United Nations: The UN is “very concerned” over India sending back Rohingya refugees to Myanmar without the world body’s refugee agency ascertaining if they are voluntarily returning, according to an official here. “Whenever any family is returned, we want to make sure that the nature of their return was voluntary and UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) was not able to assess the voluntary nature of that return. So we are very concerned about this,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq on Friday.
The UN maintains that conditions are not safe for the Rohingyas to return home. Asked if Guterres would intervene and talk to Indian leaders about it, Haq indicated that there were no immediate plans for him to get involved. “There are movements on the ground about which they (UNHCR) are concerned, but they are in charge of this particular file and we will see how it goes with their efforts,” Haq said. A Rohingya family of five — parents and three children — was sent back to Myanmar on Thursday.
The Indian authorities said that the family had entered the country illegally in 2014, or in 2013, according to the UNHCR. They had been detained by India since then. The UNHCR said in a statement from Geneva that it regretted India’s decision to repatriate the Rohingyas to Myanmar and said it “continues to request access and seek clarification on the circumstances under which the return has taken place”. (IANS)