Bird's eye view of Bhashan Char CourtesyThe United Nations says it has not been allowed to conduct a technical and safety assessment of Bhashan CharA UN human rights investigator urged Bangladesh on Thursday to allow a safety assessment of the remote island where the government shipped 1,600 Rohingya refugees last week, amid US concern about plans to carry out further relocations. The United Nations says it has not been allowed to conduct a technical and safety assessment of Bhashan Char, a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, and was not involved in the transfer of refugees there. "They will assure the government of Bangladesh of the suitability of Bhashan Char to host refugees or identify changes that might be necessary," he said in a statement. "It will also assure that the government’s policy of strict voluntary relocation to Bhashan Char is, indeed, being faithfully carried out." Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said the United Nations should first assess and verify how conducive the environment in Myanmar's Rakhine state was for repatriating the refugees, before carrying out an assessment of Bhashan Char.

Source: Dhaka Tribune December 10, 2020 15:00 UTC