University College London (UCL) – Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction and Humanitarian Institute – was successful in being awarded a project, “The Rohingya Exodus: Issues and Implications for Stability, Security and Peace in South Asia”. The project is funded by the British Academy (£50,000) under its ‘The Humanities and Social Sciences Tackling the UK’s International Challenges Programme 2017’.

Download the final project report

The Challenge of the Research

Given the recent Rohingya exodus to Bangladesh, this research aims to study the overall implications of this exodus for regional stability, security and peace. In so doing, this research also intends to understand causes and drivers of identity-based politics associated to Rohingya population in Myanmar. This study, which employs a mixed method approach including a survey, a number of key informant interviews and several short case studies of persecution, also wants to understand complex issues of management of large exodus of refugees in Bangladesh and how best to address them in the longer-term. This project intends to produce a policy brief, two peer-reviewed journal articles and to contribute to policy making related to management of the Rohingya refugee crisis at local, regional and international levels with a view to help in their repatriation process.

Project Aim

This proposal will address the various humanitarian aspects of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh who have a longstanding history of being systematically oppressed and of facing violence, and are subject to forced displacement and ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar government.

Hypothesis

In the long run, it is possible to effectively repatriate and rehabilitate the Rohingya refugees in Myanmar considering the present geopolitical context in South Asia.

Objectives

  1. To understand and examine the changing nature and status of citizenship of Rohingya people in Myanmar over time.
  2. To examine the humanitarian implications of the Rohingya exodus in Bangladesh.
  3. To project the future trajectory of current Rohingya crisis in relation to their human rights and repatriation to Myanmar, and significant impacts on the geopolitics of the region.

Project Partners:

  • Professor ASM Maksud Kamal, Department of Disaster Science and Management, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
  • Health Management BD Foundation, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

British Academy News Link: https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/british-academy-announces-successful-applicants-its-humanities-and-social-sciences-tackling-uks

External Project Link: http://www.hkhresilience.com/rohingya/