117 Save the Children interviews, January and February 2021. 118 98 Save the Children interviews, January and February 2021. See also PRIO, We Must Prevent a Lost Generation: Community-led education in Rohingya camps. 99 E Wagner and H Warren, Save our Education: Protect every child’s right to learn in the COVID-19 response and recovery, Save the Children International, 2020, p. 49, https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/ node/17871/pdf/save_our_education_0.pdf. 100 Bangladesh: Cox’s Bazar Camp Settlement Fire – Mar 2021, https://reliefweb.int/disaster/fr-2021-000027-bgd. 101 Fortify Rights, Bangladesh: Remove Fencing, Support Fire-Affected Refugees, 5 May 2021, https://www.fortifyrights.org/bgd-inv-2021-05-05/. 102 2020 Joint Response Plan: Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis (JanuaryDecember 2020) – Bangladesh, 3 March 2020, p. 57. 103 Arrangement on return of displaced persons from Rakhine State between the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh and the Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, 23 November 2017, on file with Save the Children. While a copy of the agreement was leaked, it has yet to be officially made public; refugees were not consulted in negotiations on the text. 104 H Ellis-Petersen and S Azizur Rahman, ‘Rohingya refugees turn down second Myanmar repatriation effort’, The Guardian, 22 August 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/aug/22/rohingyarefugees-turn-down-second-myanmar-repatriation-effort. 105 Dhaka Tribune, Rohingya relocation: 2,495 more set for Bhasan Char in 6th phase, 31 March 2021, https://www.dhakatribune.com/ bangladesh/rohingya-crisis/2021/03/31/rohingya-relocation-2-495-setfor-bhasan-char-in-6th-phase. They join 306 Rohingya – 33 of them children – who were taken to Bhasan Char after a boat they were travelling on was apprehended by Bangladeshi authorities in May 2020. 106 UNHCR, Figures at a glance in Malaysia, https://www.unhcr.org/ figures-at-a-glance-in-malaysia.html, accessed 23 May 2021. 107 108 The Star, Rohingya refugees have no right or basis to make demands, says Home Minister, 30 April 2020, https://www.thestar.com. my/news/nation/2020/04/30/rohingya-refugees-have-no-right-or-basisto-make-demands-says-home-minister. Article 14(b) of the 1957 Federal Constitution states that: “[T]he following persons are citizens by operation of law… (b) every person born on or after Malaysia Day, and having any of the qualifications specified in Part II of the Second Schedule.” Part II of the Second Schedule States makes clear that this applies to stateless children: “the following persons born before Malaysia Day are citizens by operation of law, that is to say: (c) every person born within the Federation after September, 1962, of whose parents one at least was at the time of the birth either a citizen or permanently resident in the Federation, or who was not born a citizen of any other country.” 109 UNHCR, Her Turn: UNHCR report reveals critical gap in education for refugee girls, 8 March 2018, https://www.unhcr.org/en-my/news/ press/2018/3/5aa1fafe4/her-turn-unhcr-report-reveals-critical-gap-ineducation-for-refugee-girls.html. Save the Children interviews, January 2021. See also C Wake and T Cheung, Livelihood Strategies of Rohingya Refugees in Malaysia: “We want to live in dignity”, Overseas Development Institute, 2016, p. 15. According to a Malaysian government official, between May and November 2020 alone, some 8,000 ‘illegal’ migrants were arrested as part of efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. See The Malaysian Insight, ‘Raids against illegals to stop Covid-19, says task force chief’, 7 November 2020, https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/283113. 119 Of the 326 detained children from Myanmar, 253 were boys and 73 girls. See The Star, “Home Ministry: 756 children held at immigration detention centres nationwide as of Oct 26”, 4 November 2020, https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/11/04/homeministry-756-children-held-at-immigration-detention-centresnationwide-as-of-oct-26. 120 121 Save the Children interview, February 2021. The Star, 214 died during detention in first six months, 7 August 2020, https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/08/07/214-diedduring-detention-in-first-six-months. 122 123 Save the Children interview, February 2021. Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APPRN), Urgent Statement: Malaysia Must Pursue Alternatives to Immigration Detention for Children Immediately, 8 December 2020, https://reliefweb.int/sites/ reliefweb.int/files/resources/APRRN-Statement-on-MalaysiaImmigration-Detention-of-Children.pdf. 124 Amnesty International, Malaysia: Deportation to Myanmar puts lives in danger, 18 February 2021, https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/ news/2021/02/myanmar-deportation-malaysia-danger/. 125 126 Rohingya are also often included in figures estimating the number of Myanmar Muslims in the country, for example, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) up to 21,000 “Myanmar Muslims” – which includes Rohingya – live in 21 host communities spread across Tak, Ranong and Phang Nga provinces in northern Thailand. IOM, Promoting Stability, Wellbeing and Harmony for Myanmar Muslim and Host Communities in Thailand, https://thailand.iom.int/sites/thailand/files/Infosheets/ AUP%20project%20summary%20infosheet.pdf, accessed 23 May 2021. 127 Save the Children interviews, January 2021. In its 2019 Thailand Migration Report the UN noted that while Thailand had identified 100–155 Rohingya victims of trafficking between 2014 and 2017, “Many others… were not considered trafficked persons and did not receive such assistance, even though they demonstrated similar indicators of vulnerability and abuse”. Thailand Migration Report 2019, 25 January 2019, p. 158, https://thailand.iom.int/sites/thailand/files/document/publications/ Thailand%20Report%202019_22012019_HiRes.pdf. 128 129 UNHCR Thailand, https://www.unhcr.org/th/en, accessed 23 May 2021. 110 Save the Children interview, January 2021. 130 111 Save the Children interview, January 2021. 112 Save the Children interview, January 2021. For example, the regulation makes no reference to refugees, and instead states that “protected persons” are individuals who are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of persecution, which is to be “determined by the Committee”. For further analysis of human rights-related concerns around the regulation, see W Rungthong and C Stover, ‘Thailand’s National Screening Mechanism: Key issues’, Opinio Juris, 28 January 2020, http://opiniojuris.org/2020/01/28/thailands-national-screeningmechanism-key-issues/. For more on the challenges of accessing education for Rohingya children in Malaysia, see Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Education for Rohingya Refugee Children in Malaysia, February 2020, https://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/node/17626/pdf/palik_ julia_-_education_for_rohingya_refugee_children_in_malaysia_prio_ policy_brief_2-2020.pdf. 113 114 Save the Children interview, January 2021. UNHCR, Education in Malaysia, https://www.unhcr.org/educationin-malaysia.html, accessed 23 May 2021. 115 Some Rohingya are able to access private universities or institutions which are linked with UNCHR and accept refugees, however the numbers are extremely low 116 ENDNOTES 97 Peace Research Institute: Oslo (PRIO), We Must Prevent a Lost Generation: Community-led education in Rohingya camps, 2019, https://www.prio.org/utility/DownloadFile.ashx?id=1838&type= publicationfile. Immigration Act of 1979. See especially Section 54. 131 132 Save the Children interviews, January 2021. Save the Children interviews, January 2021. A letter from the Council of State to the Secretary of the Cabinet, dated 18 Dec 2019 indicates that groups deemed to have “special security issues” which may seriously impact “international relationships” including “people fleeing fighting from Myanmar, Rohingya, Uighur, and North Koreans” could be excluded. See: http://www.cabinet.soc.go.th/doc_ image/2562/9933420829.pdf. 133 39