refugees are abandoned on the margins of
societies. We must ensure that young people retain a vision of a future and
that the ground is laid for eventual voluntary return.
Failure to do this,
Mr. President and Members of the Council, will inevitably lead to
disillusionment and radicalization. It will also expose refugees to protection
risks - including sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking and other forms
of abuse and exploitation.
But the causes of this
crisis originate in Myanmar; and a genuine search for solutions must finally
start. At the heart of it all is the restoration of rights - including the
right of refugees to return home - voluntarily, and in safe, dignified
conditions.
Let me be clear.
Conditions are not yet conducive to the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya
refugees. The causes of their flight have not been addressed, and we have yet
to see substantive progress on addressing the exclusion and denial of rights
that has deepened over the last decades, rooted in their lack of citizenship.
But preserving the
right of return and pursuing the conditions that will enable it to be exercised
must remain a central priority. For this reason, I welcome the dialogue between
the Government of Bangladesh and the Government of the Union of Myanmar on the
voluntary repatriation of refugees, and the commitment to international
standards on voluntary, safe and dignified return set out in the arrangement
agreed between them in November 2017.
In line with my
mandate to support governments to pursue solutions for refugees, UNHCR has
extended an offer of support to both governments, including by participating in
the joint working group established for its implementation. The framework for
return should eventually be defined in a tripartite agreement between the two
governments and UNHCR. Our offer of
support remains open.
The construction of
infrastructure to support the logistics of return should not be confused with
the establishment of conditions conducive to voluntary repatriation. An end to
violence and destruction of property, and granting humanitarian access
throughout Rakhine State – as called for by the Secretary-General – are
critical, and basic, steps.
Humanitarian access,
as you have heard, remains extremely restricted. UNHCR has not had access to
affected areas of the northern part of Rakhine State, beyond Maungdaw town,
since August 2017, and our access in central Rakhine has also been curtailed.
UNHCR presence and access throughout the state are essential to monitor
protection conditions, provide independent information to refugees, and
accompany returns as and when they take place. Refugees must be able to return
to a place of their choice, including the location where they previously resided.
‘Temporary’ arrangements should be avoided; as we have seen in Myanmar and
elsewhere, they have a tendency to persist for considerably longer than
envisaged, and to take on a permanent character.
The recommendations
of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State are an important blueprint for a
peaceful and inclusive future, and hence for the sustainable return of
refugees. I fully endorse the two-track approach envisaged in the report: the
first focused on access to citizenship and the restoration of rights for the
Rohingya, including freedom of movement, access to education and basic
services, and to livelihoods; and the second on inclusive development aimed at
improving the condition of all communities in Rakhine State, and on fostering
peaceful co-existence.
Refugees must
determine the timing and pace of returns; building their confidence is crucial.
Implementing the Advisory Commission recommendations relating to central
Rakhine would be a concrete first step. There, around 120,000 internally
displaced people, mainly Rohingya driven from their homes by inter-communal
violence, are now in their sixth year of confined encampment. Granting freedom
of movement, allowing them to return home, and fast-tracking confirmation of
their citizenship would send a strong signal to refugees in Bangladesh that
Myanmar is genuinely committed to taking responsibility for their protection
and well-being, and to pursuing lasting solutions.
As in the past,
UNHCR stands ready to work with the Government in these efforts, through
technical advice and support on securing solutions for the internally
displaced, voluntary repatriation, and resolving statelessness.
Mr. President,
Addressing the root
causes of the appalling violence and systemic discrimination that has driven
hundreds of thousands from their homes repeatedly over decades, and securing
solutions to the current crisis, will require substantial support to both
Myanmar and Bangladesh.
International
political engagement, technical expertise and financial resources will be
needed on both sides of the border – including for humanitarian and targeted
development activities. Preferential trade arrangements, labour and migration
pathways, innovative financing, enhanced national partnerships, and expanded
regional cooperation should also play a critical role.