Over 5 lakh Rohingya refugees get identity cards in Bangladesh

More than 5 lakh Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh have been issued identity documents by the UNHCR. 

In a statement issued yesterday, the UNHCR said the bio-metric, fraud-proof cards are being issued jointly by Bangladeshi authorities and UNHCR to all verified refugees over the age of 12. These cards will help in establishing and safeguarding the right of Rohingya refugees to return to their homes in Myanmar.

The current registration exercise began in June 2018 and it is scheduled to be completed during the last quarter of the current



year.

UNHCR’s Bio-metric Identity Management System (BIMS) captures bio-metric data, including fingerprints and iris scans, which secure each refugee’s unique identity as well as other important information such as family links.

According to UNHCR, Bangladesh has more than 9 lakh Rohingya refugees out of which close to 7 lakh 50 thousand refugees arrived after August 2017 fleeing Rakhine province of Myanmar amid violence and military crackdown. Bangladesh claims to have 11 lakh Rohingya refugees in the country.