The US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Julieta Valls Noyes left Bangladesh on Dec. 8, after her 5 day long official tour from Dec. 3 to 7, 2022. The crux of her visit was to meet various government, non-government, and international partners and stakeholders related to Rohingya refugees to discuss the humanitarian crisis of the displaced Rohingya population. Especially, she had talks with top officials of several important ministries and departments such as Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, and the Rohingya Repatriation and Rehabilitation Commissioner (RRRC). She also had fruitful meeting with regional representatives of NGOs, INGOs, and different UN agencies including UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF, UNFPA, AFP and WHO etc.
In order to gather first-hand expression of the Rohingya camps, Noyes also traveled to Cox’s Bazar and Bhashanchar, where she talked to the Rohingyas, and camp management authorities working in and outside the camps. In the visit, the Rohingyas described the terrible picture of brutal torture, arson, genocide, and oppression conducted in the Rakhine state and the current inhumane condition of their lives. They expressed their willingness to return to Rakhine and sought the intervention of the US government to ensure a peaceful Rakhine to accelerate their safe and dignified repatriation. Thus, these meetings were focused on the Rohingya camp situation, the humanitarian crisis, Rohingya resettlement in US and Repatriation to Myanmar.
Notably, in the meetings, she expressed her gratitude for Bangladesh’s generosity in hosting Rohingya. On Dec. 6, in the meeting with Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, Noyes thanked the FM for Bangladesh’s life-saving support for Rohingya. She had a conversation with Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen about sustaining the humanitarian response for the Rohingyas and ensuring international accountability for the genocide in Myanmar. Most importantly, on Dec. 4, Noyes tweeted that the US along with UN agencies would not let the Rohingya issue become a “forgotten crisis.”
Certainly, the visit is significant to Bangladesh as the United States is one of the most important actors in assuring the safe and dignified repatriation of displaced Myanmar nationals into their own land. Besides, the US has been supporting Bangladesh through much-needed humanitarian assistance for the refugees living in the Camps of Bangladesh. In this regard, the recent visit has injected new impetus to create a new path to strengthen the existing cooperation on supporting the Rohingyas and facilitating repatriation, which will further reflex a positive impact on bilateral relations between Dhaka and Washington.
One of the main reasons behind Noyes’s visit is to discuss the rehabilitation of Rohingyas in the US. Primarily Washington has proposed to take 50 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh, but a group of 62 Rohingyas recently identified for resettlement to the US. Among them, 24 Rohingyas left for the US on Dec. 8. Though the number is not significant as FM Momen said it is nothing but a drop in the ocean, the step is remarkable. It would give the Rohingyas a chance of living their lives outside of the congested camps. In an interview with the Dhaka Tribune, Noyes said, “the US government is ready to coordinate with the Government of Bangladesh, UNHCR, and other countries to establish a resettlement program for the most vulnerable Rohingya. The United States will consider for resettlement all UNHCR referrals of Rohingya refugees to the US Refugee Admissions Program.”
Although The US previously rehabilitated 10,000 Rohingya refugees from various countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, this is not a permanent solution to the refugee problem. It cannot facilitate any major change in the deteriorating conditions of the vast population of the Rohingya community. As Rohingyas repeatedly expressed that they want to return to their own place, there seems to be no other sustainable solution except repatriation.
The United States has been one of the leading countries in pursuing the Myanmar authority diplomatically to take back the Rohingya people with dignity and basic human rights. They hold a strong position against the atrocities that occurred in the Rakhine state of Myanmar in 2017. At the beginning of the influx, Washington imposed sanctions against top military officials, including Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing for violating human rights in Rakhine. Financially, the US has disbursed $1.7 billion as humanitarian aid since the influx in 2017. At this year’s UN General Assembly, the US Secretary of State announced $170 million in additional humanitarian aid.
The US has also advocated for Rohingyas on various international stages like the United Nations and the International Criminal Court etc. Few months back, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken also announced the atrocities of the Myanmar army against the Rohigya as `genocide’. Reiterating their strong willingness for justice, Noyes stated that the United States has conducted its own efforts to document and collect evidence of atrocities in Burma and it will continue to work with international partners and allies to explore all options to support justice and accountability.
However, as a strong advocate of democracy and a powerful player in world politics, it’s time for the US to formally recognize the atrocities committed against ethnic Bengalis by the Pakistani armed forces in 1971 as a `genocide’ and `crime against humanity,’ which two US lawmakers have introduced as a resolution in the House of Representatives. The repression against the Bengalis is one of the most horrific incidents in the history of the modern era. At least 3 million people were brutally killed and thousands were raped by the Pakistan Army. Moreover, some 10 million people were displaced and had to flee the country during the liberation war of Bangladesh. If the US passes the resolution, it will be a significant step against human rights violations around the world. Thus, recognition of Pakistani genocide and facilitating Rohingya repatriation amid the celebration of 50 years of US-Bangladesh diplomatic relations will take the diplomatic relations and cooperation between the two countries a long way forward.
[Photo by US Embassy in Dhaka]
*Kamal Uddin Mazumder is a Political economy Analyst based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
