Real life horror stories are emerging from the Rohingya refugee camps in the city of Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh. These include incidents of young women and girls carried off to army camps in Myanmar and later found raped and dead. Stories of men slaughtered in front of their families, of families locked inside homes set on fire, of infants snatched from their mothers and killed, of homes searched for “terrorists” and looted and burnt instead. Stories of men being separated and selected for torture, death, or enforced disappearances. Testimonies also come from young widows, orphaned children, old men and women weeping over the loss of a loved one, and lamentations from those who left families behind. Much has been documented about the tragedy of being born Rohingya.
THE TREATMENT OF ROHINGYA PEOPLE IN MYANMAR
In February 2017 a report by the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and statements by the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar referred to violations targeting the Rohingya minority of Myanmar. These violations, perpetrated by the Myanmar Army between the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, included the deliberate killing of children, the burning of homes with people inside them, rape, and sexual violence. The OHCHR report concluded that reports coming from Myanmar indicate the very likely commission of crimes against humanity. A total of 204 people were interviewed by the UN human rights team for this report. Of them, almost half reported family members who had been killed or who had gone missing. Of the 101 women interviewed, more than half were either victims of rape or some form of sexual abuse. The information in the full report and the witness statements therein are enough to jump-start sanctions by the UN and ways to pressure the Myanmar government into opening up for further investigation. However, four years later we are still waiting for some sort of action towards justice for the Rohingya.
What the Myanmar government is currently, and has been doing to the Rohingya people, is beyond inexcusable. It is barbaric and inhumane. The levels of violence, neglect, disgust, distrust, repression, and alienation faced by the Rohingya is something no human being should have to suffer, especially in their own country. Yet the Rohingya are not recognised as belonging to Myanmar, they have no citizenship and no state protection.
OBLIGATIONS OF BANGLADESH TOWARDS ROHINGYA REFUGEES
There are two sides to the issues of the rights of the Rohingya people: the country trying to wipe them out of existence through genocide, and the nearest country where they feel they could get refuge, however sparse, Bangladesh. In 2017 at the height of the army crackdown in Myanmar, reports show that more than 164,000 Rohingyas fled Myanmar and sought refuge along the Bangladesh border. The United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) reports that there are currently 867,000 Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazaar refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has been hosting Rohingya refugees since the 1970s, even though it is not a party to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. So, what makes it obliged to shelter these non-citizens to the best of its ability? How is Bangladesh managing this daunting humanitarian task? The answer to the second question is that it has been a case of reluctance, with things improving a little under international pressure and shaming.
In 2018, merely a year after the huge influx of Rohingya refugees, and while violence and abuse continued in the Rakhine state of Myanmar, Bangladesh and Myanmar entered into an agreement to repatriate Rohingya people to Myanmar. The agreement did not guarantee the safety and security of the returnees, and was set to be put in action in November 2018. Furthermore, under the agreement, returnees would have to show proof of residence in Myanmar. It is doubtful whether people fleeing terror and burning homes would remember to carry their documents with them. Needless to say, this agreement was not in favour of the Rohingya people and was heavily criticised by the international community. Several attempts to send the Rohingya back to Myanmar have been made, but failed.
Bangladesh has an obligation to afford the Rohingya shelter and a safe refuge because they are humans. Under human rights norms, state obligations can be broadly categorised into positive and negative obligations — the obligation to do something and the obligation not to do something. Probably the most fundamental negative obligation is the duty not to harm others — regardless of whether they are your citizens or not. This obligation prevents states, such as Bangladesh, from pushing the Rohingyas back into the territory of Myanmar, where it is obvious that they will become victims of genocide. The Bangladesh government thus cannot call for the Myanmar government to take back the Rohingya without any safeguards and measures in place. The provision of shelter and other rights such as food, education, and effective sanitation comes from the obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Social, Economic and Cultural Rights — the “holy trinity” of human rights instruments, to which Bangladesh is a signatory. Because of the obligations contained in these instruments, a signatory state cannot declare that it has no obligations to house refugees purely on the basis that it is not a party to the convention protecting refugee rights.
When the huge influx of Rohingya into Bangladesh began in 2017, the foundations for the world’s largest refugee camp were laid in Cox’s Bazaar. As of March 2021 there are 34 refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar, housing 900,000 refugees. How are the Rohingya faring there?
Bangladesh has a huge population of more than 164 million people. As a result, land is precious and resources are strained. Over the last 12 years, citizens have faced increasing human rights violations brought on by dubious and much-criticised election processes that have kept the same political party in power since 2009. This repression and violence have also had an impact on those living in the refugee camps. The Rohingya face restrictions to their right to information, education, movement and health and there have also been incidents of extrajudicial deaths. The following sections address these challenges in more detail.
RIGHT TO ACCESS INFORMATION IN THE REFUGEE CAMPS
In September 2019 the government of Bangladesh directed all telecommunication operators to shut down 3G and 4G network services in the refugee camps. This not only prevented the camp dwellers from getting news of family left in Rakhain in Myanmar and about their country in general, but also prevented aid workers from giving assistance throughout the huge camp. The reason given for the shutdown of services was to prevent disruptions inside the camp. In August 2019 the Bangladesh and Myanmar governments had attempted a repatriation drive, but information from families in Myanmar had created fear among the refugees. The camp residents held a massive demonstration on 25 August at Kutupalong camp, after which the law enforcement officers killed four Rohingya. With the onslaught of COVID-19 in 2020, the 3G and 4G service ban took a more fearful turn as medical aid workers from outside the camps were unable to visually communicate with COVID-19 patients and their families. In August 2020 the Bangladeshi government declared that it was considering restoring 3G and 4G services after constant pressure from the UN. However, it was not until July 2021 that 3G and 4G services were actually restored in the Rohingya camps.
EDUCATION OF ROHINGYA CHILDREN IN THE REFUGEE CAMPS
A 2019 Human Rights Watch report highlights the state of education of Rohingya children in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. According to the report the government “bars Rohingya children from enrolling in schools in local communities outside the camps or taking national school examinations”. Furthermore, the government does not provide education in the camp and bars “UN humanitarian agencies and NGOs, funded by international donors, from providing Rohingya children with any formal, accredited education”. Children are not allowed to learn Bangla, Bangladesh’s national language, or the Bangladeshi curriculum. This is done “on the assumption that the children will be repatriated within two years”. In 2017, NGOs constructed bamboo hut learning centres for the Rohingya children, as the government had banned full-fledged schools. These measures seem to suggest that the Bangladesh government was only thinking of when the Rohingyas will leave, rather than making a safe learning environment for the children, many of whom are orphans and/or witnesses to horror.
In the frenzy to identify and expel Rohingya children from local educational institutions, one Rohingya woman, 20-year-old Rahima Akhtar, managed to make headlines by getting into university from the refugee camp. Her family fled to Bangladesh in 1992 and are among the 33,000 registered refugees in the country. Rahima Akhtar was born and raised in Bangladesh. Many of those who came to Bangladesh in the 1990s managed to integrate into the Bangladeshi Cox’s Bazaar population and even move further afield. At the time when they arrived, there was no problem with enrolment in schools or other educational institutions. However, when Rahima’s identity went viral on social media in 2019, and as authorities began to track down Rohingya students in educational institutions, she was suspended from her university. Faced by immense criticism from international human rights mechanisms, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and refugee rights groups, in 2020 the government decided that the Rohingya children would be taught the curriculum of Myanmar up to class eight.
HEALTH CARE SERVICES FOR REFUGEES
Regardless of when Rohingya people entered Bangladesh, it remained a tough and dangerous journey. Family members were lost on the way, many drowning in the Naf River or succumbing to injuries inflicted by the Myanmar army. Immediate medical attention was needed for those who stumbled into Bangladesh, including the new mothers and their infants, pregnant women, the elderly, the violated, and the wounded. A 2017 World Health Organisation (WHO) report estimated that 1.2 million of the refugees in the camps required health service support. The report also recognised that the hospitals and health centres in Cox’s Bazaar were overwhelmed and ill-equipped to deal with the sudden huge increase in numbers. The report further recognised that there was a huge gap in the provision of sexual and reproductive health and mental health care.
In December 2020 the UNHCR and WHO were providing health services in the refugee camps in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A few Bangladeshi health-rights organisations also set up health camps a few times a week since the beginning of the influx in August 2017. According to Doctors without Borders, “the mental health needs of the Rohingya have evolved over the years,” with “unemployment, anxiety about the future, poor living conditions, and little or no access to basic services, such as formal education” being added to the trauma of the violence that they suffered in Myanmar. Poor conditions in camps meant poor sanitation, hygiene, and lack of running water, which contributed to the increase in poor health. Furthermore, little has been done to prevent the water-logging and stagnation during the monsoon – which brings with it diseases such as dengue and cholera.
Security and safety within the camps are also an issue that needs attention – especially for the women. There have been allegations of drug trafficking, violence, and even rape in the camps. Women are facing harassment and some allege that due to the insecurity, they are forced to stay indoors and their independent movements are frowned upon.
RELOCATION OF REFUGEES TO BASHAN CHAR
The Rohingya refugees are now being displaced from the camps to Bashan Char, a 40 square kilometre island, 60 kilometres from Cox’s Bazaar in the Bay of Bengal. The fact that the government is building cyclone shelters, along with buildings to house the Rohingya and administrative offices, shows how vulnerable the small island is.
The Rohingyas in the camps in Cox’s Bazaar, the UNHCR, and many in the international community have already opposed this move. Despite protests, the first group of refugees was moved to Bashan Char in December 2020 and a second group in January 2021. Although some Rohingya admitted they were going willingly, Amnesty International reported that the relocated Rohingya had agreed because they were promised cash. The human rights organisation demanded that relocation must be stopped if the consent to move was not freely and willingly given. According to Human Rights Watch, “[s]ince infrastructure development started on Bhasan Char in 2017, humanitarian experts have been raising the alarm about safety, pointing out that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to support refugees’ humanitarian and protection needs on the island”.
Furthermore, the Bangladesh government had allegedly “promised the United Nations and donors that no refugees would be relocated to the island until independent humanitarian and technical experts had the chance to assess its emergency preparedness, habitability, and safety”. The report further states that the government reneged on those pledges and commenced relocation of refugees without any independent assessment. Furthermore, while the UNHCR sees potential in Bhashan Char, it is also concerned about the safety of refugees.
There have also been reports of people being beaten for attempting to leave the island. A special observation team from the UNHCR visited Bashan Char in May 2021 and were faced by a large, frustrated group of Rohingya men and their grievances.
UPHOLDING THE HUMAN DIGNITY OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES IN BANGLADESH
The government of Bangladesh opened its borders to welcome the frightened, wounded, traumatised human beings. It allowed them to settle on a vast area of land to form what is now the largest refugee camp in the world. Indeed, from a human rights perspective Bangladesh has done what is right. However, making the Rohingya feel safe and comfortable, reducing their trauma and helping them lead as normal a life as possible under such circumstances, are all issues that still require serious attention. The Bangladeshi government cannot wait for the Rohingya to return to Myanmar. Most of them do want to return. They want to return to their land and homes, and have the opportunity to mourn their dead properly. No one wants to live in a refugee camp for the rest of their lives. However, in order to return, one needs safety, security, citizenship and all the guarantees that come with it. Myanmar does not seem willing to provide these to the Rohingya.
Thus, one needs to question – what is the international community doing about the Rohingya genocide perpetrated by Myanmar? We see no sanctions. Despite clear evidence of the atrocities perpetrated, those whose decisions have the potential to have global impacts seem to be dragging their feet on this issue. It is easy to criticise Bangladesh for its treatment of refugees – and indeed there is still much to be criticised – but Myanmar has taken advantage of the lack of action against it by the world community and the violence and atrocity has escalated. The focus needs to be on human dignity and worth – without any discrimination.
The Myanmar government has forgotten the fact that the Rohingya are human beings. Bangladesh must remind them. In 1971, thousands of Bengalis found themselves refugees, fleeing persecution from a military government that saw them as “inferior”. During the Bangladesh war of liberation, “inferior” Bengalis became victims of genocide and rape. Bengalis as a nation thus know what the Rohingya are feeling. It is imperative that the government of Bangladesh do much more to ensure the Rohingya are treated with dignity and security and their basic rights fulfilled.
Dr Saira Rahman Khan teaches Criminal Law at the School of Law, BRAC University, a private university in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She is a British Chevening Scholar and completed her PhD in Socio-Legal Studies from the University of Kent, Canterbury in 1998. She is also a member of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Bar Association.