The study, based on conversations with refugee detainees in India, found that “most Rohingya refugees are detained even after they have served their sentences”.
NEW DELHI — A new study on the condition of Rohingya refugee detainees in India, conducted by The Azadi Project, a US-registered non-profit, and Refugees International, an American non-profit that advocates for displaced people, has flagged “gross violations of constitutional and human rights” and “a failure by India to adhere to its commitments to international human rights treaties.”
The study, based on conversations with refugee detainees in India, their families and lawyers, and a visit to a detention centre, found that “most Rohingya refugees are detained even after they have served their sentences”. In India, there are about 22,500 Rohingya refugees registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR estimates that there are 676 Rohingya in immigration detention across India, of which “608 have no ongoing court cases or sentences pending”. About 50% of the detainees are women and children.
The report highlights that “very limited access to legal aid and to international institutions like the UNHCR has meant many Rohingya refugees have been arbitrarily detained for over a decade (with no criminal charges) and with no end in sight.” And such detainees included “pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers, children, differently-abled people, and older people.”
Children in these detention centres had no access to schooling or playgrounds, and “older people with age-related mobility issues are left at the mercy of fellow detainees for food and toilet access.” Some of those still detained were infants at the time of their detention and have never experienced life outside the detention centre. The report also flags chronic hunger, unpalatable food, poor nutrition, poor sanitation, and lack of ventilation leading to severe mental and physical ailments, including temporary paralysis.
The report details how men and women were segregated, spouses were not allowed time together, and older children were forcefully separated from their parents in violation of India’s model detention code, which states that “families should not be separated”.
The report recommends that “rather than revictimising a population that has survived genocide,” the Indian government should “provide dignified refuge, starting with immediately releasing the most vulnerable Rohingya detainees and ending the arbitrary detention of more Rohingya.”
It states that over the longer term, “India should clarify the legal status of Rohingya, revise the Foreigners Act of 1946, and ensure that its polices toward refugees are in line with international standards.” It also calls upon the US to “engage directly with the Indian government” to advocate for the release of Rohingya refugees detained unlawfully, and push for better conditions at the detention centres and reunification of families.
India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1961 Protocol. As a result, Rohinya refugees in India are sentenced to imprisonment under section 14 (a) (b) of the Foreigners Act 1946 and Rule 6 of the Passport Act, 1980. But as the report points out, “the latter was omitted in 1985, implying that under India’s own law, the indefinite detention of Rohingya refugees is illegal and arbitrary.” — (TARTV)