domestic framework that sanctioned discrimination, persecution and expulsion. The clear exclusion of Rohingya from access to citizenship by right - as opposed to a highly discretionary and arbitrary naturalisation procedure - was a deliberate next step towards the ratcheting up of abuses against the group. As such, Rohingya have fled structural discrimination and persecution in Myanmar over decades resulting in a large and scattered refugee population world-wide. It is estimated that three quarters of the Rohingya population currently live outside Myanmar. There are now approximately one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and hundreds of thousands of Rohingya in other countries, such as Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East; India, Pakistan and elsewhere in South Asia; Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. A smaller number of Rohingyas have settled in Australia, Europe and North America. Within the contexts of the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, Rohingyas have experienced inter-generational statelessness and continue to live in situations of protracted displacement without access to legal status or the legal right to work. This has prevented children and youth from accessing formal education and training and has driven men and women into precarious work in the informal sectors of the economy with few safety standards, often exposed to exploitation and with no access to social safety nets. In times of external shocks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, humanitarian disaster and conflict, Rohingya families are at heightened risk of hunger, illness and violence.1 Family members in Myanmar and elsewhere who rely on remittances from those working overseas are also increasingly vulnerable to these impacts. Exposure to violence, structural discrimination, movement restrictions and socio-economic hardship in both Myanmar and Bangladesh drive onwards migration. There are currently two main routes from Bangladesh and Myanmar to other countries of Southeast Asia and beyond: by boat across the Andaman Sea to Malaysia, Indonesia and elsewhere; and by land through Myanmar, across the border into Thailand and onwards to Malaysia and elsewhere. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 3,500 Rohingyas attempted sea crossings in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal in 2022. This figure represents a 360 per cent increase and signals increasing desperation compared to 2021 when around 700 individuals were recorded to have made similar journeys. Regarding the death toll, around 348 individuals are believed to have died or gone missing at sea making 2022 one of the deadliest years for the sea journey since 2014. 6 Nearly 45 per cent of those rescued were women and children.2 Routes across land are also risky. In many situations, travellers never reach their destination. They may be arrested, abandoned, or die en route. Others are abused or exploited. Experiences of abuse and exploitation en route include:3 • Extortion from brokers such as: o Transportation fees rising four or five-fold after departure or demands of extra money for passengers to disembark boats or complete the journey. o Threats, violence and sometimes abduction of family members in different countries to recover debts/extra costs. • Violence, torture or rape by brokers and security forces. • Being ‘sold on’ to other syndicates on route for the purpose of extortion. • Forced labour on route, including portering for brokers. • Food and water shortages, ill-equipped, overcrowded vehicles and unseaworthy boats. • Injury and death resulting from abuse and inhumane conditions. Experiences of exploitation at the destination include:4 • Forced/abusive marriage including early marriage. • Commercial sexual exploitation. • Domestic servitude. • Debt-bondage.5 • Child labour. • Unsafe and unregulated work. • Unpaid wages/wage theft. Rights violations and abuses by state security forces en route and at destination include:6 • Failure to provide humanitarian assistance to passengers on boats in distress. • ‘Push-backs’ of boats into high seas and international/neighbouring country waters. • Denying passenger disembarkation. • Lack of access to asylum procedures or identification of trafficking victims and stateless people. • Detention on arrival, denial of access to UNHCR in detention, detention for indefinite periods, inhumane detention conditions for example in Malaysia and India. • Refoulement to Myanmar following ‘rescue’ at sea, even where they are refugees registered in Bangladesh. • Arrest and detention en route through Myanmar,