Not a single Rohingya taken back

Myanmar has taken back not a single of its forcibly displaced Rohingyas nationals about six months after signing agreement with Bangladesh for their repatriation to Rakhine. 
So far, that also three months ago, the Myanmar government cleared only 878 Rohingyas, in seven phases, out of a list of 8,032 persons handed over by Bangladesh authorities.
Bangladesh and Myanmar would, however, hold a meeting of the joint working group of the two countries on Thursday to asses and expedite preparations of the repatriation of Rohingya people, officials said.
The meeting would take place amid slow pace of the Myanmar government in taking preparations and agreeing to accept Rohingyas from the first list handed over by the Bangladesh authorities on February 16. 
Foreign secretary M Shahidul Haque and Myanmar foreign ministry’s permanent secretary Myint Thu would lead respective sides in the 30-member foreign secretary-level group, 15 officials from each country. 
Haque said on Saturday that the Bangladesh government completed preparations for facilitating return of Rohingyas to Rakhine State of Myanmar. 
About 7,00,000 Rohingyas, mostly women, children and aged people, entered Bangladesh fleeing unbridled murder, arson and rape during ‘security operations’ by Myanmar military in Rakhine, what the United Nations and global rights groups denounced as ethnic cleansing and genocide, since August 25, 2017.
The ongoing Rohingya influx took the number of undocumented Myanmar nationals and registered refugees in Bangladesh to over 11,00,000, according to estimates by UN agencies and Bangladesh foreign ministry.
The two governments signed three instruments since November 23, 2017, for return of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals sheltered in Bangladesh after October 2016, as the Rohingya exodus from Rakhine State continued.
The government also signed a memorandum of understanding with the UNHCR to ensure voluntariness of the returnees and safe and dignified return to Rakhine.
The Myanmar government was also slow in engaging the UN bodies in general, the UNHCR in particular, for facilitating repatriation of Rohingyas to their home, officials said. 
The UNHCR authorities provided with a draft of an agreement likely to be signed with the Myanmar, according to UNHCR officials, with lukewarm response from the Myanmar authorities. 
International Criminal Court on May 7 requested Bangladesh to provide it with observations and evidences for deciding if the court had jurisdiction over Myanmar to open an investigation into the expulsion of minority Rohingyas from the country.
A pre-trial chamber of the Hague-based court comprising judge Péter Kovács, judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut and judge Reine Adélaïde Sophie Alapini-Gansou issued an order on May 7 asking the registrar of the court to notify the Bangladesh authorities, seeking observation and evidence on the matter.
The members of the UN Security Council has urged the government of Myanmar, based on respect for the rule of law, to fulfill its stated commitment to holding accountable perpetrators of violence, including sexual violence and abuse and violence against children.
The UNSC made the call in light of the importance of undertaking transparent investigations into allegations of human rights abuses and violations.
Members of the Security Council urged the Government of Myanmar to step up its efforts to create conditions conducive to the safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes in Rakhine State.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net