Quick Take | How China’s three-step approach can help solve the Rohingya crisis

Beijing’s blueprint presents an opportunity for Myanmar and the international community to address the root causes of a crisis that has displaced 620,000 people

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A Rohingya refugee child gets a haircut in the Palong Khali refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo: Reuters

Published: 8:15am, 25 Nov 2017Updated: 8:15am, 25 Nov 2017

I was in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, two weeks ago, speaking with some of the 620,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled there from Rakhine state, Myanmar, since August.

Not since Rwanda in 1994 have so many refugees fled in such haste, bearing the scars of recent violence but also of years of discrimination and ostracism.

They speak of all manner of anguish, none more disheartening than the feeling that the world has forgotten about them or, worse, does not care.

We hope that is at last changing. In the past week, several of the world’s major powers have spoken out forcefully about the Rohingya and the need for a sustainable solution to this crisis. Several countries, as well as the United Nations, have suggested that elements of any solution must include an end to violence – and with it, the restoration of humanitarian access – the right of refugees to return, and the inclusive development of Rakhine state. These are all reflected in a three-stage proposal made this week by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, after shuttling between Dhaka and Naypyidaw.

Some elements are already underway: on Thursday, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an “Arrangement on Return of Displaced Persons from Rakhine State”.

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Now the hard part begins. As the agency mandated by the member states of the United Nations to protect refugees and find solutions for them, UNHCR has been involved in every voluntary repatriation of refugees since 1950, and we know how challenging it is to arrange and sustain the return of refugees to places where they were once persecuted. Refugees should return home in safety and dignity, with access to civil documentation and freedom of movement, as well as land rights and access to livelihoods, to ensure the return is sustainable.