Guwahati, 11th September: Rohingya and Chin refugees from Myanmar, housed in Assam’s Goalpara transit camp, have initiated a hunger strike protesting their prolonged detention. The strike began on Monday evening, with the protesters demanding that they be handed over to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in New Delhi and eventually resettled in a third country.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Ajay Tewary stated that senior officials, including the inspector general of prisons and the home secretary, have been dispatched to the camp to negotiate with the detainees. He expressed optimism that the issue would soon be resolved. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been informed of the ongoing situation.
The camp currently holds 103 refugees, including women and children, all of whom entered India illegally. Although 40 of these refugees possess UNHCR-issued refugee cards, they remain detained at the facility, according to a Rohingya human rights activist. Sabber Kyaw Min, Director of the Rohingya Human Rights Initiative, appealed for advocacy on their behalf, urging authorities to allow them to live with dignity.
The Goalpara detention center, which became operational in January 2023, is the largest such facility in India. Despite India’s strict adherence to prison manual provisions, the refugees’ demands for UNHCR intervention and resettlement highlight the ongoing challenges for those seeking refuge in the country, which is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol.