SS News Desk, 13 July, 2026:
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called for urgent international action to protect Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh after deadly landslides in Cox’s Bazar killed at least 17 people and displaced more than 3,000 during the recent monsoon.
In a statement issued on Sunday, HRW said the disaster highlighted long-standing risks in the overcrowded refugee camps, where more than one million Rohingya live in fragile bamboo-and-tarpaulin shelters on steep, deforested hillsides.
According to the Rohingya Coordination Platform, between 4 and 9 July, 286 weather-related incidents affected more than 26,000 refugees. The incidents included 95 landslides that displaced over 4,300 people, damaged nearly 2,800 shelters and destroyed critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, learning centres and sanitation facilities.
HRW blamed funding shortfalls and restrictions on durable infrastructure for worsening the crisis. The rights group urged the Bangladesh government, the United Nations and donor countries to accelerate slope stabilisation, improve drainage systems, strengthen shelters and expand safe relocation sites.
“Every monsoon is becoming increasingly deadly for Rohingya refugees,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, HRW’s Deputy Asia Director, warning that the deaths were “a predictable outcome of policies that put refugees’ lives at risk.”
The report noted that more than 152,000 new Rohingya have arrived in Cox’s Bazar since late 2023, further intensifying congestion in the camps. HRW also warned that humanitarian funding remains critically low, with the Shelter and Camp Coordination appeal only 42 percent funded.
The organisation stressed that investing in safer shelters and disaster-resilient infrastructure is essential to preventing further loss of life during the ongoing monsoon season.
