UN experts on Wednesday called for urgent action to support the humanitarian response to the hosting of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, recognising the shared responsibility of the international community.
“Statelessness affecting Rohingya refugees and the protracted situation of displacement contributes to serious risks of human trafficking with devastating consequences for victims,” said the experts who are in contact with the government of Bangladesh.
They are Siobhan Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Gehad Madi, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants; Claudia Flores (Chair), Ivana Krstic (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, Haina Lu, and Laura Nyirinkindi, Working Group on discrimination against women and girls.
Recent reports indicate that two boats carrying more than 500 people may have capsized off the coast of Myanmar in recent days, following departure from Myanmar’s Rakhine State in late June.
The boats were carrying mostly Rohingya passengers, reportedly including some who had travelled from refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
In 2025, more than 6,500 Rohingya refugees embarked on perilous maritime journeys, with an estimated 900 people losing their lives.
An estimated 66 per cent of those embarking on those journeys are women and children. One in seven were reported missing or dead in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal - the highest mortality rate worldwide of any route for refugee and migrant sea journeys.
Bangladesh hosts nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. Limited access to safe and regular migration pathways, restricted access to formal education, and restrictions on employment, and livelihood opportunities are contributing to increased risks of trafficking in persons, particularly among children and young people.
Refugee women and girls living in camps face heightened risks of trafficking and gender-based violence, with approximately one in four women and girls having experienced such violence.
The experts stressed that the lack of opportunities is exploited by trafficking networks, including armed groups and criminal networks who target Rohingya children and young people, with deceptive offers of employment, education or marriage, and for recruitment and use.
Reports indicate that Rohingya refugees rescued on the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, including children, may be detained for several days at police stations without adequate access to legal assistance, psychosocial support or medical care, despite having experienced severe trauma, including the death or disappearance of family members, according to a message UNB received from Geneva.
“Humanitarian organisations provide assistance to persons rescued at sea but are reliant on timely referrals by law enforcement agencies, and are facing reduced capacity due to severe funding cuts,” the experts said.
They called for effective measures to prevent human trafficking and ensure human rights-based, gender sensitive, and survivor-centred responses to trafficking in persons, including ending statelessness and ensuring access to employment, education, health care, freedom of movement and comprehensive protection services.