Bangladesh plans to relocate 20,000 Rohingya refugees to US annually

Dhaka: Bangladesh is planning to send 20,000 Rohingya refugees annually to the US, aiming to move a total of 200,000 over the next decade, according to Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain.

Speaking on Monday, Hossain acknowledged that while the number may seem small, it offers hope for a substantial long-term solution.

The resettlement initiative is currently in a pilot phase, with a few hundred refugees being relocated at a time.

To date, around 2,500 Rohingyas have been selected, and the process is being expedited.

The Rohingya crisis began on August 25, 2017, when Myanmar’s military launched a violent crackdown on the Rohingya population in Rakhine State, forcing them to flee to Bangladesh and other neighbouring nations like India.

Within months, 750,000 Rohingyas sought refuge in Cox's Bazar’s Ukhiya-Teknaf region, joining 400,000 who were already in camps, Bdnews24 reported.

Under international pressure, Myanmar's then-government, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, agreed to repatriate the Rohingyas by the end of that year, formalising the arrangement in a bilateral agreement with Bangladesh in September 2017.

However, repatriation efforts faltered in 2019 due to a lack of trust in Myanmar's assurances, and the process was further disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The situation worsened when Myanmar’s military junta, led by General Min Aung Hlaing, ousted Suu Kyi in February 2021, complicating repatriation efforts.

With civil conflict ongoing in Myanmar and new Rohingya arrivals reported, repatriation talks remain stalled. Despite these challenges, the US government has been gradually resettling Rohingya refugees since December 2022, with about 2,500 already relocated.

Hossain emphasised that while repatriation is currently unfeasible, stability is essential for any future process, and international cooperation will be crucial for resolving the crisis.