CONCLUSION
The situation of over one million Rohingya in Bangladesh is dire. Driven
from their homes in Myanmar, they have suffered loss and hardship beyond
comprehension. Today, they live an uncertain existence, beset by a lack of
clarity regarding their status and rights, and the laws and policies that may (or
may not) apply to them.
However, the situation is not hopeless. As this guide has sought to document,
there are numerous national laws and policies that apply to Rohingya in
Bangladesh, which can be used to improve their circumstances. If progressively
and systematically applied, the laws and policies detailed in this compendium
would empower Rohingya in Bangladesh and enable access to a muchbroadened (yet still incomplete) set of rights and entitlements, rather than
maintaining their exclusion, precarity, and deprivation of agency under the ad
hoc and informal systems under which they currently live.
This compendium seeks to increase awareness and knowledge of both duty
bearers and rights holders regarding the legal protections that are available to
non-citizens in Bangladesh. While preparation of this document was catalysed
by the historic plight of the Rohingya, which has since 2017 assumed new
proportions, we hope it will support actors in guiding and strengthening
rights-based approaches to all non-citizens in Bangladesh, who are entitled to
protection and freedom based on their humanity. Today—over three years after
the mass exodus in 2017—Rohingya communities continue to inhabit a legal
limbo that both reflects and exacerbates their precarious living conditions.
Against this backdrop, it is the authors’ hope that this document can stimulate
legal advocacy and strategies, and inspire progressive applications of national
law to secure, protect, and realize the rights of Rohingya and other refugees.
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BE YOND REFU GE: ADVANCING LEG AL PROTECTIONS FOR ROHINGYA C OMMUNITIES IN BANGL ADESH
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