“I May Be Killed Any Moment” III. Responses by the Former Government of Bangladesh and the U.N. Refugee Agency Under the authoritarian government of the now-deposed Sheikh Hasina, impunity long reigned in the camps, partly due to the former government’s protracted denial of the existence of Rohingya militants in the camp.246 Exacerbating the protection concerns, Bangladesh authorities have also been responsible for committing human rights violations against Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar District.247 The avoidable gaps in the government and humanitarian responses have further left Rohingya refugees without adequate protection. Failure by Bangladesh to Acknowledge the Existence of Militant Groups in the Camps For years, the Government of Bangladesh refused to publicly acknowledge the existence or activities of the Rohingya militant groups in Bangladesh territory.248 This denial resulted in a lack of any response by Bangladesh authorities to attacks on Rohingya refugees by Rohingya militants. In December 2021, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, conducted a weeklong monitoring trip to the refugee camps in Bangladesh, after which he reported on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)’s involvement in crimes against Rohingya in the camps. He told journalists, “I have received credible reports that members of ARSA 246 Furthermore, Fortify Rights documented other violations outside the refugee camps. In July and August 2023, Fortify Rights documented the involvement of Bangladesh’s security forces and members of the then-ruling Awami League—the political party of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina—in protest-related killings and violence in Bangladesh. See, “Bangladesh: Ensure Accountability for Protest Killings and Violence, Support Survivors,” November 12, 2024, https://www.fortifyrights.org/bgd-inv-2024-11-12/. 247 Fortify Rights, “Bangladesh: Investigate Refugee-Beatings by Police, Lift Restrictions on Movement,” May 26, 2022, https://www.fortifyrights.org/bgd-inv-2022-05-26/; 248 “There is no existence of ARSA or any other terrorist outfits in the Rohingya camps,” said Masud Hossain, the superintendent of police in Cox’s Bazar in 2020. “Govt Officials: No Existence of ARSA in Rohingya Camps,” Dhaka Tribune, August 18, 2020, https://archive. dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/rohingya-crisis/2020/08/18/govt-officials-no-existenceof-arsa-in-rohingya-camps. See also, “ARSA Presence at Rohingya Camps: Everybody Knows Few Dare Speak,” Daily Star, November 20, 2021, https://www.thedailystar.net/rohingyainflux/news/arsa-presence-rohingya-camps-everybody-knows-few-dare-speak-2233966. “Bangladesh Denies ARSA Militants’ Presence at Rohingya Camps,” The New Indian Express, October 30, 2019, https://www.newindianexpress.com/world/2019/Oct/30/bangladeshdenies-arsa-militants-presence-at-rohingya-camps-2054832.html.