A/HRC/39/CRP.2
BGP and reportedly submitted to the Bangladesh government, includes the names of more
than 3,000 alleged ARSA “terrorists”, “family members” and “sympathisers”. 2700
1187. These lists were published without any form of due process and without offering any
supporting evidence or information about any verification measures taken, putting the lives
of both the individuals listed as “terrorists” and their families at risk. This will have served
as a deterrent to repatriation.
1188. In February 2018, an initial list of over 8,000 Rohingya was submitted by the
Bangladesh authorities to the Government of Myanmar for repatriation. 2701 At first,
Myanmar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that only 374 people listed qualified for
repatriation, less than five per cent.2702 On 18 May 2018, it then announced it would repatriate
a total of 1,100 from the list. 2703 The Mission does not know if the persons on this list had
indicated a wish to return to Myanmar voluntarily, and there are no indications that any have
subsequently returned.
1189. Moreover, the Myanmar government has announced plans to temporarily house those
Rohingya who they consider qualify for repatriation in “reception centres”, before they are
sent to one of 11 designated settlement areas. It is reported that the sites are undeveloped and
returnees will have to build their own houses. The Government has also reportedly claimed
to have arranged a “cash for work” programme for the returnees so they can use the income
they earn to cover housing costs. 2704 In an address to a visiting delegation from the United
Nations Security Council in Naypyidaw on 30 April 2017, the Commander-in-Chief, SeniorGeneral Min Aung Hlaing, confirmed that Rohingya if repatriated would be sent to these
specific sites. “There is no need to be worried about [the Bengali’s] security if they stay in
the areas designated for them.”2705
1190. To date, the Myanmar Government has built two “reception centres” in Maungdaw
Township and a “temporary medium camp” on former Rohingya-owned farmland,2706 close
to Rohingya villages destroyed in “clearance operations”, where “accepted” Rohingya will
reportedly be temporarily sheltered.2707 The “reception centres” are surrounded by newlyconstructed perimeter fences. Satellite imagery analysis shows one of the three sites, Aung
Zay Ya, with buildings enclosed within a perimeter barbed wire fence. Increased security
measures have also been observed around the transit centre, where a new perimeter fence has
been built around a security post located approximately one kilometre to the east, near Thea
Chaung Ywar Thit Kay village.2708 The presence of BGP and Tatmadaw soldiers at both
2700
2701
2702
2703
2704
2705
2706
2707
2708
January 2018), supplement, A-P;; Republic of the Union of Myanmar – Presidents Office, “Names of
more than 1,300 ARSA terrorists sent to Bangladesh” (17 January 2018), http://www.presidentoffice.gov.mm/en/?q=issues/rakhine-state-affairs/id-8356
K-002.
V-161.
Global New Light of Myanmar, “Union officials explain cause for exodus, ARSA threats, repatriation
obstruction” (15 March 2018).
Global New Light of Myanmar, “Myanmar Delegation attends the Second Joint Working Group
Meeting on the Repatriation of Verified Displaced Persons from Bangladesh” (18 May 2018).
Sithu Aung Myint, “The Rohingya repatriation agreement and its many, many challenges” (Frontier
Myanmar, 4 February 2018).
“Discussions between Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing and permanent envoys of UNSC” (Website
post, 4 May 2018), https://www.seniorgeneralminaunghlaing.com.mm/en/6841/discussions-seniorgeneral-min-aung-hlaing-permanent-envoys-unsc/
VI-067, VI-172. One “reception centre” is in Taung Pyo Let Yar village tract, two kilometres south of
the Bangladesh border in Aung Zay Ya village, which was destroyed by fire during the “clearance
operations”. The new buildings are constructed next to hundreds of destroyed structures. The second
“reception centre” is in Nga Khu Ya, in Nga Khu Ya village tract. The buildings are located
predominantly on agricultural land, with satellite imagery showing that at least six nearby villages
were destroyed by fire during the “clearance operations”.
Republic of the Union of Myanmar – Presidents Office, “Repatriation Camps will be ready ontime”
(Press Release, 14 January 2018), http://www.president-office.gov.mm/en/?q=issues/rakhine-stateaffairs/id-8337
Satellite imagery analysis prepared for the Mission by UNITAR-UNOSAT.
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