USING THIS GUIDE Background The Rohingya ethnic group of Myanmar is one of the most persecuted minorities in the world, and Rohingya communities have for decades been forced to seek protection by fleeing Myanmar for countries across the Asia-Pacific region.1 While Rohingya displacement has occurred in significant waves over decades, a major exodus occurred in August 2017, when roughly 700,000 Rohingya fled persecution amounting to what has been termed a genocide.2 Most crossed the border into Bangladesh, which is currently home to close to one million Rohingya people. There is a lack of clarity regarding the laws and policies applicable to Rohingya in Bangladesh. Rohingya who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh are not formally recognized as refugees. In addition, most countries in South and Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, are not signatories to the Refugee Convention and its Protocol3 and there is no regional system of human rights protection.4 There is limited awareness of—and significant confusion regarding—the legal status of the Rohingya in Bangladesh, and the rights and protections available to them under Bangladesh’s domestic laws. But national-level protections and domestic pathways to justice are essential to the realization of rights for displaced populations such as the Rohingya communities in Cox’s Bazar and other camps for Rohingya in Bangladesh. Gaps in awareness and understanding persist around which national laws, policies, judicial decisions, and international commitments outside of the Refugee Convention provide legal grounds that can be invoked to protect and advance the rights of refugees in Bangladesh. These gaps hinder the work of civil society actors engaged in the Rohingya response, as well as representatives of international humanitarian organizations operating in Bangladesh. The same uncertainty can be discerned from some national and local decision-making authorities and government representatives, which has led to a lack of consistency and coherence regarding the interpretation of legal texts and their applicability to non-citizens, including 4 the Rohingya. These questions have immediate impacts on the daily lives of Rohingya in Bangladesh, including uncertainty over their residence status, access to education and healthcare, and ability to work or get married. This guide seeks to clarify whether and how specific Bangladesh national laws and policies pertain to Rohingya in the country. It summarizes and analyses major laws and court rulings—governing essential aspects of life, from registering births and deaths to education, labour, and marriage—and notes their applicability to Rohingya in Bangladesh. In so doing, the guide seeks to furnish legal service providers and others working with Rohingya in Bangladesh with concrete information that can benefit their clients. Purpose of the Guide This compendium examines relevant national laws and policies that can be employed by civil society actors and human rights advocates in Bangladesh to creatively challenge the current situation of Rohingya refugees (and in some instances of other non-citizen groups), provided they meet the requirements for legal stay in Bangladesh. Although citizenship can be a necessary condition for the enjoyment of certain rights, this guide demonstrates that it is not the sole foundation for the realization of basic rights. The objective of this document is to support and assist actors working to secure, protect, and realize rights for Rohingya refugees by increasing awareness and knowledge of the national-level legal protections that are available to noncitizens in Bangladesh, who are governed by the Foreigners Act,5 which makes no distinction regarding the circumstance or reason for their presence in Bangladesh. By clarifying the applicability of domestic law and legal protections to Rohingya communities in Bangladesh, it is hoped that this document will support legal arguments, advocacy, and strategies to improve the situation of Rohingya in Bangladesh. BE YOND REFU GE: ADVANCING LEG AL PROTECTIONS FOR ROHINGYA C OMMUNITIES IN BANGL ADESH