Bangkok: The UN refugee agency assisted officials from Myanmar's junta in travelling to Bangladesh this week for repatriation talks with Rohingya refugees, according to two UN officials, despite the fact that conditions in the country remain unsafe for their return.

Around a million Rohingya live in Bangladesh, the majority of whom fled neighbouring Myanmar following a 2017 military crackdown that is now being investigated by the UN as genocide.

A 17-member team from Myanmar's Immigration Ministry arrived in the border town of Teknaf on Wednesday to interview refugees for possible repatriation to Myanmar.

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According to a UNHCR spokesperson in Myanmar, UNHCR "facilitated the transport of some officials" from Myanmar to Bangladesh "to support interaction between the de facto authorities in Myanmar and refugees."

According to a senior UN official in Bangladesh, the transportation was facilitated by both UNHCR and the World Food Programme in Myanmar, who provided boats for the junta officials to travel in. "I can confirm that UNHCR and WFP provided boats for junta officials to come," the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said.

This month, UNHCR's representative in Bangladesh, Johannes van der Klaauw, stated that there is "no prospect for a safe, dignified, and sustainable return in the immediate future" for Rohingya seeking to return home.

The Rohingya are widely regarded as intruders from Bangladesh in Myanmar, and rights groups claim that those who remain in the country are denied access to healthcare and education, and must obtain permission to travel.

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Min Aung Hlaing, the Junta chief who led the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown, has dismissed the Rohingya identity as "imaginary." The decision was made "within the framework" of a non-binding memorandum of understanding signed with Myanmar in 2018 with the goal of "creating the conditions conducive to the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable repatriation of Rohingya refugees."

The UN agencies were not involved in the discussions in Bangladesh, according to the spokesperson.

The spokesperson did not specify how many boats were provided or whether members of Myanmar's military, police, or security forces rode in them.

According to a leaked email from UNHCR's resident coordinator in Myanmar seen by AFP, the UN provided boats for the journey to Bangladesh after a "very firm request" from junta officials, and the UN markings were removed prior to the journey.

The UNHCR spokesperson did not elaborate on the nature of the junta's "very firm request" for the boats. According to a commission official, the Myanmar delegation planned to interview over 700 Rohingya to determine their suitability for return to Myanmar.

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A Myanmar junta spokesman confirmed the trip to AFP but declined to provide further details. A repatriation plan agreed upon by Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2017 has made little progress in the years since, owing in part to concerns that the Rohingya would not be safe if they returned.

During the coronavirus pandemic and after the military deposed Myanmar's civilian government in 2021, progress came to a halt.