people to find solutions to their displacement in the short, medium and long term. Three elements would be needed to take this forward: • • • Building political will among the Bangladeshi authorities and international donors to engage the Rohingya in the ways suggested above, and to finance capacity-building assistance. The election of camp-level representatives can play a positive role in improving representation, but such efforts must be combined with training of camp leaders in the principles and practices of community representation; supporting refugees and their representatives with legal training so they understand Rohingya rights and national legal frameworks; efforts to elevate the leadership role played by women; and steps to reduce the risks faced by women in leadership roles through complementary efforts to encourage communities to accept women’s roles in community leadership. Providing support to the Rohingya to develop community groups and leadership structures that are more representative and legitimate. This would require donors becoming less risk-averse in their engagement with the Rohingya population, as well as recognising the difficulties that might arise through non-engagement with groups considered more politically risky. Engagement with civil society groups could have positive long-term effects on the future of the Rohingya population in Myanmar – as well as a medium-term impact on their lives in displacement. Recommendation 5: Adopt strategies to contribute to the self-reliance of refugees The Government of Bangladesh and donors must prioritise the removal of barriers to education and livelihoods, and the provision of multi-year funding for these sectors, in order to reduce refugees’ dependence on aid and their vulnerability to exploitation and negative coping strategies. • Livelihoods: recognising the likely duration of Rohingya displacement, multi-year funding should prioritise cash programming and longer-term livelihood and vocational training for refugees, including opportunities for women. Critically, livelihoods actions must also seek to play a gender-transformative role by addressing the risks of gender-based violence faced by women seeking work, and address laws, policies and social norms that reinforce and exacerbate gender inequalities and limit women’s economic empowerment. • Education: provision of education for child refugees is critical to avoid a ‘lost generation’ unable to meet their own needs. Priority must be placed on securing government agreement on the official language for refugee education, the Learning Competency Framework and Approach, and, with multi-year donor funding, expanding investment in teacher training and the provision of formal inclusive primary and secondary education and technical and vocational education and training. Recommendation 6: Focus international dialogue on the priorities articulated by refugees Refugees were clear about what would make the most difference to their lives in the medium term and improve their futures. Actors involved in discussing a mediumterm solution to the refugee situation in Bangladesh, including with the government, should focus their efforts on improving access to quality education for Rohingya children, improving living conditions and shelter and supporting the right to work, including the right to own a business outside or within the home, and the right to freedom of movement. • • Relevant stakeholders, including the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and refugee-focused NGOs, could play a larger role in ensuring that refugee voices are represented in high-level political and policy discussions in ways that are not tokenistic or a misrepresentation through diaspora or community groups that may or may not reflect the perspectives of refugees. This may be through committing to supporting the recommendations outlined above. The same stakeholders should identify opportunities for Rohingya to present these issues and concerns directly to relevant policy-makers. Recommendation 7: Develop, fund and deliver a medium-term development plan for Cox’s Bazar that addresses priority needs as articulated by refugee and host populations In the longer term, continued efforts are needed to agree an ambitious longer-term commitment to a local development plan for Cox’s Bazar. This will require coordinated multi-year donor and private sector funding for local community and infrastructural investments and the identification of policy reforms (such as the right to work and freedom of movement) that can contribute to mitigating the impact of refugee hosting, support refugees in contributing to local growth and development and increase social cohesion between affected communities. Humanitarian Policy Group 3