Summary 13 In providing protection to individual Rohingya refugees threatened by militants, UNHCR relies on “transit centers” that are jointly operated by Bangladesh authorities with the support of UNHCR. UNHCR and the Bangladesh government initially established the transit centers to house newly arrived refugees for a “period of two to five days,” according to a UNHCR planning document. In reality, refugees often languish in the ill-equipped transit centers for months and even years. The longest case documented by Fortify Rights involves a refugee who, at the time of writing, has been confined to a transit center since 2021 because of militant threats to his life. These centers are not properly equipped for longterm housing, and refugees in the centers testified to Fortify Rights about overcrowding, inadequate resources, and restrictions on freedom of movement and family visitations. Restrictions imposed on Rohingya confined to the transit centers have adversely affected their mental health. * * * Rohingya militant groups active in Bangladesh are also engaged in Myanmar’s internal armed conflict. They are further responsible for abducting refugees in Bangladesh and forcing them to fight in Myanmar. Such acts are a violation of the laws of war and should be investigated. One Rohingya refugee, 17, told Fortify Rights how in 2024 a Rohingya militant group abducted him in Bangladesh and transferred him to Myanmar to fight with the Myanmar junta. He said: There were around seven people who came to a café where I was drinking tea. They pointed a gun at me, blindfolded and tied my arms and legs with a rope, then abducted me from there. Later, I was taken to Myanmar … Then I was taken to the Myo Thu Gyi BGP [Border Guard Police] Headquarters [in Maungdaw Township, Rakhine State]. In another example, one Rohingya survivor of torture and grave threats told Fortify Rights: There were five people, including one [ARSA] commander. The other four were obeying orders from the commander. They said, “You must join us.” … I said, “I have a wife and kids. I cannot work for you.” They said, “You need to leave your wife and kids and join us. If we can liberate [Myanmar], you can bring your family back to Myanmar.” Then they said, “If you don’t join, we will kill you.” They then tied me up and locked me in the bathroom. The militants subsequently tortured the man for days as they continued to pressure him to join their armed struggle in Myanmar. Bangladesh’s neutrality to the armed conflict in Myanmar does not shield individuals or groups operating within Bangladesh from being held accountable for war crimes. Moreover, the ICC has already established jurisdiction and opened an investigation to consider atrocity crimes occurring against Rohingya in both Bangladesh and Myanmar, and it has expressly included consideration of potential atrocity crimes committed by ARSA and similar groups. For example, in 2019, the former Prosecutor said the court was “aware of a number of acts of violence allegedly committed by ARSA,” noting that the allegations will be kept “under review, together with any allegations that an armed conflict may have existed between Myanmar and ARSA.” As such, the crimes documented in this report merit the court’s attention. This report further includes detailed recommendations for the interim Government of Bangladesh, U.N. agencies, donor governments, and Rohingya militant non-state actors.