Western countries, including the United Nations and the United States, have opposed Myanmar's pilot project to repatriate the Rohingya, and expressed their opinion against starting the repatriation process in Myanmar's current situation. They feel that the environment in Myanmar is not yet conducive for repatriation. Although no visible progress was seen in the pilot project, representatives of various donor countries and organizations visited the Rohingya camp soon after.
International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Counsel Karim Asad Ahmad Khan visited the Rohingya camp with a delegation of 10 members of the ICC on July 6 to investigate the torture and persecution of the Rohingya community in Myanmar. During the visit to the camp, they met a delegation of the Rohingya community and learned from them about the torture and brutality of the Myanmar army, the situation of their escape and the brutality of the army against the Rohingya women. The ICC is collecting this information to bring the Myanmar military personnel involved in the Rohingya genoside to justice and accountability. The ICC chief counsel discussed the situation in the Rohingya camps, the law and order system and their support, and expressed concern over the reduction in food aid. He expressed his opinion that as a result of this, the law and order situation in the camp may deteriorate as well as have a negative impact on women and children.
The US delegation led by US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zaya visited the Rohingya camp on July 12. Members of the delegation exchanged views with Rohingya community leaders and representatives on various issues including education, health, housing, and repatriation. After listening to the speeches of the Rohingya representatives, the US Under-Secretary urged them not to engage in conflict among themselves and to be patient for international justice on repatriation and torture in Myanmar. At this time, the Rohingya sought the intervention of the United States to increase international pressure on Myanmar to start a safe, sustainable and dignified repatriation process. The U.S. representative continued to stand by Rohingya repatriation and support and announced another Tk. 740 crore in support of Myanmar and Bangladesh's efforts to deal with the Rohingya crisis, which will be given to internally displaced Rohingya in Myanmar, Rohingya who have taken refuge in Bangladesh, their host communities and others.
On the initiative of Bangladesh, the proposal titled 'Human rights situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar' was presented by the OIC member states at the 53rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The resolution was passed unanimously at the United Nations on July 14, emphasizing on the sustainable solution of the ongoing crisis by repatriating the Rohingya sheltered in Bangladesh to Myanmar and ensuring justice and accountability for this population. In the context of Myanmar's unstable political and security situation, there have been clear differences between the UN member states on various issues since the proposal was introduced. Finally, after a long discussion, the proposal was unanimously accepted by the UN Human Rights Council. While praising the Bangladesh government for providing temporary shelter to the Rohingya population, the resolution expressed concern about the frustration caused by the ongoing uncertainty over repatriation and its negative effects on the Rohingya. The resolution calls for increased international cooperation to address declining and inadequate relief aid in Rakhine, with an emphasis on sustainable and voluntary repatriation by rapidly creating an enabling environment. The proposal also supports the ongoing trial process in the international court by emphasizing on strengthening the investigation process and bringing those accused and responsible for all kinds of torture, anti-humanity and war crimes against the Rohingyas under the jurisdiction of the regional and international justice system.
On July 24, a 5-member delegation led by the European Union (EU) Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gillmore, visited Bangladesh and met with government officials concerned with Rohingya and human rights and visited the Rohingya camp in Cox's Bazar. At this time, the Rohingya representatives demanded cooperation in safe repatriation along with their grievances. The Rohingyas said that this life is not good for them anymore, with donor agencies reducing food aid day by day and killings and kidnappings in the camps increasing, they are living in danger and want to return to their country through safe repatriation.
According to Eamon GillMore, the Rohingya problem must be solved in Myanmar itself. The military coup has worsened the situation in Myanmar and the EU has refrained from recognizing Myanmar's military government and has imposed many sanctions against Myanmar. The EU has appointed a special envoy for Myanmar and is working with like-minded countries, including ASEAN, on the Myanmar crisis. He expressed his opinion that the ongoing funding crisis to deal with the Rohingya issue is a major problem and is worrying. EU support for the Rohingya will continue and additional funds will be provided if needed. They will also work with the governments of EU member states and other countries to overcome the funding crisis. Voluntary and dignified and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya must be ensured by the United Nations Human Rights Council and other Forum will continue their efforts.
On July 27, the Representative Committee of Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN) under the title of Reintroducing Women's Leadership organized a rally for Rohingya women, breaking with the traditional practices of the Rohingya community. More than 1000 Rohingya women representatives of different ages participated spontaneously in this rally. In this age of globalization there is no alternative to empowering women and despite being a backward community, Rohingya women breaking tradition and coming to this rally is a commendable and brave step. Rohingya women representatives said that they no longer want sheltered lives and want to return to their country. According to data released by the Bangladesh government and UNHCR, 52 percent of the total Rohingya in Rohingya refugee camps are now women. This is the first time they have joined the repatriation program and have proved that Rohingya women cannot be stopped if united. The involvement with the repatriation of Rohingya women undoubtedly added a new dimension to this initiative.
China continues to engage with the repatriation process. Despite the lack of visible progress in the pilot project due to several reasons, there has been some light of hope recently in Rohingya repatriation. China's Special Envoy for Asia Deng Shijun visited Dhaka on July 30 to discuss repatriation, bringing a new dimension to the long-standing discussion on Rohingya repatriation. China is moving forward with hopes of completing the repatriation of 7,000 Rohingya in several stages by December. As the Rohingyas are reluctant to return to the camps in Myanmar, Myanmar has agreed to resettle the Rohingyas in the areas where they used to live, instead of taking them to camps or model villages. Myanmar said Rohingyas would be covered for the first three months of their return to Myanmar and allowed to fish and farm for a living. This is the second visit of the Chinese envoy to Dhaka in less than four months. On July 31, the Chinese ambassador held a meeting with Foreign Secretary Masood Bin Momen. In the discussion, priority was given to repatriation of 1,176 Rohingya under the pilot project. Before coming to Bangladesh, China's special envoy visited Myanmar. China's ambassador told Bangladesh that Myanmar is willing to repatriate Rohingya.
At present, there is a tripartite program going on in Rohingya repatriation with the goodwill of Western countries and donors, China and Rohingya, which is necessary to solve this crisis. Donor countries and organizations are aware of the decline in food aid to the Rohingya and the associated problems. To start the repatriation of the Rohingyas, the Bangladesh government is continuing bilateral discussions with Myanmar as well as discussing the issue in multilateral forums. As a result, the resolution on the Rohingya crisis was unanimously passed by the UN Human Rights Council. Bangladesh firmly believes that this problem can be solved through discussion. Most of the Rohingya want to go back to their country and Rohingya women are also now voicing for repatriation which gives hope. China's tripartite initiative on the Rohingya repatriation pilot project has faced various obstacles, but Bangladesh is always optimistic about it. Also, Bangladesh hopes that the United Nations, donor countries and humanitarian aid cooperation organizations, organizations working on the interests and rights of Rohingya and women's rights protection forums and organizations will accelerate repatriation by taking an active role in solving the problem.