Constrained Humanitarian Space in Rohingya Response : Views from Bangladeshi NGOs

Abstract

In Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas have been seeking viable solutions to the plight of their displacement from Myanmar since August 2017. Today, they rely entirely on humanitarian aid and material services. Considering the notion of humanitarian space as an arena of social negotiations between multiple humanitarian actors over their access to the affected communities, this chapter captures the views of twenty Bangladeshi NGOs and identifies three main characteristics in the constrained humanitarian space of the Rohingya response: (a) discrepancies in localization discourses; (b) institutional multiplicity; and (c) disparities in accountability mechanisms. The study concludes that, despite the constant calls of Bangladeshi NGOs for locally led aid initiatives, they are largely side-lined in terms of the Rohingya humanitarian response. Moreover, institutional multiplicity as a form of parallel governance by the Government of Bangladesh and international humanitarian stakeholders often leads to collective action dilemmas and disparities in accountability mechanisms.