Joint Working Group meets Thursday in Dhaka

The second meeting of the Joint Working Group (JWG), responsible for overseeing the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar, meets this Thursday in Dhaka.

The first meeting of the JWG was held in Myanmar on January 15 when the two countries finalised an agreement on the “physical arrangement” to begin the repatriation of over 800,000 Rohingyas who were forcibly displaced from Rakhine State of Myanmar.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque and his Myanmar counterpart Permanent Secretary at Myanmar Foreign Ministry Myint Thu will lead their respective delegations consisting of 15 high officials on each side.

On November 2017, the two countries signed a deal to start the repatriation process within two months. But so far, the Myanmar authorities verified only 878 names out of 8,032 names of Rohingya refugees mentioned in a list that was handed over by the Bangladesh government on February 19, said Diplomatic sources.

The extremely slow verification process and inadequate preparations for the resettlement arrangement by the Myanmar authorities are making experts sceptic about the success of the JWG meeting.  

Dhaka will raise those concerns at the Dhaka meet of the JWG to ensure safe, dignified and voluntary return of the refugees to their homeland, the sources added.