Taking on traffickers at the world’s largest refugee site

The Kutupalong refugee settlement is the largest in the world. It is home to around 900,000 stateless Rohingya refugees, the vast majority of whom fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in August 2017.

The dangers of abduction and trafficking are relatively small but real. So far this year, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners have intervened in more than 170 cases of missing persons, abductions and kidnappings in the refugee settlements, however, the real number is likely far higher.

Rohingya refugees, as well as poor Bangladeshi families,  are also vulnerable to human trafficking. Many victims of trafficking end up in forced or bonded labour, domestic servitude, or are trafficked for sex.

Of the 170 people reported missing to UNHCR so far this year, 106 cases have been successfully resolved, while 64 remain open. However, many likely go unreported in Cox’s Bazar district, one of the poorest and least developed in Bangladesh, where trafficking networks were firmly established since well before the mass influx of Rohingya refugees began two years ago.

In support of the Government of Bangladesh, and working closely with partners, UNHCR is responsible for ensuring refugees in its care are safe. In September UNHCR helped to set up an Anti-Trafficking Working Group, which co-leads with the International Organization for Migration, IOM, to map and analyze incidents of trafficking and to enhance co-ordination.

UNHCR also works with various partners to provide legal counselling, legal representation, mediation, and coordination of rescue operations. Awareness-raising campaigns are also undertaken within the community to enhance protection of refugees.

Taking steps to protect refugees and their host communities, by ensuring they have legal rights and access to due process, is one of the topics that will be addressed at the Global Refugee Forum – a high-level meeting on 17-18 December in Geneva, bringing together the private sector, humanitarian and development organizations and governments.

Original source: UNHCR
Published on 02 December 2019