SC Asks Centre To File Report On Conditions In Rohingya Camps
The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to file a "comprehensive status report" giving details of conditions in Rohingya refugee camps in various states in India.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today directed the Central government to file a "comprehensive status report" giving details of conditions in Rohingya refugee camps in various states in India.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the submission of senior advocate Colin Gonsalves that conditions at the camps are unhygienic and "filthiest to say the least".
The senior lawyer, appearing for the petitioner Zaffar Ullah, said the Centre and states like Haryana, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir should be asked to provide better hygienic facilities at these camps.
The plea alleged that poor and unhygienic conditions at these camps have led to several deaths recently.
The Rohingyas, who fled to India after violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, are settled in Jammu, Hyderabad, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR and Rajasthan.
It is probable that Indian government's lack of willingness to creating a comprehensive shelter plan for Rohingyas stems from its want to send the Rohingyas back to Myanmar as soon as possible. However, the issue at hand is that the Burmese do not consider the Rohingyas as their citizens and consider them to be immigrants who were brought in from Bangladesh during the British colonial rule and hence the repatriation will be a long drawn out affair.
According to Article 51(c) of India's Constitution, a Directive Principle of State Policy, enjoins the state to foster respect for International law. Deportation of vulnerable populations like the Rohingya is against the widely recognized principle of non-refoulement (i.e. expel or return a refugee if his life or freedom is threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, social grouping or political opinion). India has ratified, or is a signatory to, several Conventions affirming the 'Principle of Non-Refoulement'.
This means that while the Central government argues against providing refuge to Rohingyas, calling them 'a security threat' to the country, the fact that they are already here has to be dealt with on a more pragmatic basis.
Almost a million Rohingyas have fled their home state of Rakhine, Myanmar and taken refuge in Bangladesh, India and Thailand following a series of violent attacks against them by Buddhist villagers and Myanmar's army.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 19, 2018 12:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).