Two Years On: Rohingya Deserve Justice, A Place at the Table

Striving for Dignity in Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh)

For the past two years, Rohingya refugees have remained dependent on humanitarian aid in the camps in Cox’s Bazar. The collective efforts of the humanitarian community under the leadership of the Government of Bangladesh have improved camp conditions, strengthened monsoon preparedness and helped prevent disease outbreaks.

Yet, living conditions in the camps remain dire, with growing concerns about safety and security. Gender-based violence and restricted freedom of movement increase the risks faced by refugee women and girls. Persons with disabilities and serious medical conditions experience barriers in accessing essential services. With shrinking funds[1] and continued restrictions on refugees’ access to education and livelihoods, the crisis is likely to worsen.

The Government of Bangladesh and generous residents of Teknaf and Ukhiya Upazilas in Cox’s Bazar were the first responders when refugees arrived in Bangladesh in August 2017. Today, some 500,000 Bangladeshis living near the camps continue to bear the socio-economic and environmental impact of the influx, amidst growing tensions with refugees over limited resources and services.

The international community must respond and stand beside Bangladesh to deliver a well-funded response that will improve living conditions and allow refugees and host communities to live in dignity.
NGOs in Bangladesh and Myanmar committed to providing assistance, but call for critical action by all parties

In response to the current crisis, we, the undersigned national and international organizations in Bangladesh and Myanmar, remain committed to providing assistance and protecting the rights of refugees, stateless, internally displaced persons and host communities until appropriate solutions to their displacement within and outside Myanmar are identified, including safe and voluntary repatriation.

We urge all parties to:

• Ensure meaningful participation of Rohingya in decision making processes about their future: In light of ongoing discussions to expedite returns, the Rohingya must be meaningfully engaged by the Governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh in any discussions and decision making about their future (including their safe and voluntary return) through an inclusive process involving children, youth, women, elderly and persons with disabilities.

• Respect Rohingya’s human rights in Myanmar: We call on the Government of Myanmar to address the root causes of the crisis in Rakhine State by implementing the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations and create the conditions necessary to end Rohingya’s displacement while respecting each refugee’s right to make a free, informed decision about their return. This must also reflect calls by Rohingya communities for justice and accountability, citizenship, protection of civilians, freedom of movement, as well as non-discrimination and sustained access for humanitarian organizations, independent journalists and media in Rakhine State, in line with international standards. We urge the international community to support these efforts, by condemning past and ongoing violence in Myanmar and call on the Government of Myanmar to ensure full respect for human rights.

• Support Rohingya’s inclusive access to education, livelihoods and protection: We call for the creation of an enabling environment for Rohingya on both sides of the border to access rights and services, such as education, skills training and livelihoods. We urge both governments to reduce the vulnerability of Rohingya and host communities by strengthening protection systems and access to justice for all. We appeal to the international community to fully fund the 2019 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis and the 2019 Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan to ensure uninterrupted, life-sustaining services to IDPs, refugees and host communities.

• Identify medium/long-term solutions: We call on the international community to identify appropriate solutions to the Rohingya’s displacement within and outside Myanmar while continuing to support the Government of Bangladesh, progressively implementing the commitments of the Global Compact on Refugees on self-reliance and responsibility-sharing and pursuing a regional solutions approach to address the needs of displaced and host communities.

List of signatories:

1. ACTED
2. Action Against Hunger (ACF)
3. ActionAid Bangladesh
4. ADRA Bangladesh
5. APCD
6. Arts for Action & The Just Acts Consortium
7. Asian Dignity Initiative
8. CARE
9. Caritas Bangladesh
10. Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
11. CBM
12. CEHRDF
13. Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS)
14. Centre for Disability in Development (CDD)
15. CDN/Zoa
16. Christian Aid
17. Center for Social Integrity (CSI)
18. Community Partners International (CPI)
19. DISA Bangladesh
20. Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
21. EDUCO
22. Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK)
23. Good Neighbors Bangladesh
24. HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation
25. HOPE Foundation
26. HumaniTerra International (HTI)
27. ICCO Cooperation
28. International Rescue Committee (IRC)
29. ISDE Bangladesh
30. MAF Bangladesh
31. Medair
32. Médecins du Monde
33. Mercy Corps
34. MOAS
35. Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)
36. Norwegian Refugee Council
37. Peace Winds Japan
38. Prantic Unnayan Society
39. RDRS
40. RISDA Bangladesh
41. Safer World
42. SARPV
43. Save the Children
44. SHED Bangladesh
45. Solidarités International (SI)
46. Terre des Hommes (TdH)
47. Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
48. United Purpose
49. Unite Theatre for Social Action (UTSA)
50. Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO)
51. Welthungerhilfe (WHH)
52. World Concern
53. World Vision
54. Young Power in Social Action (YPSA)
55. Community Development Centre (CODEC)
56. Concern Worldwide
57. Consortium of Dutch NGOs (CDN/ZOA)
58. Cox’s Bazar Environment, Human Rights and Development Forum (CEHRDF)
59. HelpAge International Bangladesh
60. Samaj Kalyan Unnayan Shangstha (SKUS)
61. Shushilan

[1] Funding commitments for the response remain insufficient—with only 34% of the joint 2019 humanitarian appeal worth USD 920 million covered.

[2] Les engagements de financement pour la réponse restent insuffisants – avec seulement 34% de l’appel humanitaire conjoint de 2019 d’une valeur de 920 millions de dollars US couvert.