“I do not have access to reproductive healthcare. Almost all Rohingya women in this area are not using contraceptive pills because we cannot afford to buy them at the pharmacies. The free clinic here also offers very basic services for women and there is no proper healthcare services for undocumented women. We also afraid to go to Mae Sot general hospital as we may get arrest by the local police.” Rohingya woman, 34, Mae Sot 18. On 8 January 2026, Rakhine media reported that the Myanmar military navy arrested 248 Rohingya from Rakhine State and Bangladesh who were attempting to travel to Malaysia near Sittwe Township. The same source reported that only 28 were released after their families bribed the Myanmar Armed Forces, while 220 are still being held at Sittwe Prison. Rohingya in Bangladesh said that many of those detained are from refugee camps in Bangladesh who attempted to travel to Malaysia and were arrested by the Myanmar military and detained in Sittwe Prison. They said that the Myanmar military extorted money from their family members in exchange for their release. “We heard that the Myanmar military arrested them near Sittwe Township and detained them in Sittwe Prison. We heard that some Rohingya detainees called their family members in camp asking to bribe the Myanmar military to release them. Myanmar military officials demanded a large amount of money including to pay food expenses they provided them everyday. We are very concerned that many young Rohingya including under aged children are at high risk of Myanmar military’s forced recruitment” Rohingya, 28, Cox’s Bazar. 19. Children in Rohingya communities face extreme vulnerability due to statelessness, armed conflict, and forced displacement. Denied civil documentation and safe migration routes, they are often exposed to trafficking, forced labour, abuse, and exploitation along migration routes and at destinations. Many lack access to education, healthcare, and basic protections, while some are at risk of recruitment or coercion by armed actors. These patterns highlight a systemic failure to safeguard the rights of Rohingya children, creating a cycle of marginalization and exploitation that demands urgent protective measures and legal recognition. iv. Preventive anti-trafficking measures must address statelessness by guaranteeing nationality through legal reform and safeguards 20. The Committee on the Rights of the Child views statelessness as being directly opposed to the best interests of the child and has affirmed that “States are required to adopt every appropriate measure, both internally and in cooperation with other States, to ensure that every child has a nationality when he or she is born.”4Ensuring the right of every child to acquire a nationality, irrespective of migration or displacement status, is a critical component of trafficking prevention to reduce the vulnerabilities of children. 21. Safeguards in nationality laws are essential to prevent children from being born stateless, particularly in countries that do not grant nationality automatically at birth (jus soli). Where such safeguards are absent, children who would otherwise be stateless, including foundlings whose 4 CMW, ‘Joint General Comment No.4’, 2017, available at: https://www.girlsrightsplatform.org/es/entity/5f5rjzo5lix/info. 5