I. Human Rights Violations and National Verification Cards Refugee Returns and the NVC Process On July 27 and 28, 2019, a delegation of Myanmar and officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—an intergovernmental organization aimed at promoting economic growth and regional stability within Southeast Asia—visited the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh to speak to refugees about potential returns to Myanmar.108 The delegation distributed information pamphlets about NVCs to Rohingya refugees.109 A Rohingya woman who attended the meetings told Fortify Rights that the Myanmar delegation said, “refugees had to accept the NVC upon return.”110 She told Fortify Rights, “I told [the Myanmar delegation] in the meeting that we don’t want the NVCs. All we want is to be Myanmar citizens. I told them we should receive citizen cards, not NVCs.”111 Since 2017, Myanmar and Bangladesh announced several times that they would begin processes to return Rohingya refugees currently in Bangladesh to northern Rakhine State, with the NVC process envisioned as a major component of the plan.112 The Bangladesh authorities’ previous attempts to return Rohingya refugees in November 2018 involved coercive practices, including Bangladesh authorities assaulting and threatening Rohingya refugee leaders and giving to the Myanmar authorities the biographical details of Rohingya refugees on a “repatriation list” without the consent of those named on the list.113 108 ASEAN members include official representatives from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam, Viet Name, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, and Cambodia. Association of Southeast Asian Nations, “About ASEAN,” website, https://asean.org/asean/about-asean/. Fortify Rights interview with H.A., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, July 30, 2019. See also, Joshua Carroll, “Rohingya Activists Slam ASEAN’s Call for Dialogue with Myanmar,” Al Jazeera, August 3, 2019, https://www. aljazeera.com/news/2019/08/rohingya-activists-slam-asean-call-dialogue-myanmar-190802134052481. html (accessed August 23, 2019); Ibrahim, “Myanmar Wants to Track Rohingya, Not Help Them,” Foreign Policy; “Rohingya Suspicious as Myanmar Touts Repatriation Plan,” Al Jazeera, July 30, 2019, https://www. aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/breakthrough-rohingya-cautiously-repatriation-bid-190729142159991.html (accessed August 23, 2019). 109 The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, “Benefits of Taking the National Verification Card,” pamphlet on file with Fortify Rights. 110 Fortify Rights interview with H.E., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, July 27, 2019. 111 Ibid. 112 The governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh have devised at least four “repatriation” agreements since 2017: 1) two agreements between the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh; 2) one agreement between UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh; and 3) one agreement between the UNHCR, the U.N. Development Programme (UNDP), and the Government of Myanmar. See, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Ministry of the Office of the State Counsellor, “Arrangement on Return of Displaced Persons from Rakhine State Between the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar,” November 23, 2017, http://www.theindependentbd.com/assets/ images/banner/linked_file/20171125094240.pdf (accessed August 23, 2019); Government of Bangladesh, “Physical Arrangement for Rohingya Return Finalized,” 16 January 16, 2018; UNHCR, “Bangladesh and UNHCR agree on Voluntary Returns Framework for When Refugees Decide Conditions are Right,” April 13,2018; The Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population of the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, UNDP, and UNHCR, “Memorandum of Understanding,” May 3, 2018, https:// progressivevoicemyanmar.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/382854287-The-MOU-between-MyanmarGovernment-and-UNDP-and-UNHCR.pdf (accessed August 23, 2019). 113 Fortify Rights interview with Z.H., A.K., and B.B., Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh, 2018. See also, Fortify Rights, “Bangladesh: Protect Rohingya Refugees, End Threats and Intimidation,” November 12, 2018, https://www.fortifyrights.org/publication-20181112.html (accessed August 23, 2019); Joshua Carroll, “Violence Stalks UN’s Identity Card Scheme in Rohingya Camps,” Al Jazeera, November 23, 2018, https://www. aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/violence-stalks-identity-card-scheme-rohingya-camps-181122075307535. html (accessed August 23, 2019); “Rohingya Face ‘Intimidation, Violence’ in Bangladesh Camps,” Voice of America, November 20, 2018, https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/rohingya-face-intimidation- 46