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UNHCR has clear policies to safeguard Rohingya data: Agency on HRW report

Staff Correspondent
16 Jun 2021 13:30:55 | Update: 16 Jun 2021 15:19:58
UNHCR has clear policies to safeguard Rohingya data: Agency on HRW report

The UNHCR issued a statement on Tuesday responding to a report by Human Rights Watch claiming the United Nations refugee agency improperly collected and shared personal information from Rohingya refugees with Bangladesh, which shared it with Myanmar to verify people for possible repatriation.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it has clear policies in place to ensure the safeguarding of the data we collect when registering refugees all over the world, which were also followed during the collection and sharing of Rohingya data.

The statement reads, "Registering refugees is critical to ensuring they each have access to the assistance and protection they need. It allows for the early identification of those with specific needs or vulnerabilities and their referral to the appropriate services and support. Registration also helps keep families together or reunite them if they have been separated. This is particularly crucial when dealing with large numbers of displaced people, as is the case in Bangladesh, which is generously hosting some 880,000 Rohingya refugees."

The agency said specific measures were taken to mitigate potential risks when UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh signed their Memorandum of Understanding on data sharing in January 2018 and organised their joint registration exercise of Rohingya refugees.

These measures included steps to protect the personal data processed against accidental or unauthorised destruction, accidental loss, unauthorised access, use, alteration, or dissemination, and against all other unauthorised forms of processing.

"During the registration of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh conducted jointly by UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh, each refugee family was informed of the purpose of the joint registration, which was primarily aimed at providing protection, documentation, and assistance to Rohingya refugees. All were asked to consent to their data being shared with partners on the ground for the purpose of receiving assistance," the statement said.

"In addition, and separately, the exercise was used to establish Rohingya refugees’ former residence in Myanmar and right to return. For this purpose, refugees were separately and expressly asked whether they gave their consent to have their data shared with the Government of Myanmar by the Government of Bangladesh."

UNHCR said individual counselling in their languages was carried out throughout the registration exercise to ensure that the refugees fully understood the purpose of the exercise, and to assist them to make an informed decision, by responding to their questions and concerns. It was made clear to refugees that the two processes were not linked to each other, that refugees were free to refuse data-sharing and that those who refused would still access the same assistance and entitlements as all others. Each family’s consent was confirmed at least twice and consent signatures were only obtained following this double-confirmation.

The UN agency also said to have had organised widespread counselling and information campaign prior to the registration in Bangladesh to explain the exercise and inform refugees that they would all be able to access the same services and entitlements, regardless of their consent to share their data with the Government of Myanmar.

A Rohingya refugee from Myanmar is registered by a UNHCR staff member at a refugee site in northern Aceh province, Indonesia. — UNHCR Photo

"The refugee families who did not consent to share their data with the Government of Myanmar were still registered and able to access the same services and entitlements," it added.

For repatriations to take place, a distinct procedure is needed to ensure that refugees are able to make an informed decision and that conditions on the ground are conducive to safe and sustainable return, UNHCR further said, noting that many refugees expressed their aspiration to return to Myanmar. In that case, the refugee agency assured to assist voluntary, safe and sustainable refugee returns.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) claimed in a report on Tuesday that the UN agency did not conduct a full data impact assessment, as its policies require, and in some cases failed to obtain refugees’ informed consent to share their data with Myanmar, the country they had fled.

Since 2018 the UNHCR has registered hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps and the Bangladesh government has issued them identity cards, which are needed for essential aid and services.

Bangladesh then used the information, including analogue photographs, thumbprint images, and other biographic data to submit refugee details to the Myanmar government for possible repatriation, the HRW report reads.

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