ISAS Working Papers

Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a new repatriation agreement on 15 January 2018. The agreement will see a total of 646,072 refugees sent back to Rakhine over a two-year period. The process of repatriating the first batch of Rohingya refugees was slated to start on 23 January but it has been delayed due to administrative issues. The Rohingya crisis has morphed into a vicious cycle of violence, displacement and repatriation. This paper argues that returning the refugees to the restive state at this given time undermines the principle of non-refoulement. Myanmar is nowhere near ready to take in the refugees. Furthermore, there are major flaws in the repatriation agreement. The parties to the contract may consider revising the agreement by incorporating recommendations by the Final Report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State to better cater to the needs of those displaced.