Nine months ago, the
first of more than 74,000 ethnic minority Rohingya streamed into Bangladesh,
seeking refuge from abuses in Myanmar. The influx of refugees and the harrowing
stories they carried brought needed international attention to the abuses
taking place in Myanmar. But less focus has been given to the humanitarian
crisis and inadequate support the situation exposed not only for the new
arrivals, but also for the 33,000 Rohingya officially recognized as refugees
and as many as 500,000 undocumented Rohingya already living in Bangladesh.
The Government of
Bangladesh has long refused to recognize the vast majority of Rohingya in the
country as refugees and has been reluctant to do more to address their
humanitarian needs or to accept international assistance to do so. The response
has improved in recent months, but significant gaps remain, particularly
regarding needs for food, adequate shelter, and protections against
gender-based violence and trafficking risks. Many Rohingya continue to live in
crowded conditions in makeshift shelters - some within heartbreaking sight of
their homeland - vulnerable to high winds and heavy rains of the ongoing
monsoon season. Recent pledges by the Government of Bangladesh on the global
stage are encouraging and should be implemented along with ideas for better
coordination being discussed by international humanitarian agencies. For more
durable solutions, bilateral and multilateral engagement along with pressure
when necessary on the Government of Myanmar on the issues of safe returns,
accountability, and citizenship will be crucial for addressing the root causes
of the plight of the Rohingya.
Over the decades of
persecution in Myanmar, more Rohingya have gone to neighboring Bangladesh than
to any other country.
BACKGROUND
The Rohingya ethnic
minority has faced decades of persecution in Myanmar, living with heavily
restricted rights, including on their freedom of movement, marriage, and even
their ability to have children. Despite the presence of Rohingya in the country
for several generations and past recognition of Rohingya rights to vote and
serve in high political office, the Government of Myanmar refuses to recognize
them as citizens. The 1982 Citizenship Law failed to list Rohingya among the
135 recognized ethnic groups, and the current government continues unreasonably
to view the Rohingya as illegal migrants from Bangladesh. The lack of
citizenship renders the Rohingya one of the largest stateless populations in
the world, a status which leaves them particularly vulnerable to exploitation,
detention, and abuse.
More than a million
Rohingya live in Myanmar today, with another million estimated to be living in
other countries. Since 2012, despite broader democratic reforms, the situation
of the Rohingya in Myanmar has deteriorated, with 120,000 displaced in 2012
still living in squalid displacement camps in the country and another 168,000
estimated to have fled, many by sea to Malaysia. Refugees International (RI)
has covered these dynamics in past missions to Myanmar, Malaysia, and Thailand.
For further background see RI’s past reports.
Over the decades of
persecution in Myanmar, more Rohingya have gone to neighboring Bangladesh than
to any other country. Ahead of the latest inflows last year, an estimated
200,000 to 500,000 Rohingya were living in Bangladesh (an estimate made
difficult by their unofficial status). Only 33,000 Rohingya are officially
recognized as refugees, those living in one of two official camps set up in the
1990’s (Kutupalong and Nayapara). The Government of Bangladesh officially
refers to the remainder of Rohingya in the country as Undocumented Myanmar
Nationals (UMN), considered illegal foreigners under Bangladeshi law.
In October 2016,
Rohingya began fleeing to Bangladesh in the newest flow of refugees, an exodus
sparked by a widespread crackdown by Myanmar’s security forces. The crackdown
came in reaction to an attack by a previously unknown group of Rohingya
militants on border guard posts, resulting in the deaths of nine officers. The
response by the Myanmar security forces was disproportionate and brutal,
affecting the entire population of northern Rakhine State, the vast majority of
which has never engaged in violence of any sort. Access to the area was heavily
restricted both to humanitarian aid and outside journalists and officials. But
a series of reports by independent international human rights groups, based on
interviews with Rohingya who had fled to Bangladesh and satellite images of
burned villages, revealed a series of abuses, including torture,
disappearances, wholesale destruction of villages, and mass rapes. A February
2017 report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights warned
of abuses that may amount to crimes against humanity, spurring the UN Human
Rights Council to establish a fact-finding mission in March 2017. The security
crackdown officially ended in February 2017, but abuses continue to be reported
and the Government of Myanmar continues to restrict access and deny that
widespread abuses took place.
Whenever I see the other side of the Naf River, I cry and miss my homeland (Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh)
Their trauma is not over (Humanitarian Officer)
RECOMMENDATIONS
To the
Government of Bangladesh:
*Expand protection
services to Rohingya in Bangladesh by:
- Establishing
temporary police outposts and developing camp management systems to protect and
support Rohingya in makeshift settlements;
- Expanding the UN
Refugee Agency’s (UNHCR) mandate beyond official refugee camps in order to
provide protection by presence activities and counseling services in the makeshift settlements, with a particular
focus on gender-based violence (GBV),
including by opening a UNHCR field office in the city of Teknaf in
southern Bangladesh;
- Promoting access
to the legal system for all persons in line with Bangladesh’s constitution,
along with training local officials and conducting awareness campaigns on
access to the legal system and the risks of human trafficking.
*Approve a
longstanding World Food Programme (WFP) request to expand its electronic food
voucher system beyond refugees to the so-called Undocumented Myanmar Nationals
(UMN) community and new arrivals who entered in late 2016, to ensure more equal
and efficient distribution of aid.
*Lift restrictions
on the use of more durable building materials in the makeshift camps and
provide training so that makeshift shelters are better able to withstand the
high winds and heavy rains of the monsoon season. Ensure contingency plans are
in place for rapid replenishment of shelter materials in emergency cases.
*Release the results
of the census of Rohingya in Bangladesh carried out in 2016 and conduct further
surveys to update information as needed to better identify requirements and
best use of resources.
*Fulfill a pledge
made at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees at the United Nations in 2016 to
deliver information cards to Rohingya in Bangladesh that provide protection and
access to basic services, including freedom of movement, access to livelihood,
and informal education opportunities.
*Ratify the 1951
Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol and extend protections to the Rohingya
population in Bangladesh by recognizing them as refugees or ensuring access to
a Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Process and resuming resettlement to third
countries – especially for particularly vulnerable individuals.
*Support the UN
Human Rights Council’s fact-finding mission by allowing access to recently
arrived Rohingya for collection of reports of treatment experienced in Myanmar.
*Continue to pursue
high-level engagement, and pressure where necessary, with the Government of
Myanmar on the treatment of the Rohingya, particularly on the issues of safe
repatriation, accountability of abuses, and ultimately a path to citizenship.
To
international organizations and others supporting the humanitarian response:
*Encourage the
Government of Bangladesh to support a more equitable and efficient needs-based
sectoral approach to supporting Rohingya in Bangladesh. This should include a
focus on vulnerabilities among persons of concern rather than the current
allocation of aid based on government-imposed distinctions between
government-recognized refugees, Undocumented Myanmar Nationals (UMN), and “new
arrivals.”
*Increase emergency
food rations during the monsoon season (June-October) and improve surveying and
coordination of food distribution to ensure individuals in need are not
overlooked and to avoid duplication of efforts.
*Work with the
Government of Bangladesh to expand educational opportunities for Rohingya in
Bangladesh by increasing the number of learning centers, providing a path to
higher education through the accreditation of the informal education system,
and allowing Rohingya access to local Bangladeshi public schools.
To the
U.S. Government:
*Provide additional
funding to address the most immediate needs and greatest protection risks faced
by both new arrivals and longer-term Rohingya populations in Bangladesh,
including funds for food assistance, shelter, and health, and means of
addressing threats of GBV and human trafficking.
*Urge the Government
of Bangladesh to meet its pledge to provide information cards and expand
protection for the Rohingya, to resume third country resettlement, especially
among the most vulnerable, and establish a more efficient needs-based
humanitarian approach toward Rohingya in the country.
*Press the
Government of Myanmar to ensure accountability for abuses, safe returns of
Rohingya to Rakhine State, and ultimately a path to citizenship; link any
further enhancements in U.S.-Myanmar relations to concrete and verifiable
progress in each of these areas.
Dan
Sullivan traveled to Bangladesh in May 2017, visiting a number of makeshift
camps housing Rohingya men, women, and children who fled abuses and oppression
in Myanmar.
Visit report
documentary in 20 pages PDF: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/506c8ea1e4b01d9450dd53f5/t/5966805d2e69cff9b5e410ae/1499889771253/2017.7.10Bangladesh.pdf