Mizzima
Bangladesh authorities are taking inadequate measures to protect Rohingya refugees in camps from surging violence by armed groups and criminal gangs, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said this week.
HRW said the Bangladesh authorities should assist refugees by establishing accessible systems to report crimes and promptly investigate complaints, in a press release on 13 July.
HRW has documented 26 cases of violence against Rohingya, including murder, kidnapping, torture, rape and sexual assault, and forced marriage, drawing on interviews with 45 Rohingya refugees between January and April 2023 and supporting evidence including police and medical reports. Victims report facing layers of barriers to police, legal, and medical assistance, with the authorities failing to provide protection, improve security, or prosecute those responsible.
“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s past pledges to protect Rohingya refugees are now threatened by violent groups and an indifferent justice system,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Bangladesh authorities’ increasingly evident intention to repatriate the Rohingya does not absolve the government of its responsibility to ensure their protection.”
Bangladesh authorities have reported that armed groups killed over 40 Rohingya refugees in the camps in 2022, while at least 48 refugees were killed in the first half of 2023. Rohingya say the totals are much higher. Seven refugees were reportedly killed in three incidents on July 6 and 7, including a sub-majhi (camp community leader) and alleged members of militant groups.
Many of those killed have been Rohingya community leaders or their family members. Scores of refugees have been abducted for ransom and threatened or tortured. Several Rohingya reported the involvement of armed groups in sexual assault, forced marriage, and child recruitment.
Refugees describe an environment of escalating brutality and fear, with growing concerns of being targeted by criminal gangs and claimed affiliates of Islamist armed groups. “Every night we hear gunshots,” a Rohingya refugee told Human Rights Watch. “When the shooting starts, we hug each other tightly and wait, fearing it is our turn next.”
Victims of attacks named members of various groups as being responsible, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO), Munna gang, Islami Mahaz, and several others. The Bangladesh Ministry of Defense reported that at least 11 armed groups are operating in the camps. Several criminal gangs involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking have been vying for greater control in the camps, with the refugees caught in the middle. Activists, educated people, and majhis are common targets, which has had a chilling effect on Rohingya civil society. At least 16 majhis were killed in the first half of 2023.
No criminal justice system is available to the refugees; they cannot go to the police to file a complaint. Instead, they must approach Bangladesh administrative authorities or security forces in the camps. Several families said they could not get the required approval from the camp-in-charge (CiC), a Bangladesh official, to file a report with the police. Others said they obtained permission to bring a complaint to the Armed Police Battalion (APBn) but could go no further, as the force has no civilian investigative function. Refugees who did manage to register their case at a local police station said there was no follow-up, often because they could not cover the bribes and legal fees demanded.
Several majhis who were killed or attacked over the past year were targeted by alleged ARSA members who considered them informants for Bangladesh authorities. Majhis said that authorities forced them to take part in nighttime watches, to join police raids, and to identify members of armed groups, at times in front of the suspects. Family members of killed majhis said they had previously requested help from the camp-in-charge and APBn, some even providing lists of those who were threatening them but were ignored.
Of the 26 cases Human Rights Watch documented, only 3 led to arrests. Most victims interviewed said that gangs or armed groups threatened and harassed them after the initial assault, intimidating them into staying silent.
Many victims alleged collusion between security force officers and criminals. The APBn, which has overseen security in the camps since July 2020, is itself responsible for widespread abuses against refugees, including extortion, arbitrary arrests, and harassment.
The police response to the growing violence has been marked by abuse, with indiscriminate raids and violent crackdowns. Refugees allege that APBn corruption has allowed criminal activity to proliferate, while Rohingya not responsible for crimes have ended up under arrest.
“There were so many killings that happened in broad daylight, near the APBn police camp,” said an international aid agency volunteer. “Even after hearing the gunshots, they took no action. When there are killings or violence, the police arrest innocent people, not the real perpetrators. The real ones are given license to do the same thing again.”
Rohingya who sought protection were told to move to other shelters or camps, without any support. Some parents said they sent their children to Malaysia, risking dangerous boat journeys, to protect them from attack. Victims and their family members described ongoing fear and injuries following the attacks, without access to adequate physical and mental health care.
Bangladesh authorities contend that repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar is the only solution for the dangerous situation in the refugee settlements. However, conditions for the safe, sustainable, and dignified return of Rohingya do not currently exist. The Bangladesh government should develop and carry out a rights-respecting security policy to protect the camp population, in consultation with the refugees and United Nations agencies, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, and the UN Population Fund.
UN agencies should task and train personnel to receive complaints filed by refugees, with streamlined, confidential reporting and referral procedures for legal, medical, and protection services, including survivor-centered care. Resources such as safe houses and UNHCR’s protection hotline should be expanded.
Donor governments and UN agencies should press Bangladesh to lift the bureaucratic barriers to accessing local police and courts, as well as all restrictions on access to education and livelihoods to reduce illegal and dangerous economic activity in the camps. The authorities should also end APBn’s use of refugees for compulsory night patrols.
“The Bangladesh government needs to protect Rohingya refugees, rather than let criminal elements drive them out,” Ganguly said. “Donor governments should be helping to meet the humanitarian needs of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh while pressing for the establishment of rights-respecting civilian rule in Myanmar so they can one day go home.”
