DHAKA – Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused the Bangladeshi authorities of failing to protect Rohingya refugees amid surging violence.
The New York-based rights group also called for refugees to be provided with services to report crimes.
It said the authorities force Rohingya leaders to serve as informants, putting them at risk without protection.
“The government should create a rights-respecting security policy in consultation with refugees and the United Nations. Donor governments should press Bangladesh to remove barriers to justice,” said HRW’s statement on Thursday.
The US civilian security and human rights representative Uzra Zeya and South Asian affairs envoy Donald Lu visited a Rohingya camp in Cox’s Bazar on Wednesday.
HRW said it had documented 26 cases of violence against Rohingya, including murder, kidnapping, torture, rape and forced marriage, through interviews with 45 Rohingyas between January and April along with police and medical reports.
Victims said they face obstacles in getting 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 of HRW. “The Bangladesh authorities’ increasingly evident intention to repatriate the Rohingya does not absolve the government of its responsibility to ensure their protection.
“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.”
Deputy Inspector General Jamil Hasan of Cox’s Bazar police, who leads nearly 2,000 personnel and has responsibility for all 33 Rohingya camps, told The Irrawaddy that the authorities had been facing tremendous logistical problems since Covid.
Jamil said his patrols lacked communications technology and struggled with poor roads between the camps.
“We placed our requirements for what we need to bring stability in the camps but we are told about funding cuts,” he added.
An internal police report said 191 firearms and 987 bullets had been seized and 4,755 Rohingya were charged over 1,720 cases between 2020 and May this year.
Another report said 96 Rohingyas had been killed between 2019 and May 31.
Jamil said his officers lacked the resources to stop conflict between armed groups like the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO).
On Tuesday, an ARSA statement said biased media reports implied the conflict was an internal dispute within the Rohingya community.
“In reality, innocent and defenseless Rohingyas are losing their lives as a result of actions serving the interests of some law enforcement officers and the RSO,” the statement said.
ARSA commander Somiur Uddin told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the RSO had AK47s and modern pistols.
He said eight of their commanders and supporters had been killed this month.
“The RSO has groups of 30-40 attacking us … my life is at risk, although I have committed no crime,” Somiur said.
The RSO was unavailable for comment.
The HRW said Rohingya community leaders or their families were being targeted amid numerous abductions for ransom.
Several Rohingya reported the involvement of armed groups in sexual assault, forced marriage and child recruitment, with victims blaming ARSA, the RSO, Munna Islami Mahaz and other groups.
Bangladesh’s Ministry of Defence reported that at least 11 armed groups were vying to control drug and human trafficking in the camps.
Activists, educated residents and religious leaders are common targets with at least 16 majhis killed in the first half of 2023.
John Quinley, director of Fortify Rights, praised the HRW report and said his staff had documented similar patterns of violence in the camps.
“Bangladesh should work with [the UN’s refugee charity] the UNHCR to provide protective spaces outside the camp for Rohingya at risk as well as focus on solutions for refugees, including ending restrictions on access to livelihoods and freedom of movement,” Quinley added.
About a million Rohingya refugees are in Bangladesh in sprawling, overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar or the isolated silt island of Bhasan Char.
Most of them fled military atrocities in Rakhine State in 2017.
The violence in the camps has escalated amid Bangladesh’s increasingly coercive restrictions on livelihoods, movement and education, including harassment at checkpoints and the closing of community schools and markets.
