Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the living conditions for Rohingya refugees living in refugee camps on the island of Bhasan Char.
The UK continues to stress to the Government of Bangladesh that a UN protection mission should be urgently able to assess the humanitarian situation of the 306 refugees currently on Bhasan Char. So far, the UN have not been given the opportunity to visit Bhasan Char, and we have been unable to make a thorough assessment of living conditions. We are extremely concerned by the recent reports of alleged sexual assaults and other forms of mistreatment on Bhasan Char and are monitoring developments closely.
The UK supports the UN position that independent, full and detailed protection and technical assessments are needed to evaluate the safety and sustainability of living on Bhasan Char before any large-scale relocation of refugees is considered. Until such assessments are conducted, Rohingya people can best be supported in Cox's Bazar camps where the UN humanitarian operation is already in place.