Bangladesh: Rohingya

(asked on 15th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has made to his Bangladeshi counterpart on the relocation of Rohingya refugees to the island of Bhasan Char.


Answered by
Nigel Adams Portrait
Nigel Adams
This question was answered on 23rd December 2020

The UK Government is monitoring the situation and is in regular dialogue with the Government of Bangladesh, the UN and our INGO partners. We support the UN position that independent, full and detailed technical and protection assessments are needed to evaluate the safety and sustainability of living on Bhasan Char, and that any relocation should be voluntary and based on relevant, accurate and updated information.

The Minister for South Asia underlined the importance of these points in a call with Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Momen on 19 November, and has discussed the issue several times with the Bangladesh High Commissioner in London. The British High Commissioner in Dhaka regularly engages with the Government of Bangladesh on Bhasan Char and has underlined the importance of allowing the UN to conduct these full technical and protection assessments. The Development Director also talks regularly to the UN Heads of Agencies and Resident Coordinator who are in constant touch with the Government.

Reticulating Splines