Daw
Aye Aye Thein Director, Department of Immigration, Ministry of Immigration and
Population
I am going to explain the current implementation status of the Ministry of Immigration and Population regarding the repatriation of displaced persons from Rakhine State. Due to the incidents that occurred in northern Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017, approximately 500,000 residents from that area fled to neighbouring Bangladesh of their own volition. To facilitate the systematic verification and repatriation process, the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a bilateral agreement on 23 November 2017.
In
accordance with the repatriation agreements between Myanmar and Bangladesh,
five fundamental principles of eligibility were established as the criteria for
the return process. The criteria are as follows: those wishing to return must
be individuals who genuinely resided in Myanmar. The returnees must be
individuals who wish to return to Myanmar voluntarily. For separated family
members, remaining family members, and orphans, a certification of authenticity
from a Bangladesh court must be provided. Children born in the neighbouring
country must be the offspring of parents who can be verified as former
residents of Myanmar. For children born during the conflict, a certification of
authenticity from a Bangladesh court must be provided.
In order to implement the repatriation process
in accordance with these criteria, officials from Myanmar and Bangladesh signed
the ‘Physical Arrangement’ plan on 15 January 2018.
Furthermore,
the Joint Working Group (JWG) for the repatriation process, led by officials
from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of both Myanmar and Bangladesh, was
established in November 2018. Between 2018 and 2022, a total of five JWG
meetings were held alternately in Myanmar and Bangladesh to conduct discussions.
In
accordance with the repatriation agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh, the
Bangladesh side sent the lists of over 800,000 displaced persons in six
separate batches between 2018 and 2021 to verify those eligible under the
repatriation criteria.
To
verify whether the lists of over 800,000 displaced persons sent by Bangladesh
were indeed former residents of Myanmar, the department developed a Civil
Registration software. Using this software, our staff performed
cross-verification by inputting data from the 2016 household lists, which
include family photos and records, collected by the department in northern
Rakhine State.
As
of 16 January 2026, we have completed the cross-verification of over 300,000
individuals listed in the verification forms. The verified data for these
individuals has already been transmitted to the Bangladesh side through
diplomatic channels.
Among
the verified residents with confirmed proof of residency, the Bangladesh side
announced they would return a first batch of over 2,000 people in November
2018, and a second batch of over 3,000 people in August 2019. Although Myanmar
made all necessary arrangements to receive them by opening two repatriation
centres, Bangladesh failed to send them back on both occasions.
Moreover,
we have arranged and implemented the repatriation process under a ‘Pilot
Project’ for displaced persons from Rakhine State. Based on the discussions
held between officials of both countries in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in February
2020, an agreement was reached for the initial repatriation of 840 displaced
persons.
From
among them, 711 individuals who were verified to have displaced as entire
families were approved for repatriation under the Pilot Project. In order to
accept the 711 individuals along with their related family members
simultaneously, and to implement in accordance with the decisions made during
the fifth JWG meeting, an ad-hoc verification team led by the Head of the
Rakhine State Immigration Department conducted its first on-site verification
visit to Teknaf, Bangladesh, in March 2023. Based on those interviews, 465
related family members were verified. Together with the 711 individuals
previously cleared, a total of 1,176 individuals were approved for
repatriation.
On
5 May 2023, Myanmar officials hosted and presented detailed briefings for a ‘Go
and See Visit’ consisting of seven officials from Bangladesh and 20
representatives of the displaced persons camps. They were escorted to observe
the specific villages designated for the resettlement of returnees. On 30 June
2023, in accordance with the decisions made under the ‘New Bilateral
Initiative’ co-sponsored by both countries, a total of 2,807 individuals were approved
for repatriation under the Pilot Project. This total includes 1,766 individuals
who were verified as entire families previously residing in northern Maungdaw
with no criminal records, alongside 1,041 individuals out of the 1,176
previously cleared by the first on-site verification team. In order to facilitate
the simultaneous return of the 2,807 individuals along with their related
family members, a Myanmar verification team and ‘Go and Talk’ members travelled
to Teknaf, Bangladesh, for a second mission to conduct further interviews in
October 2023. Based on the results of the second verification mission, it was
officially decided and approved to repatriate a total of 2,933 verified
individuals.
Under
the Pilot Project, twenty villages have been designated for the resettlement of
the 2,933 approved returnees. The process was organized through the opening of
two reception centres, Ngakhuya and Taungpyoletwe, with a planned capacity to
verify and accept 250 individuals per week at each centre, totalling 500
returnees per week. There were plans for the verified returnees to temporarily
settle at the Hlapoekaung Transit Centre before moving them to the 20
designated villages. Furthermore, arrangements were made to collaborate with
relevant ministries to provide necessary support for their livelihoods and
basic needs, including food, clothing, and shelter.
As
UNDP and UNHCR offered to provide support for the repatriation process of
displaced persons from Rakhine State, a Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) was signed between the Ministry of Immigration and Population, UNDP, and
UNHCR on 6 June 2018. UNDP and UNHCR have provided support for regional
development projects in northern Rakhine State, including livelihood
programmes, basic infrastructure, access to water, the repair of roads and
bridges, and assistance in education, healthcare, and social services. At
present, the Ministry of Immigration and Population continues to renew the MOU
with UNDP and UNHCR on an annual basis to ensure the ongoing implementation of
regional development projects, contingent upon the local security situation.
Despite
Myanmar’s comprehensive preparations and readiness to facilitate the
repatriation process, there has been no return of displaced persons from the
Bangladesh side to date.
Nevertheless,
I would like to state that Myanmar remains fully prepared to facilitate a
smooth and successful repatriation process for displaced persons from northern
Rakhine State, should they choose to return of their own free will.
My
name is Thida Myint. My Muslim name is Junila. I am from Khaungdukka Village,
and I have three children. Government departmental officials come here for
vaccinations, and others provide general medical injections and treatment. If
we have emergency cases, we have to go to Thetkaepyin Hospital.
The village elders and local community leaders
have collaborated to establish a guard plan by household. For example, ten
houses will be on security duty today, another ten houses tomorrow, and so on,
following a scheduled and organized security arrangement. We mainly do farming.
In our village, there are shops and also many daily casual labourers. There is
nothing special beyond that. There are no restrictions at all. We can travel
freely and smoothly.
There
are no restrictions at all. Access to healthcare services is on a regular
basis, and if there are many patients and the medicines are not sufficient, we
can go to Thetkaepyin Hospital and receive treatment for free. Everything is
free, and that is how it is arranged. In Khaungdukka Village, we have a
post-primary school. Once children finish post-primary school, they have to
attend the Thetkaepyin High School. The nearest school to us is Thetkaepyin
School, so we go there. Education is completely free. The government has
arranged everything.
We
applied for our citizenship scrutiny cards and have already received them. We
went to the Immigration Department office ourselves and applied in person.
Since we had all the required documents, everything was in order. We received
it very quickly. We also had the right to vote this year. Our names were
registered in the Thae Chaung area, so we went there to vote. Everyone was able
to vote freely.
We
also saw that some people who were not in voter lists still went happily just
to observe the voting process. Everything was calm and peaceful.
#TheGlobalNewLightOfMyanmar
No comments:
Post a Comment