get discounted health care using their refugee cards. However, during the pandemic, Rohingya refugees have reported increased and disprowork, education and healthcare.12 Access to Asylum and Arbitrary Detention: Additional immigration measures and pandemic-related lockdowns have also left Rohingya in India and Malaysia vulnerable to arrest and detention on arrival and in the country. With limited access to UNHCR or asylum procedures to registration centres, there are concerns that COVID-19 measures are further eroding refugee rights. In the context of increased border controls and increased incidents of xenophobia and hate speech during the pandemic, Rohingya in these countries have been rounded up and detained without recognition of their refugee status. UNHCR provides refugee status determination and refugee cards that should provide some protection from arrest or can help to secure release when Rohingya are detained as irregular migrants.13 However, during the pandemic it has access to UNHCR in detention. COVID-19 regulations have also meant that UNHCR mobile registration facilities have been more limited. In Malaysia, as a direct response to COVID-19, immigration sweeps took place during Ramadan in 2020. Many Rohingya were arrested and detained. New arrivals that managed to disembark in Malaysia were also detained.14 Hundreds of Rohingya are detained in immigration detention centres, prisons, juvenile detention centres and other detention facilities in India and Malaysia. There are also Rohingya detained in Bangladesh and elsewhere.15 Rohingya arrested on immigration charges or on other minor charges are often unable to secure release once they have served out their sentences. Considered “illegal immigrants” and unrecognised as citizens of Myanmar, most are not deported through formal channels either.16 As such many laysia, the detention of Rohingya has increased since the pandemic began, as they struggle to travel and gain access to refugee registration. In February this year, Rohingya in Jammu and Kashmir were told by Indian authorities to join a 170 Rohingyas were rounded up at random and updating their refugee registration during the pandemic. A Supreme Court ruling rejected a petition against their deportation, paving the way for deportations to Myanmar and prolonged detention.17 EQUALITY AND NON-DISCRIMINATION Gender Based Impact Globally, there has been a rise in domestic and intimate partner violence during the pandemic. There are already high levels of domestic violence within Rohingya communities and heightened concerns about the impact of lockdown and unemployment within households. The increased time spent at home together and stresses related to loss of work and income profoundly impact the mental health of family members, which in turn increases the levels of domestic violence. The lockdown prevents victims of domestic violence from leaving their homes to seek help either through their informal networks or through services.18 Around the globe in times of food shortage or food insecurity, children and women within households tend to suffer disproportionately from hunger and malnutrition. With more limited access to the public sphere, often with little mobility beyond the home, and more language barriers to overcome, women are disproportionately impacted by the restrictions.19 Rohingya women are more likely than men to lack up-to-date and accurate health information in Rohingya language. As primary carers within the household it is vitally important that Rohingya women are not just reached, but centrally included and consulted in public health and health education initiatives. This will ensure that women are able to effectively protect themselves and their household from disease and are able to seek medical advice and services when needed.20 RIGHT TO HEALTH Camp environments in Bangladesh and India are densely populated, with limited access to sanitation. Sometimes families occupy a single room, with water and washing facilities shared between many households. Social distancing, handwashing and following other virus prevenditions leave people vulnerable to the spread of the virus and have created environments of anxiety and fear. In response to concerns about the spread of the virus, the Bangladeshi government and international aid agencies put in place important health measures, including making testing available and providing quarantine facilities.21 The restrictions placed on mobile phone and internet access for refugees in Bangladesh in 2020, as well as lockdowns that limited camp members of the Rohingya community to access health information and to engage in important community-based responses.22 Rohingyas in India and Malaysia faced barriers to accessing healthcare prior to the pandemic, including a lack of Rohingya language interpreters and female interpreters, risks of arrest and health care costs for undocumented and refugee populations. The lockdowns and reduction in non-COVID related health services, together with the increase in xenophobia towards Rohingya has further impeded access to healthcare. This has particularly impacted Rohingya with pre-existing and long-term health conditions. It has also impacted pregnant women, who have more limited to access maternity care. SOCIO-ECONOMIC RIGHTS Lost Livelihoods and Food Insecurity: Rohingya Community Worker in Bangladesh, Sabrina Chowdhury Mona 58 Founder and Director of the Rohingya Women Development Network, Sharifah Shakira Lockdowns in both camp-based and urban refugee situations have resulted in the loss of livelihoods and food security within Rohingya households. This also has a knock-on impact on Rohingya in Myanmar and elsewhere who are reliant on remittances from their families abroad. Without legal status and work permits in Bangladesh, India and Malaysia, Rohingyas are only able to access precarious work in the informal economies. Without legal status, there are few social safety nets and no social security in situations of external shock. The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdowns have hit Rohingya families hard, resulting in loss of income, loss of homes and food shortages.23 Some Rohingya have been compelled to continue working despite the lockdown, putting themselves and their families at greater risk of infection. In Malaysia, historically Rohingya have found a relatively safe refuge with some living there for 30-40 years. Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Rohingya in Malaysia are facing unemployment and homelessness. Refugees in Malaysia live mostly in urban environments and, without humanitarian aid, they are reliant on work in the informal economy for household income. Malaysian employers stopped hiring foreigners and explicitly refused to hire Rohingya. The Malaysian Immigration Department placed banners in public places, threatening hiring, protecting or renting properties to refugees. The rise of hate speech and xenophobia has led to attacks on Rohingya refugees in their workplaces or on the way to work. This has caused homeless Rohingya to move in with other families, creating conditions of overcrowding and thus increasing the risk of COVID-19.24 In India, fake news and information on the internet pose a serious challenge for the community.25 Following a gathering in Delhi organised by a Muslim organisation, where numerous people tested COVID-19 positive, the Rohingya in Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mewat faced extreme government scrutiny, and some refugees were quarantined based on discriminatory assumptions of them carrying COVID-19. False narratives led to forced evictions, threats and abuse.26 CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS Border Closures and Dangerous Journeys: The lack of security and protection, viable livelihood opportunities and a sense of hopelessness for the future, drives onward migration for Rohingya. Without access to documentation, there are no legal routes to cross borders either by sea or land. There are also few options for secure, safe and decent work. As a result, building family lives and supporting households can be a constant struggle.27 The closure of borders due to COVID-19 has not halted cross-border movements. Instead, the restrictions have increased tempting the journeys.28 COVID-19 related border closures have left refugees stranded at sea and in a situation of acute humanitarian need, lacking food, water and fuel. Hundreds have