Over 100 Myanmar nationals have crossed over the border and entered Mizoram to seek refuge since February this year. Meanwhile, the Mizoram government is awaiting the Centre's call and instructions to manage the crisis.
"A detailed record of the identities and other particulars of the Myanmar refugees who enter Mizoram will be prepared and all available relief will be provided to them by the state government for the time being. And thereafter, how they should be provided shelter and relief will be decided as per the Centre's directives," State Home Minister Lalchamliana was quoted as saying in an Assam Tribune report. He expressed this view in the state Assembly on Monday.
"The exact figure of the refugees could not be ascertained now as some people have mingled with the locals (Mizos) and Myanmar's Chin people who are already settled in Mizoram," a top official said in the Assam Tribune report.
Notably, India is not a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 protocol so it is not a legal obligation for the country to protect refugees.
Moreover, as per reports, the Mizoram government has issued a SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) with regard to the people entering Mizoram from Myanmar in view of the military coup.
