island has been secured with embankments, and that the homes and cyclone shelters are better than anything available to millions of Bangladeshis. After a four-day visit to the island by an 18-member team of UN officials in March 2021 organized by the government, the UN in Bangladesh said that it recognized “the humanitarian and protection needs” of the refugees in Bhasan Char and was prepared to discuss “future operational engagement.” Refugees told Human Rights Watch the authorities had warned them against complaining and only a selected few were allowed to meet the team. During a follow up UN visit in May 2021, thousands of refugees gathered, insisting that they wanted to meet the officials, and said they were “badly beaten” by security forces. The United Nations and donors should recognize that the hurried relocation to the island presents serious concerns to the rights of the refugees, including their lives and livelihoods. This is particularly urgent because during the monsoon season there is grave risk that the refugees, as well as several thousand Bangladeshi officials and volunteers, could end up confined on the island in cyclone-prone waters without adequate food, water, or medical care when transportation is severely limited due to weather conditions. Experts are concerned that current embankments around the island are inadequate to withstand a category three storm or worse. Storm surges in the Bay of Bengal are some of the highest in the world, frequently exceeding 5 meters—at least 27 times in the last 60 years—and sometimes even topping 10 meters. Climate change modelling predicts that cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are likely to increase in frequency and intensity. The government says the relocation to the island is needed because the mainland refugee camps are getting more and more crowded, and that only those refugees who volunteer are being moved. “In heavily congested Cox's Bazar refugee camps they face many hardships,” Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen said. “They will certainly find life more comfortable in Bhasan Char.” He even described the island as a “beautiful resort.” In a December 8, 2020 letter to Human Rights Watch, Bangladesh authorities noted that the relocation process had been carried out in a fully transparent and voluntary manner after “a number of Rohingya representatives undertook a ‘go and see’ visit to Bhasan Char to survey the facilities and make an independent and informed choice”: “AN ISLAND JAIL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA” 2