Navigating Political Constraints in Humanitarian Assistance: Norwegian Refugee Council's Interventions with Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh

• In Event: 30420 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 9: Global Race and Ethnicity

Abstract

The Rohingya refugees make up one of the most overlooked and oppressed minorities globally, having endured significant atrocities and ethnic cleansing in Myanmar for decades. Therefore, at present, over 1.2 million members of the Rohingya community live in different refugee camps in Bangladesh. This paper examines the Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) engagement with the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and focuses on how the NRC handles the political challenges of delivering aid in such a delicate situation. It looks at the issues the NRC faces when providing relief in consideration of the sovereignty problems of the host country. This paper employs humanitarianism and political economy theory in order to address this dynamic issue. In order to understand how the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) deals with political limitations in providing humanitarian aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, this study will employ a qualitative methodology, particularly a content analysis approach. To understand the impacts on the lives of the Rohingya refugees, this study looks into how the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) sought to intervene in the areas of food security, housing, education, and legal aid. In addition to addressing immediate needs, the paper assesses how well the NRC's strategy empowers refugees in the long run. Additionally, this research helps to answer the question regarding how international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) can manage to stay politically neutral while being effective in carrying out their activities. Lastly, the study aims to examine how the NRC manages the tension between providing humanitarian aid and upholding political neutrality, as well as how its strategies correspond with the theoretical frameworks of humanitarianism and political economy.

Key words: Rohingya, Refugee, Norwegian Refugee Council, Humanitarianism, and Bangladesh.

Author

• Md Imamul Hossain, Northern Illinois University