An Agenda for a Dignified and Sustainable Rohingya Refugee Response in Bangladesh 4.1 Coordination architecture in the Rohingya Refugee Response in Bangladesh Bangladesh has rich experience and national and local capacity to deal with disaster risk reduction and response. Since 2012, a Humanitarian Coordination Task Team (HCTT) is in place under the Government’s Local Consultative Group-Disaster Emergency Response, mandated to work during natural disasters. However, due to the restrictive approach towards Rohingya refugees since the 1990s allowing a very limited set of international humanitarian actors in the camps, national and local agencies and their staff have far less experience and engagement with humanitarian action in a forced displacement setting, such as in the aftermath of the Rohingya refugee influx of 2017.190 A 2017 report by Refugees International191 observed as follows: The reluctance of the Government of Bangladesh to recognise Rohingya as refugees has led to a humanitarian response structure unlike any other in the world, one in which the national structure is not aligned with the international response and the international response not consistent with global best practices. Coordination in the Rohingya refugee response is complex and reflects the inter-agency dynamics and the policy environment in Bangladesh.192 Such coordination plays out at three levels-national, Cox’s Bazar and camp level, with the Government of Bangladesh, humanitarian partners comprised of United Nations agencies, Bangladesh and international NGOs, donors, host communities and Rohingya refugees themselves, as key stakeholders. 4.1.1 National Level 4.1.1.1 Government of Bangladesh At the national level, the National Task Force (NTF)193 chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established in accordance with the “National Strategy on Myanmar Refugees and Undocumented Myanmar Nationals” (2013). The NTF provides overall oversight and strategic guidance to the response. In parallel, the NGO Affairs Bureau (NGOAB) under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is a key player who gives permissions to NGOs receiving foreign funding to operate in Cox’s Bazar.194 In December 2020, the Government of Bangladesh formed a 17-member national level Committee (hereinafter National Committee) under the leadership of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) for 190 UNICEF, Evaluation of UNICEF’s Response to the Rohingya Refugee Crisis in Bangladesh, December 2018, p. 24, available at https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/UNICEF-Rohingya_Response_Evaluation_VOLUME_I-2018003.pdf 191 Daniel Sullivan, Reluctant Refuge: Rohingya safe but not secure in Bangladesh, p. 6, Refugees International, July 2017, available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/506c8ea1e4b01d9450dd53f5/t/5966805d2e69cff9b5e410ae/1499889771253/201 7.7.10Bangladesh.pdf 192 Sida et.al, supra n. 57. 193 NTF is chaired by the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh and includes 29 Ministries and entities. The NTF is primarily a Government body with limited scope for humanitarian engagement (Sometimes, SEG Co-Chairs and ISCG Senior Coordinator may be invited to provide information/inputs on key issues). 194 Types of permission include FD 1 (for foreign NGO registration); FD6 (longer-term programmes); FD7 (short term emergency projects, including camp-based projects and special COVID-19 related projects) 42 Act for Peace / May 2021