“Nowhere is the link between statelessness and displacement more evident than for the Rohingya community of Myanmar, for whom denial of citizenship is a key aspect of the entrenched discrimination and exclusion that have shaped their plight for decades.” Filippo Grandi United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees October 2017 was the largest and fastest refugee influx seen in the region in the past twenty years. Throughout the crisis, the Government of Bangladesh has kept its borders open, and the people of Bangladesh have shown tremendous generosity in hosting the newly arrived refugees. However, the enormous influx has placed acute strain on host communities and resources in Cox’s Bazar district in south-eastern Bangladesh, where most of the refugees are concentrated. The Kutupalong-Balukhali site in Cox’s Bazar is now the largest and most densely populated refugee settlement in the world. Overcrowding and inaccessibility to parts of the site due to challenging topography and weather conditions, particularly during the monsoon season between May and September, is increasing all protection risks. A large proportion of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh face heightened risks: more than half of the refugees are under the age of 18, more than half are women and girls, and up to one third of the families have been identified to have a protection vulnerability [Figure 8]. Many experienced extreme violence—including sexual violence—and psychological trauma prior to and during their flight. Although the pace of the influx has slowed, Rohingya refugees continue to flee Myanmar to seek protection in Bangladesh. Because they are both stateless and refugees, the Rohingya in Bangladesh are in critical need of international protection. Meanwhile, at the end of 2017, an estimated 470,000 non-displaced stateless Rohingya remained in Rakhine State. 30 In addition, there were more than 125,000 internally displaced Rohingya—who are also stateless and in need of protection—who have been largely confined to camps in the central part of Rakhine State since 2012. 31 UNHCR has called on the Government of Myanmar to address the root causes of the Rohingyas’ displacement, including by guaranteeing their security in Rakhine State, ensuring that they can meaningfully enjoy their basic human rights, and, ultimately, providing a pathway to citizenship. Only by ending their statelessness can the Rohingya be promised a normal life and hope for the future. ■ 30 UNHCR’s estimate that some 470,000 non-displaced stateless Rohingya remain in Rakhine State is based on the best information currently available, noting limitations including lack of authorization to conduct assessments, inability to verify information independently, and other restrictions. 31 UNHCR Myanmar reported 128,420 IDPs in Rakhine State, comprising of 125,575 stateless Rohingya IDPs and 2,845 non-Rohingya IDPs. The Rohingya IDPs are reported under two separate columns in Annex Table I to reflect their dual status as both IDPs and as persons of concern under UNHCR’s statelessness mandate. Please consult the Text Box on p. 53 for more information about statistics on stateless refugees and IDPs. Figure 8 | Rohingya refugees by age and sex | end-2017 Women = 25% Men = 20% Children = 55% 0-4 = 18% 5-11 = 22% 12-17 = 14% BY AGE unhcr > Global trends 2017 25