ll. Barriers to Rohingya Children’s Right to Education The precise number of school-age Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh is unclear, partly because UNHCR’s total figure of 912,000 Rohingya refugees does not include an estimated 300,000 people who fled persecution and military attacks before August 2017 but who have not been registered.7° Based on the Bangladesh government’s claim that the Rohingya population comprises 1.1 million people, and on available demographic data, there are roughly 390,000 Rohingya children in Bangladesh between the ages of 5 and 17.7 As of July 28, 2019, the education sector reported that education programs had reached 296,000 out of a target of 393,000 Rohingya children ages 3-18, most of them under age 14.72 These figures may not reflect children who are registered at the NGO-operated “learning centers” in the camps, but who do not actually attend.73 But even those children who do regularly attend learning centers are not receiving education that fulfils their rights, because of restrictions imposed by the government of Bangladesh. The government has claimed that its response to the Rohingya crisis “aims to fulfil its commitments in global treaties and declarations that guarantee the right to 7° UNICEF notes that Rohingya who fled since August 2017 “joined 300,000 people already in Bangladesh from previous waves of displacement.” UNICEF, “Rohingya Crisis,” https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/rohingya-crisis (accessed September 4, 2019). UNHCR counted 913,080 Rohingya refugees, of whom 55 percent are under 18 years old, and 37 percent are between the ages of 5 and 17, as of August 31, 2019. UNHCR, “Rohingya Refugee Response — Bangladesh: Population Factsheet,” https://data2.unhcr.org/en/documents/download/71171 (accessed August 1, 2019). 7! Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina stated that Bangladesh was hosting 1.1 million Rohingya in her remarks to the U.N. General Assembly on September 27, 2018. 73rd UN General Assembly, “Bangladesh: H.E. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” September 27, 2018, https://gadebate.un.org/en/73/bangladesh (accessed September 4, 2019). The humanitarian education sector’s estimates of the number of school-age children seem to have shifted downward since June 2018, when an education needs assessment reported that “over 530,000” refugee children ages 3 to 17 were “in immediate need of education in emergency services.” In December 2018, the education sector reported that its “target” population in the 3-14 age group was 298,000 children. Joint Education Sector Needs Assessment, June 1, 2018, p. 8, https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/bangladesh/document/joint-education-needs-assessment- rohingya-refugee-cox%E2%80%99s-bazar-june (accessed July 25, 2019). Cox’s Bazar 5W Data - Education Sector, December 31, 2018, XLS file available at https://data.humdata.org/dataset/cox-s-bazar-5w-data-education-sector (accessed August 1, 2019). 72 Cox’s Bazar Education Sector Meeting, “Education Sector: Dashboard and 5W Analysis as of July 28, 2019.” 73 In December 2018, education sector members noted that although each learning center counted 35-40 students, “there are much less [who attend] most of the time,” and pledged to improve attendance monitoring including through “independent spot checks.” Cox’s Bazar Education Sector Roundtable, December 19, 2018 (updated April 3, 2019), p. 6, https://www.dropbox.com/sh/dgkgms6vu4mai1os/AABChgl4SLSTkKWMIYFruSiXa/RRRC%3ACIC%20Meetings?dl=o&preview=181219+RRRC_CIC+Meeting_Follow_up_3April.docx&subfolder_nav_tra cking=1 (accessed July 17, 2019). 29 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | DECEMBER 2019