Bangladesh Red Crescent Society
Population Movement Operation (PMO), Cox’s Bazar
Quarterly Situation Report No. 65, 1 October – 31 December 2020
In the first week of December 2020, the Government of Bangladesh relocated 500 families displaced from Rakhine
and living in the congested camp settlement in Cox’s Bazar to Bhasan Char island1. The relocation was part of the
government’s aim to relocate approximately 100,000 people from the camps to address overcrowding in the
settlement, to reduce risks from disasters, and to address the deteriorating security situation in Cox’s Bazar. The
government has announced that the relocations have been conducted in accordance with the principle of
voluntariness and were conducted transparently.2 Shortly after this first batch of relocations, the Bangladesh Red
Crescent Society (BDRCS) undertook a mission to the island to review the situation there and to provide relief items
to the recently relocated families comprising 1,642 people. The second batch of relocations involving 1,804 people,
took place towards the end of December.3 IFRC, along with the UN and other humanitarian actors, continues to
advocate to the Government for the necessity of an independent technical assessment of conditions on the island.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent position is clear and in line with that of the international humanitarian community: