US embassy cable - 05DHAKA86

C O N F I D E N T I A L DHAKA 000086 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/05/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREF, BG 
SUBJECT: NGO CONCERN PLANS TO WITHDRAW FROM ROHINGYA 
 
REFUGEE CAMPS DUE TO BDG PRESSURE 
 
Classified By: POLCOUN D.C. McCullough, reasons: 1.5 (b), (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Citing harassment from the BDG NGO Affairs 
Bureau, NGO Concern has decided to withdraw from Rohingya 
refugee camps. UNHCR says they plan on taking over Concern's 
programs until they find a permanent replacement. END SUMMARY 
 
2. (SBU) On January 4, Concern Country Director Columba 
O'Dowd met with Poloffs to discuss her NGO's plans to 
withdraw from the Rohingya Refugee Camps.  Concern, the only 
international NGO at the Rohingya camps, provides sanitation, 
education, and procurement services to the Rohyingyan 
refugees. Other services in the camps are provided through 
the BDG's Ministry of Disaster and Food Management and 
Ministry of Health. 
 
3. (C) O'Dowd stated that on December 24 the BDG's NGO 
Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) alleged in writing to Concern that a 
Concern employee was involved in "anti-Rohingyan refugee 
repatriation" work. When Concern requested further 
information on the allegation, she said, the NGOAB gave 
O'Dowd an angry and verbally abusive phone call while 
refusing to state the nature of the anti-repatriation 
allegation. Citing the consistent NGOAB history of pressuring 
her staff at the camps, UNHCR's failures to intervene on 
their behalf, and citing her own concern for her staff's 
security O'Dowd stated that she had decided to withdraw 
Concern from the Rohingya Camps. 
 
4. (C) On January 5 Poloff met with UNHCR Deputy 
Representative Mulusew Mamo to discuss the situation. Mamo 
told us that UNHCR representative Christopher Lee had offered 
to contest the NGOAB's allegation with the BDG, but O'Dowd 
declined. Mamo said UNHCR will begin looking for another 
international NGO to implement the educational programs once 
Concern leaves.  BDG complaints about "anti-repatriation 
work" are common, Mamo added, because offering services such 
as health or education are seen as deterring repatriation. 
Such griping, he indicated, falls short of constituting a 
genuine threat. 
 
5. (C) Comment: Frustration, coordination problems, and 
differing opinions between Concern and UNHCR over education 
programs, rather than merely security, seem to be driving 
Concern's decision to withdraw. END COMMENT. 
THOMAS