Bangladesh should stop expelling Rohingya students: HRW

DHAKA, Bangladesh

A U.S.-based rights group asked Tuesday the Bangladeshi government to terminate the expulsion of Rohingya refugee students from schools.

The Bangladeshi government has expelled scores of Rohingya refugee children from schools in southeast Bangladesh since late January 2019, Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

The country’s officials have ordered secondary schools near the refugee settlements in the Cox’s Bazar district to dismiss Rohingya students, who lack Bangladeshi citizenship, the HRW said adding that Bangladesh should ensure formal education for all children.

“The Bangladeshi government’s policy of tracking down and expelling Rohingya refugee students instead of ensuring their right to education is misguided, tragic, and unlawful,” said Bill Van Esveld, senior children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“Education is a basic human right. The solution to children feeling compelled to falsify their identities to go to secondary school isn’t to expel them but to let them get the education they deserve,” Esveld added.

The HRW said it interviewed 13 Rohingya refugee students, all of whom said that school authorities read out a government-issued notice ordering their expulsion.

“As long as Rohingya refugee children aren’t able to obtain education in the camps, Bangladesh should allow them to enroll in local schools,” Van Esveld said. “The government should stop thwarting Rohingya students’ right to learn.”

Responding to the statement, Md Abul Kalam, head of the state-run Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commission (RRRC) said: “We have an informal education opportunity for the Rohingya people, but there is a restriction for them to take formal education as they don’t have Bangladeshi citizenship.”

A persecuted people

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience."

Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.

The UN has also documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- and brutal beatings and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces.

In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity and genocidal intent.