The condition of Rohingya Refugees Camp, Kalindi Kunj, and their Fundamental Rights

Post Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2016

According to the United Nations, the Rohingya comprise one of the world’s most persecuted minority groups. The Rohingya people are a Muslim minority from the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Since 1982, the Government of Myanmar has officially classified the Rohingya as stateless Bengali Muslims. The Myanmar Government failed to designate the Rohingya as an official ethnic race, stripping the people of their rights and barring them from claiming citizenship.

The Rohingya people number about 800,000, a sizable minority of Myanmar’s total population of about 60 million. However, because they are not considered full citizens, the Rohingya people are systematically and officially robbed of their basic civil, political, social, and cultural rights. As far back as 2004, Amnesty International reported, “[The Rohingya] are also subjected to various forms of extortion and arbitrary taxation; land confiscation; forced eviction and house destruction; and financial restrictions on marriage.

On multiple dates in November 2012, health activists from the Reproductive Rights Initiative, HRLN visited a Rohingya refugee camp in Kalindi Kunj, New Delhi. The fact-finding team documented the living conditions and challenges in the camp, where 300 women, children, and men fight to survive. This fact-finding report provides background information on the Rohingya people and details of the conditions in the camp. After observing the conditions in the camp and interviewing dozens of residents, it is clear that an immediate intervention is essential to protect the lives, health, and fundamental rights of the residents.

The full Fact Finding report is attached here.

Contact: Sarita Barpanda; sarita@hrln.org