Image source: hrw
On September 25, 2024, Human Rights Watch urged the authorities in Bangladesh to allow Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar to access protection and assistance.
The organization estimated that around 18,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh in recent months, escaping the ongoing abuses between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army.
Human Rights Watch reported that around 10,000 fleeing Rohingya are still waiting to enter Bangladesh, while Bangladeshi border forces have turned away thousands of Rohingya since August 2024.
On September 23, 2024, Bangladeshi security forces arrested approximately 100 Rohingya refugees in a raid on shelters housing new arrivals, along with about 30 people crossing the Naf River. The refugees were forcibly returned to Myanmar the next day, with the forces claiming they were following orders.
Meenakshi Ganguly, Deputy Director for Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, stated that the new arrivals are in desperate need of food and medicine but fear seeking help due to the risk of forced return to Myanmar. She called on Bangladeshi authorities to allow Rohingya fleeing renewed attacks in Myanmar to enter the country and ensure they receive protection and assistance.
Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with 10 Rohingya (who had entered Bangladesh), along with humanitarian workers and Bangladeshi border authorities. The refugees described how border officers prevented them from entering, forcing them to turn to smugglers to escape threats to their lives and safety in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
Bangladesh already hosts around one million Rohingya refugees, with authorities stating that the country cannot accommodate more. Interim government head Mohammed Yunus called on international donors and partners to expedite the resettlement of refugees in third countries and increase humanitarian aid.
While Yunus acknowledged that sending the Rohingya back to Myanmar would mean “sending them to their deaths,” Bangladeshi border forces have increased forced returns since fighting intensified in the town of Maungdaw in Rakhine State in early August. Border guards have set up at least one new facility in the Teknaf border region to detain refugees for return.
A Bangladeshi border guard official told Human Rights Watch that they had expelled 6,000 Rohingya since August 5, and reports indicate that unaccompanied children have also been detained and returned to Myanmar. Human Rights Watch urged Bangladesh to cooperate with the UNHCR to help identify and reunite families as soon as possible.
A Bangladeshi foreign ministry official told Reuters that the government had not yet decided whether to register new arrivals. The newly arrived Rohingya expressed fears that they might be abducted or extorted by armed groups or criminal gangs.
Myanmar remains a dangerous place for ethnic minorities. In a report from August 13, 2024, the United Nations warned of an alarming increase in crimes committed by the military across the country.
The Myanmar military and the Arakan Army have committed mass killings, illegal recruitment, and other abuses against the Rohingya in Rakhine State. Around 630,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar under an apartheid system that leaves them particularly vulnerable to renewed fighting.
The conflict has displaced more than 320,000 people in Rakhine State and southern Chin State since hostilities resumed in November 2023. Dozens of Rohingya have drowned trying to flee aboard overcrowded boats.
Seven years after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled persecution and violence in Myanmar, the conflict in Rakhine State, on Myanmar’s western coast, continues, with a growing number of casualties and displaced people.
The “Same Justice” organisation emphasizes the need to protect refugees, especially those fleeing violence, discrimination, and racism. It calls for opening borders to ensure the Rohingya receive protection and humanitarian aid as quickly as possible and urges immediate measures to prevent further “abuses” and to find urgent solutions for the civilian crisis.
