Summary Since December 2020, the Bangladesh government has moved nearly 20,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char, a remote silt island in the Bay of Bengal. With the approaching monsoon season, refugees and humanitarian workers alike fear that inadequate storm and flood protection could put those on the island at serious risk. This, alongside food shortages, unreliable water sources, lack of schools and health care, and severe restrictions on freedom of movement, makes many refugees fear they are stuck on “an island jail in the middle of the sea,” as one child described it. The Bangladesh government has touted Bhasan Char as a solution to the severe overcrowding in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar where nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live. The government aims ultimately to relocate 100,000 refugees to the island. But there are serious concerns that Bhasan Char is not safe for settlement. Formed only in the last 20 years by silt deposit in the delta, its shape and shorelines have repeatedly shifted. Three to five hours from the mainland by boat, inaccessible in high winds, and lacking an airstrip for fixed-winged planes, Bhasan Char has limited capacity for evacuation in the event of a cyclone. During severe weather, the island is cut off from the rest of the world. Since infrastructure development started on Bhasan Char in 2017, humanitarian experts have been raising the alarm about safety, pointing out that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to support refugees’ humanitarian and protection needs on the island. The Bangladesh government had promised the United Nations and donors that no refugees would be relocated to the island until independent humanitarian and technical experts had the chance to assess its emergency preparedness, habitability, and safety. But the government reneged on those pledges, moving ahead with relocations while refusing to allow an independent assessment. In doing so, it has presented the United Nations and international donors with a fait accompli, putting pressure on them to start supporting the refugees on Bhasan Char or take responsibility for the consequences. Meanwhile, Bangladesh officials insist the 1 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2021