The government has constituted a new framework for the Non-Government Organisations (NGO) active at different Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar so that any NGO could not run other activities than the humanitarian ones. The new framework also has imposed restriction on the recruitment of Rohingya people as the official or employee for any NGO and distribution of cash money to Rohingya people.
KM Abdus Salam, Director General of the NGO Affairs Bureau, said, “This framework has been constituted for better management of the NGO activities at the refugee camps.” “This initiative has been taken so that none can run other than humanitarian activities”, said the NGO Affairs Bureau. According to sources, the measures have been taken to prevent human trafficking from Rohingya camps with the help of any NGO and to stop fleeing of refugees from the camps, said sources.
Sources at the NGO Affairs Bureau said, the initiatives of the government also aimed at strengthening surveillance so that criminals and terrorists could not be organised anyhow at the refugee camps and none could materialise any kind of ill motive under the banner of any NGO there. According to sources, as per the initiatives, the NGO Affairs Bureau this week held a meeting in this regard and prepared 16 directives for the NGOs active at different Rohingya camps.
The meeting sources said, a large number of national and international NGOs are active at 11 Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar for relief distribution and other purposes. Earlier, there had been a framework with six directives for the NGOs. The framework, which had been constituted on March 6 last year is no more enough for the regularisation of the NGO activities and that is why, the NGO Affairs Bureau constituted the new framework.
As per the directives of the new framework, except the NGOs related to medical and emergency services, no official or employee of any NGO will be allowed to stay or run activities at the camps after evening. Activities of the NGOs will have to be kept limited within humanitarian activities. Official or employee of any agency or project must not be involved in the activities against the state, government and the Rohingya repatriation process.
Each of the NGOs must have to report to the Cox’s Bazar Deputy Commissioner about all of its relief and other materials. All the activities must have be implemented as per the directives of the DC. All the NGOs must have to submit the lists of their employees and activists to the DC with their details. None other than included into the list would be allowed to work at the refugee camps. All the employees and activists of the NGOs must have to carry their identity cards openly. All the NGOs must have to submit their audit reports to the NGO Affairs Bureau within 30 days of the audit. Project proposals must have to be submitted as per the demand notice from the Cox’s Bazar DC and the Commissioner of Refugee, Relief and Repatriation in Cox’s Bazar.
Bangladeshi nationals must have to be given the priorities in the recruitment of any official or employee for any NGO. No Rohingya people will be allowed to be appointed as the official or employee for any NGO and no project could be taken for the distribution of cash money to the Rohingyas. Punitive measures will be taken if any NGO recruits any Rohingya or takes any project of distributing cash money to Rohingya people.
It should be mentioned that around 11 million Rohingya people, who are forcibly displaced from their homeland Rakhine in Myanmar, are sheltered at different refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. But, a large number of Rohingya people are getting involved in various criminal activities while many NGOs are also found involved in various illicit activities. The government so far imposed ban on the activities of a total of 41 NGOs at the Rohingya camps.
