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The United States has announced that it will continue its efforts to support the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar through humanitarian aid and diplomacy.
An American delegation on Sunday visited a camp hosting Rohingya refugees in the Cox & Bazar region of Bangladesh, where it met with refugees and local officials.
More than 700,000 Rohingyas settled in Bangladesh, escaping the major crackdown by the Myanmar army last year.
US officials said the situation in areas where Rohingya refugees would be resettled in Myanmar would not be conducive to a safe return.
"Currently, the conditions on the ground in potential return areas are not sufficient to support a sustainable return of the population," said Richard Albright, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, who headed the US delegation.
WATCH: US delegation visits Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh
Albright said that the United States was in talks with the Myanmar authorities to facilitate the return of Rohingya refugees to their country of origin.
"We have constantly been discussing with the Myanmar government the need for humanitarian access so that they can reach communities in need. We asked them to make progress in establishing a transparent and effective process for Rohingya nationality claims, "he said.
Prior to his visit to Bangladesh, Mr. Albright had also visited parts of Myanmar, including Rakhine State, where the majority of Rohingya Muslims lived.
"These visits are part of regular US Embassy trips to review our humanitarian assistance programs across the country and to better understand the conditions on the ground," said the Myanmar Embassy in New York. a statement last week.
US aid agencies provide humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and support development programs in Myanmar.
Myanmar officials said more than 5,000 refugees in Bangladesh had been confirmed to return home this week.
Analysts were skeptical about the safe return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
"Although the Myanmar authorities have announced that they are ready to welcome several thousand Rohingya refugees, it is unclear whether the refugees themselves feel safe enough to return home," Vikram Nehru told VOA. , expert from Southeast Asia at John Hopkins University.
Nehru added that "international surveillance to ensure the safety of refugees after their return" should be a precondition for the return of refugees.
The Rohingyas live in fear after hearing that authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar are planning to repatriate thousands of refugees to Myanmar as part of an agreement reached last month. The official statement is due to begin this month.
Some Rohingya, fearing persecution upon their return, said they would consider committing suicide for not being sent back to Rakhine State, where the Myanmar army is accused of carrying out a genocide campaign against the minority group.
"If we go home, they can kill us, they can torture us, we've lost everything once," said a man from Jamtoli camp, speaking on condition of anonymity. to whom camp officials stated that he was with his family. on the list.
Bangladeshi Commissioner for Refugee Relief and Reintegration, Abul Kalam, told Human Rights Watch that the Rohingyas on the list "were not chosen because they particularly wanted to return home" .
The UN's special rapporteur on human rights for Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, has called on both countries to cancel the people's plan of return this month, warning the Rohingya of a "risk" high persecution "they were fired.
The plan may also "violate the obligations of customary international law to respect the principle of non-refoulement", she added.
Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist, told VOA that Bangladesh should not send anyone for the moment. Forcing survivors and refugees to return to the scene of the killings where genocide is still ongoing is a complicity in genocide.
The Myanmar government and its armed forces have been criticized by the international community for their handling of the Rohingya crisis.
Various international rights groups have also criticized the country's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to prevent violence against the Rohingya.
On Monday, Amnesty International deprived Aung San Suu Kyi of her great honor for failing to criticize or stop the violence against her country's Rohingya population.
During her detention, Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. In 2009, Amnesty awarded her highest honor as Ambassador of Conscience.
But since she became the de facto civilian leader of Myanmar in 2016, she and her administration have been criticized around the world for their inability to condemn or attempt to stop the atrocities perpetrated by the military against the Rohingya.
Victor Beatie and Joshua Carroll of VOA contributed to this report.
