Bangladesh begins relocating Rohingya refugees to remote island, despite human rights concerns - The Washington Post

Bangladesh began moving hundreds of Rohingya refugees to an island Friday, ignoring concerns by human rights groups that it is ill-suited to host them and that the relocations are being conducted without informed consent.

About 1,600 refugees were transported to Bhasan Char island in the Bay of Bengal on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Human Rights Watch said earlier this week that it had identified 12 families that were instructed to move to the island, according to official documents that reportedly list 4,000 names, having never volunteered to do so.

“The Bangladesh government is actively reneging on its promise to the UN not to relocate any refugees to Bhasan Char island until humanitarian experts give a green light,” Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Thursday.

high commissioner for refugees said Friday that authorities needed to ensure that those making the move are being relocated voluntarily and based on accurate information.

But rights groups fear Bhasan Char island is also ill-suited to host tens of thousands of refugees.

“Donor governments engaged in the Rohingya crisis response, such as the US, UK, Japan, Australia, and Canada, should take a clear stand against this rash move to relocate Rohingya to Bhasan Char,” Adams, the Human Rights Watch Asia director, said.