After 6 Years of Rohingya Exodus, Repatriation Remains the Only Solution

Myanmar's violent ethnic cleansing program forced roughly a million Rohingya Muslims into Bangladeshi refugee camps, marking its sixth anniversary on August 25. Myanmar’s military launched a full-fledged “clearance operation” against the Rohingya community in Rakhine state in 2017, burning villages to ashes and forcing the Rohingya people to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.  Over 745,000 Rohingya fled there and started living in the camps in precarious conditions. Since then, six years have passed without any justice. The genocidal intent and crimes against humanity have been acknowledged worldwide, yet the perpetrators are still at large, even after staging a coup last year that destabilized Myanmar. However, as the repatriation process lingers, the Rohingya are becoming more frustrated. The Go Home campaign—led by Rohingya stranded in Bangladesh who hope to return to Rakhine state suggests the same. Standing at the juncture of 6 years of the exodus, ‘repatriation’ and ‘justice’ are the main discussion points for both Bangladesh and the Rohingya. And without the help of the international community, it is hardly possible to achieve these basic human rights of the ‘most persecuted community’ of our time.

Declining International Community’s Role in the Crisis

As years passed and several conflicts, like Ukraine, emerged worldwide the international community’s attention has also been diverted. The international community has failed to take any significant steps for repatriation and justice. The geopolitical calculations of great powers crippled the United Nations Security Council. It also allowed the Junta perpetrators to carry on with their draconian measures.

In November 2019, Gambia, on behalf of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (IOC), filed the first international lawsuit against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing the country of violating the UN Genocide Convention. The case is currently in court and the hearing process is underway. However, owing to a funding shortage, Gambia is also finding it difficult to maintain the case.

Separately, the ICC authorized an investigation into alleged atrocities in November 2019. The ICJ ruled on July 22 that Gambia's case for genocide would proceed despite Myanmar's preliminary objections. According to academics and rights campaigners, the ICJ ruling has opened up fresh opportunities for the international community to put pressure on the Myanmar military to provide justice for the Rohingya. Yet, the final ruling could take years.

While the justice system is moving at a ‘sloth-like’ speed, the funding for Rohingya is also declining rapidly.  For the last two-three years, funds for Rohingya are constantly declining. Besides the decline in Humanitarian assistance, the organizations providing assistance are also reducing their support owing to donor fatigue and fund shortage.  World Food Program (WFP) has cut monthly rations for the Rohingya refugees two times in one year. In March 2023, WFP announced that it had decided to cut the monthly allotment from the current $12 to $10 from March onward. Months later in again cut the ration once again. Currently, the Rohingya are only receiving $8 per month.

Declining aid will bring adverse impacts for the refugees. Already before the WFP’s ration cut, 45% of the refugees could not avail balanced diet with $12 per month. 40% of children had stunted growth and 40% of pregnant and breastfeeding women are anaemic. The latest decrease in the monthly ration will increase the numbers. The shortage of aid means more malnutrition, more disease, fewer services, and increased insecurity in the camp. It may also increase child marriage as the parents will be forced to reduce their family size.

Go Home Campaign, Pilot Repatriation Plan, and the Great Power Politics

Amid declining funds, ration cuts, and deteriorating camp conditions, the Rohingya demonstrated a ‘Go Home’ campaign demanding repatriation to their ancestral home. They also reiterated to go to Myanmar when they met UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet in last August immediately before the 5th anniversary.  However, contrary to the Rohingya’s demand, the United Nations and the Western countries are suggesting integration or assimilation of this community as a solution which Bangladesh denied several times. It seems the UN and the global community is looking for a quick and easy solution to undermining the Rohingya and Bangladesh to be free of their humanitarian responsibility.

Perhaps, the most significant development regarding Rohingya in the last year is the Pilot Repatriation Plan that Bangladesh and Myanmar are trying to pursue currently. This China-backed ‘test project’ aims to repatriate 1176 Rohingya to Rakhine state bilaterally and China is facilitating the negotiation.
However, the project is highly criticized by Western countries and organizations over a ‘safe and conducive’ environment. However, it seems their concern is mainly over China’s involvement owing to the West’s rivalry with China.

Deteriorating camp conditions, dwindling fund crisis, and reducing global attention are protracting the Rohingya crisis. It has been six years already and many more years may come by. The world community must play a more active role to repatriate this community. Moreover, assimilation or integration may not be a sustainable solution considering the preservation of the Rohingya ethnicity and the demand of the refugees. Furthermore, Bangladesh is already a densely populated country that cannot afford the assimilation of 1.1 million new people- a population even more than that of the whole of Bhutan. If assimilated, the ethnicity will perish over the course of time. So, on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of the Rohingya exodus, repatriation remains the only sustainable solution and the world community must put their geopolitical calculation aside and repatriate these unfortunate people to their ancestral home.


Nazifa Nawar is a researcher
and a columnist.