Thread by @CrisisGroup

In 2017, a brutal military crackdown on #Rohingya Muslims in #Myanmar’s Rakhine State forced 730,000 people to flee into neighbouring #Bangladesh.

5 years later, conditions in the camps are dire and prospects for repatriation remain low.

[Thread] 🧵👇
crisisgroup.org/asia/south-eas…

Nearly all of the #Rohingya who fled Myanmar in 2017 remain in sprawling refugee camps across #Bangladesh’s #CoxBazar.

To date, not a single refugee has returned to Rakhine State through the formal repatriation mechanism.

#Myanmar’s government has so far proven unable to provide the #Rohingya with sufficient guarantees around their security, access to citizenship and livelihood opportunities upon return.

To complicate the situation further, in December 2018 the #Myanmar military began fighting a new war in Rakhine State against insurgents from the Arakan Army, a pro-Rakhine ethnic armed group.

Fighting largely paused after the two sides reached an informal ceasefire in November 2020, but new power dynamics have emerged in the aftermath – something any repatriation effort will need to take into account.
crisisgroup.org/asia/south-eas…

Prospects for return have only grown dimmer in the wake of the military coup in February 2021.
crisisgroup.org/asia/south-eas…

So, as repatriation efforts stall, what is the situation of the #Rohingya refugees in #Bangladesh?

@MSF reports that conditions are poor and worsening.

@BHRNUK speaks of ‘miserable’ conditions, in areas rife with violence and a risk of kidnapping.
devex.com/news/new-repor…

Worse still, international funding for the refugee response has dropped significantly.

Leaving #Bangladesh to handle this massive refugee crisis is unfair given the country’s own development challenges.

What can donors and other outside actors do for #Rohingya refugees?

With substantial repatriation highly unlikely in the foreseeable future, it is essential that donors increase their support for #Bangladesh’s response to the refugee crisis.

In the words of @FilippoGrandi: “the refugees’ lives depend on how the international community responds in caring for them.”

Yet humanitarian aid will only provide temporary relief.
unhcr.org/news/press/202…

Another solution is increasingly talked about: third-country resettlement.

The time may be ripe for other countries in the West and in Asia to signal their readiness to accept refugees for voluntary resettlement.

5 years on, it’s clear there is no simple and straightforward solution to one of Asia’s largest refugee crises.

Focusing on repatriation alone, or on just funding the aid response, is not sufficient.

While finding a way for the #Rohingya to return home should remain the goal, it is important that a range of strategies are pursued in parallel in order to bring about the best outcome for this beleaguered population and for the communities hosting them in southern #Bangladesh.

For more in-depth information on the pathways to progress and how to implement them, see our latest Q&A by @tdkean 👇
crisisgroup.org/asia/south-eas…