The Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh: Non-refoulement and Legal Obligation under National and International Law

Abstract

Bangladesh is now the largest Rohingya refugee-hosting country in the world. 2017 saw the largest and fastest Rohingya refugee influx from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The very first influx took place in 1978 after just seven years of its independence. Despite being a non-signatory to the 1951 Refugee Status Convention, Bangladesh has an obligation to protect refugees under national and international laws. The legal basis of international protection comes from the different bodies of international law including customary international law. The basic customary international law applicable to the refugees found in the core international human rights instruments. The aims of this research are to find out the legal obligations and challenges of Bangladesh in the protection of refugees under the constitutional and statutory laws of Bangladesh. This research also aims to focus on the role of protecting refugees under different bodies of regional and international law including the principle of non-refoulement.