Background
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Fleeing this violence, a wave of more than 700,000 Rohingya escaped across the border into Southeast Bangladesh, where the majority now live in the largest refugee camp in the world.23 Due to the
atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya in 2017, a case has been brought against Myanmar at the
International Court of Justice for its failure to observe its obligations under the genocide convention.24
Research conducted with Rohingya who were displaced to Bangladesh one year after the
2017 violence documented extremely high levels of trauma, depression, and anxiety symptoms, and demonstrated that systematic human rights violations and violence in Myanmar were the drivers of distress.25 Further research has demonstrated that substandard
living conditions in the refugee camps in Bangladesh exacerbate this distress. 26
In 2021, four years after the extreme violence against Rohingya, the Myanmar Military seized power
in a coup d’etat, overruling the landslide election victory of the ruling party, the National League for
Democracy. The military brutally suppressed the ensuing demonstrations against the coup and met the
growing resistance around the country with similar tactics to those used against the Rohingya, namely
violence, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, rape and sexual assault, and the destruction of villages.27,28
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World Food Programme. Rohingya Crisis: A Firsthand Look Into The World’s Largest Refugee Camp. 2022.
The Guardian. Genocide Case Against Myanmar over Rohingya Atrocities Cleared to Proceed. 2022.
Conflict and Health. Systematic Human Rights Violations, Traumatic Events, Daily Stressors and Mental Health of Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh. 2020.
Frontiers in Public Health. Associations Among Past Trauma, Post-displacement Stressors, and Mental Health Outcomes in Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: A
Secondary Cross-sectional Analysis. 2023.
The New York Times. Myanmar’s Coup and Its Aftermath, Explained. 2022.
Amnesty International. Myanmar: Detainees Tortured to Crush Opposition to Coup. 2022.