Bangladesh: Rohingya

(asked on 20th April 2023) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the security implications of reports that the UNHCR and the World Food Programme removed UN insignia from UN boats that were used to transport Myanmar junta officials to Bangladesh as part of a pilot scheme that may see Rohingya refugees forcibly repatriated from Bangladesh to Myanmar.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 5th May 2023

The UK continues to raise with the Government of Bangladesh the need for returns of Rohingya to Myanmar to be safe, voluntary and dignified, when conditions there allow.

The UK also frequently makes representations to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) about their role in the repatriations process, and works closely with them to support their remit of monitoring and assessing voluntariness of returns on both sides of the border. UNHCR are clear that conditions in Myanmar's Rakhine State are currently not conducive for repatriations. Donors have collectively raised concerns regarding UNHCR and the World Food Programme (WFP) in Myanmar providing transport to the junta. Our Permanent Representative to the UK Mission in in Geneva raised it with UNHCR HQ. We do not support UNHCR and WFPs actions, and are monitoring the situation closely.

In August 2022 the UK announced its intention to intervene in the International Court of Justice case regarding Myanmar's acts against the Rohingya. In December 2022 the UN Security Council passed a UK-led resolution on the Myanmar situation, the first in 74 years. We will continue to use our platform in international fora to improve the conditions in Myanmar, and support the Rohingya's safe, voluntary and dignified return to their homeland.

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