Rohingya Refugees urge safe return to Myanmar during visit by US envoy Sergio Gor

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camps appealed for a safe, voluntary and dignified return to their homeland in Myanmar as US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor visited several refugee camps in Ukhiya on Friday to assess humanitarian conditions and meet refugees.

Hundreds of Rohingya gathered along the envoy’s route holding placards carrying messages such as “You have your home, we miss our home,” “No more refugee life, returning is our home,” and “Hope is home, Arakan is our home,” expressing their desire to return to Myanmar under conditions that ensure security, rights and dignity.

Gor, who also serves as the United States Ambassador to India, arrived in Cox’s Bazar on the second day of his three-day visit to Bangladesh. He visited Camps 4, 6 and 8 in Ukhiya, as well as a food distribution centre operated by the World Food Programme (WFP).

US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T. Christensen accompanied the delegation during the visit.

Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mizanur Rahman also met briefly with the US envoy. According to officials, Gor sought updates on humanitarian conditions inside the camps, the refugees’ willingness to return to Myanmar and the current situation in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.

A source familiar with the visit said the envoy told Bangladeshi officials that he wanted to understand how humanitarian assistance funded by American taxpayers was being used to support Rohingya refugees.

The United States remains one of the largest humanitarian donors supporting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where more than 1.2 million Rohingya are sheltering after fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Most refugees arrived following the Myanmar military’s 2017 operations in Rakhine State. Despite several repatriation initiatives in recent years, no large-scale return has taken place, with Rohingya refugees consistently stating that conditions in Myanmar do not yet permit a safe, voluntary and dignified return.

A Bangladeshi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that around 60 Rohingya continue to cross into Bangladesh each week, reflecting continuing insecurity inside Rakhine State, much of which is now under the control of the Arakan Army (AA).

Rohingya community leader Syed Ullah said refugees continue to seek a sustainable political solution to the crisis but stressed that lasting peace would require justice and accountability.

He called on the United States and the broader international community to play a more active role in creating conditions for the safe repatriation of Rohingya refugees and ensuring protection for the Rohingya community inside Myanmar.

Diplomatic Meetings

Earlier on Friday, Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Dinesh Trivedi met Sergio Gor in Dhaka to discuss issues of mutual interest, according to diplomatic sources. Details of the meeting were not disclosed.

On the first day of his visit, Gor also held talks with Bangladesh Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman at the State Guest House Padma. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Tarique Rahman during his visit.

Background

Bangladesh hosts more than one million Rohingya refugees, most of whom fled widespread violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017. Bangladesh and the international community continue to advocate for conditions that would allow the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of the Rohingya, while humanitarian agencies warn that insecurity and the absence of citizenship rights remain major obstacles to repatriation.