UN, Donors Should Urge Protection, Freedom of Movement on Bhasan Char

(New York, October 29, 2020) – Women and girls in Bangladesh are facing increased domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic, highlighting long-term systemic barriers to legal recourse, protection, and social services, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. This crisis comes as Bangladesh enters the final phase of its national plan to build “a society without violence against women and children by 2025.”

Conditions Worsen in Rakhine State, Bangladesh Refugee Camps

Unlawful Restrictions on Schooling Risk Creating a Lost Generation

Bangladesh’s overcrowded, hilly, and rain-soaked mega camp for ethnic Rohingya refugees is precarious for everyone, but especially for people with disabilities. More than 700,000 people reside in the camp after fleeing the Myanmar military’s campaign of ethnic cleansing more than a year ago.  

Tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees in camps in Bangladesh are at imminent risk of landslides. Bangladesh authorities, with the assistance of the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies, should urgently relocate refugees to safer ground. 

The Burmese army carried out systematic killings and rape of several hundred Rohingya Muslims in Tula Toli village in Rakhine State on August 30, 2017.

Bangladesh law enforcement authorities have illegally detained hundreds of people since 2013, including scores of opposition activists, and held them in secret detention. 

The Burmese military has conducted a campaign of arson, killing and rape against ethnic Rohingya that has threatened the lives of thousands.