Capturing biometric data helps UN agencies and other groups avoid the risk of fraud and increase efficiency. But the practice is complicated and has created security risks for vulnerable groups.
Tazreena Sajjad, American University School of International Service
The international response to the refugee crisis in Ukraine has been impressive. But humanitarian aid is falling short to help refugees in other countries such as Bangladesh, Yemen and Ethiopia.
Even once the war in Ukraine ends, the millions of people who fled from their homes might not be quick to return. The faster the war ends, the more likely it is they will go back.
Gemma Ware, The Conversation and Daniel Merino, The Conversation
A transcript of episode 9 of The Conversation Weekly podcast, including an update on the situation for Rohingya refugees in Myanmar living in camps in Bangladesh.
The constitutional change needed to further democratise Myanmar is impossible without the military’s consent, so achieving major political transformation through the election alone seems unlikely.
COVID-19 is spreading quickly in Bangladesh. An outbreak in the refugee camps that house some 1 million Rohingya Muslims in cramped, unsanitary quarters would be calamitous.
The International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to protect its Rohingya minority and preserve any evidence relevant to the genocide charges against it. But compliance is not guaranteed.
Dozens of Muslim-majority countries are asking the UN’s International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute a 2017 massacre in Myanmar that killed an estimated 10,000 Rohingya Muslims.
The current repatriation deal signed by Myanmar and Bangladesh fails to guarantee the safety and citizenship of the Rohingya people or address issues of justice for crimes perpetrated against them.