Amnesty International is deeply concerned about reports that the Bangladesh Government is planning to return over 30,000 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar where it believes many of them risk serious human rights violations. The Rohingyas are a Muslim minority from Arakan (Rakhine) State. They are apparently fleeing because of violations inflicted by the Myanmar armed forces who have reportedly forcibly evicted Rohingyas from their homes, arbitrarily detained and in some cases tortured or killed them. The governments of the two countries are believed to have signed an agreement allowing the return of the Rohingyas which reportedly makes no provision for the involvement of bodies such as UNHCR. UNHCR’s request for access to the refugees has not been granted.
