As Canada鈥檚 strategy for supporting Rohingya people expires, advocates are calling for a rethink of how Ottawa is trying to limit suffering in refugee camps in Bangladesh, and to rout the military junta overseeing ethnic violence in Myanmar.

鈥淲e cannot turn away from this,鈥� said Bob Rae, Canada鈥檚 ambassador to the United Nations.

In October 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Rae as a special envoy to Myanmar, following brazen violence by Buddhist extremists against their Muslim neighbours, the Rohingya. Human rights groups say the country鈥檚 military killed, raped and burned entire villages.

The crisis has forced nearly one million Rohingya people to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, where they languish in a crowded camp. Rae issued a report on the crisis, which led Canada to launch a strategy in 2018.

Ottawa appointed Rae to the UN in 2020, and Myanmar鈥檚 military led a 2021 coup d鈥櫭﹖at against its fledgling democratic government.

The military junta has overseen increasing ethnic conflict in Myanmar, which Rae called 鈥渕ore calamitous by the hour.鈥�

Across the border in Bangladesh sits the world鈥檚 largest refugee camp in the town of Cox鈥檚 Bazar, which Jason Nickerson, an Ottawa-based Doctors Without Borders representative, visited in February.

鈥淭he camp itself is quite a miserable and also volatile place,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 surrounded by a chain-linked fence and people don鈥檛 have the legal ability to leave and pursue employment.鈥�

There are almost no permanent structures, leading to frequent outbreaks of scabies and communicable diseases. Some have started taking risky journeys to countries like Malaysia, where they end up exploited.

鈥淎 lot of the world moved on, in terms of donor funding and donor interest, and so services are decreasing,鈥� Nickerson said.

鈥淭he conditions in the camp in Bangladesh are objectively and demonstrably worse, when we look at public health indicators and the kinds of medical needs that we鈥檙e seeing in our clinics.鈥�

Nickerson was worried to see no mention in last month鈥檚 federal budget of Rohingya, particularly because Ottawa had launched a second phase of its Rohingya strategy in 2021 that ended March 31 of this year.

鈥淐anada really exerted some leadership and a commitment to the Rohingya people in responding to this major humanitarian emergency over multiple years, and I think it鈥檚 really insufficient to just leave it hanging,鈥� he said.

Global Affairs Canada would not say whether a third phase was in the works, though Rae said 鈥渢here will definitely be a next phase, there鈥檚 no question. The work is ongoing.鈥�

The conflict has largely faded from the news cycle, eclipsed by crises elsewhere. But Rae insists it鈥檚 a frequent topic at UN headquarters, where he leads a multi-nation working group on Myanmar.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a matter of everybody figuring out what can be done about it, and that鈥檚 where I think our collective efforts are still falling short.鈥�

He said Canada has a 鈥渟ubstantial and multi-dimensional鈥� response to the crisis, such as joining the Netherlands in looking at accountability through international courts for the military junta.

Myanmar is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member bloc that Rae says has tried hard to diplomatically engage with the regime but hasn鈥檛 been able to nudge it away from violence.

Meanwhile, autocracies have boosted their support for the military junta.

鈥淭he junta has the de facto support of the government of China, and the very active military support of the government of Russia,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat polarization of support has become even clearer.鈥�

Rae said countries like Canada need to do anything possible to establish a democratic government through elections in Myanmar. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the only way that we鈥檙e going to get a process of repatriation of the Rohingya to take place.鈥�

He noted general humanitarian monies in this spring鈥檚 budget and the Indo-Pacific strategy can foster efforts for Rohingya people, on top of the $600 million that Canada has provided in response to the Rohingya crisis since 2017.

Jaivet Ealom, head of the Rohingya Centre of Canada, said he appreciates Ottawa鈥檚 diplomatic efforts toward accountability. But he says Canada could do much more to help those stuck in the camp.

鈥淐anada is not using all the tools it has under its sleeves,鈥� said Ealom, who fled Myanmar in 2013.

Rae had called for a senior civil servant to co-ordinate responses from all federal departments and report publicly, which Ealom laments never happened.

He said Canada has largely been writing cheques to large, multilateral organizations, who he says are often slow to respond and have difficulty getting unrestricted access to Rohingya in the camp. He said that鈥檚 an issue because Bangladeshi officials oversee some of the delivery of aid, and so Rohingya are unlikely to point out problems with the camp in front of people from Bangladeshi organizations.

Ealom says Canada should better consult the Rohingya diaspora and link up with their contacts on the ground, including people who run their own projects in the camp that would benefit from foreign funds.

He said Rohingya welcome Canadian-funded projects to provide early-childhood education, but there is little to help young adults attain academic credentials that would help them pursue higher education. Ealom said the absence of opportunities or prospects of being resettled abroad are contributing to a problem of Rohingya youth in the camp joining armed gangs.

鈥淭his is happening because there is no hope at the end of the tunnel,鈥� he said, arguing Canada should reassess its strategy based on what鈥檚 actually working.

Rae said Canada has struggled to go beyond reactive humanitarian funding into development work that can empower Rohingya.

鈥淚t continues to be challenging to engage with the government of Bangladesh,鈥� Rae said. 鈥淲e simply haven鈥檛 seen that evolution at a pace that we think would make sense, and that involves some difficult conversations with the Bangladeshis and with others.鈥�

Rae said Bangladesh has restricted Rohingya people from operating basic food carts in the camp and from leaving the camp for work.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to end up having people with nothing but time on their hands,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 mean, this is not that complicated.鈥�

Bangladesh鈥檚 high commission in Ottawa provided a lengthy statement, noting it鈥檚 the largest funder for Rohingya refugees, including for primary education. The mission noted that the sudden onslaught of Rohingya people working illegally has hurt the local economy and driven down wages.

鈥淩ohingya are engaged in skill-development activities within the camps, designed to facilitate their reintegration into their ancestral society upon voluntary return,鈥� reads part of the statement.

鈥淗owever, the prospect of allowing Rohingya to study in the national curriculum of Bangladesh or to participate in broader economic activities outside the camps in Cox鈥檚 Bazar will adversely impact the local host community.鈥�

Nickerson said Bangladesh hasn鈥檛 been adequately supported by global governments in looking after refugees or finding a durable solution to the crisis, which is morphing into 鈥渁 larger and more complex emergency.鈥�

READ ALSO:

Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press