Shadow of Refuge: Rohingya Refugees in India

A Rohingya survivor of detention in India speaking with the research team. Photo by The Azadi Project and Refugees International.

Daniel Sullivan

The Rohingya of Myanmar have been among the most persecuted people in the world. Genocidal attacks at the hands of the Myanmar military starting in August 2017 caused more than 770,000 Rohingya to flee. The challenges Rohingya face residing in the largest refugee settlement in the world in Bangladesh and the ongoing risks to the estimated 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar are well known. Less is known about the Rohingya who have fled to other countries throughout the region, including at least 20,000 Rohingya in India. This population is a stark example of both the secondary effects of the Myanmar military’s abuses and the failure of countries throughout the region to uphold the most basic of protections for this population.

The Myanmar military leadership responsible for the genocide launched a coup in February 2021, resulting in civil war and widespread human rights abuses of the civilian population. The prospect of a safe return for the Rohingya to their homeland remains remote. Addressing these challenges will be complex and difficult; but providing true refuge to those who have escaped genocide should not be. Yet Rohingya in India are officially labeled as “illegal immigrants” and face troublesome restrictions. These include limits on freedom of movement and access to education, basic health and legal services, and formal employment opportunities. Further, the Rohingya in India face growing anti-Muslim and anti-refugee xenophobia and live in constant fear of detention and even deportation back to the genocidal regime from which they fled.

India prides itself as the world’s largest democracy, but a true test of any democracy is how it treats its minorities. India has a history of providing refuge to various groups and has endorsed the Global Compact on Refugees – an agreement aimed at increasing responsibility-sharing and finding new solutions for refugees. In 2023, India chairs the G20, an influential forum of the world’s most rich and powerful countries. India will also participate in the Global Refugee Forum in late 2023. Failure to uphold basic standards of protection and refuge – let alone forcing genocide survivors back into the hands of the perpetrators – would undercut India’s aspirations to global leadership.

Fortunately, India does have a robust legal system and civil society working on behalf of the Rohingya. Several organizations and individuals within India have introduced cases or challenges to government policies in India’s courts. Yet those who speak out for the Rohingya are being threatened, particularly with loss of permission to access foreign funding. Such voices should be supported, not constrained.

For the United States, encouraging countries like India to protect the Rohingya should follow naturally from its official determination that the Myanmar military is responsible for genocide against the Rohingya. The United States has been a leader in providing humanitarian support for Rohingya, including in India. But it must do more to urge countries like India to protect survivors, to provide access to basic services, and to empower them towards what U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called “a path out of genocide.” That applies to Rohingya in Myanmar, in Bangladesh, in India and wherever they are seeking a better life for themselves and future Rohingya generations.

Recommendations

The government of India should:

• Adopt a national law on refugees and asylum seekers or pass the Asylum Bill 2021, which was first introduced in the parliament in 2015. This bill would establish an asylum and refugee system, based on international obligations and the principles of the Indian Constitution. 

• Establish the legal status of Rohingya in India and their right to basic services including education, employment, health care, bank accounts, and SIM cards. This could be done through provision of special Aadhaar biometric cards or recognition of UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) cards as a valid form of identification for accessing such services.

• End arbitrary and indefinite detention of Rohingya, establish special courts and tribunals to hear cases of detention of refugees, and allow UNHCR access to all detained migrants to determine their refugee status and protection needs. India’s National Human Rights Commission should work with the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights to carry out an investigation of detention centers in India.

• Refrain from deportation of Rohingya and other refugees from Myanmar in violation of its international legal non-refoulement obligations.

• Release guidance from the central government clarifying the right of Rohingya to access government schools and hospitals. Promote girls’ education and extend access for Rohingya to secondary and university level education.

• Allow space for civil society to work with the Rohingya in India including by supporting refugee-led organizations and ceasing threats of withdrawal of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) permissions that allow organizations working with refugees to receive foreign funding.

• Provide search and rescue for Rohingya boats when reported in Indian waters and work with regional partners to ensure safe disembarkation, access to UNHCR and asylum claims, and refrain from detention and refoulement.

• Pressure Myanmar’s military junta to end persecution of the Rohingya, to recognize their citizenship rights, and to cease broader abuses and attacks on civilians. Such pressure should include cracking down on companies doing business with or supplying arms to the junta. 

 The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) should:

• Engage India at the highest levels, including a visit by the High Commissioner for Refugees, toward refraining from refoulement and indefinite detention, facilitating resettlement, and allowing access to migrants in detention centers to determine their refugee status and protection needs.

• Support and fund refugee-led and local organizations that work on provision of services for refugees and on protection and legal assistance of Rohingya detained in India. 

 The United States should:

• Raise concerns over detention, deportation, and status of Rohingya in high-level engagements with India including when Prime Minister Modi visits the White House as expected in the summer of 2023 and when President Biden attends the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September 2023.

• Urge UNHCR to take a stronger stance against government intimidation and restrictions on activities in support of refugees. Support NGOs facing such intimidation through private and public engagement with Indian officials. 

• Offer and encourage other countries to offer resettlement opportunities for Rohingya in India and press the Indian government to allow for exit visas and further resettlement to third countries including the United States. 

• Provide additional funding to NGOs and local civil society supporting the Rohingya and other refugee populations in India, including protection and services for women and girls. 

(Daniel Sullivan is the director of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East at Refugees International. Follow him on Twitter at @EndGenocideDan.)