Dated: 20th August 2021, New Delhi Letter No/0011/R4R-2021 The Rohingya Human Rights Initiative (ROHRIngya) along with the Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI) have successfully organized Zoom webinar on “Humanitarian and Protection Issues of Rohingya Refugees in India during the Covid-19 Pandemic” that was held on August 20, 2021 at 04:30 p.m. IST. In addition to the launching of the “Together We Can: The Covid-19 Impact on Stateless People and A Roadmap for Change” report, the webinar touched upon the diverse Humanitarian and Protection issues concerning the Rohingya refugee community in India in light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic. The report documents how statelessness continues to be a blind-spot for institutions, agencies and actors who wield responsibilities and obligations to respect, promote and fulfil rights, achieve sustainable development and ensure protection to all. The report also highlights how the Rohingya people in inside and outside Myanmar have been impacted and subjected to discriminations during the pandemic amounting to xenophobia, exclusion from social security and relief as well as access to health services. It also shows that the powerful impact of initiatives developed by CESF Consortium members, who belong to stateless and refugee communities or have direct access to them and enjoy their trust. Their deep, localized insight is a critical source of knowledge. Stateless and refugee people have long faced injustice and exclusion, but as the report documents, the impact that this has on people’s lives has been magnified by COVID-19 and related measures. Any stopgap measures to protect and include stateless and refugees in the context of the pandemic, will be rendered meaningless if not followed by long-term structural reforms and changes. Distinguished personnel from the fields of law, journalism, activism, media, academia and advocacy were invited in order to discuss, reflect upon and gain insight about the various issues plaguing the Rohingya refugee community in India and the legal and social recourses to the community. The webinar was held between 04:30 p.m. to 06:30 p.m. IST over Zoom platform and live streamed on YouTube platform (HTTPS://YOUTU.BE/FXS_9MAVE_Y). It was divided into two panels broadly; the first panel mainly focused on “Human rights issues faced by Rohingya refugees in India during the pandemic” was moderated by Rachel Tan of Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) had Amal de Chickera, Director of Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion (ISI), Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Colin Gonsalves, Founder of Human Rights Legal Network (HRLN) as Panelists. The panel focused broadly on issues concerning with refugee rights including international laws, conventions and Indian constitutional provisions. But going beyond this the speakers also touched upon issues related to arbitrary detentions of refugees, persecution, prosecution and the changing legal and political landscape. Colin Gonsalves highlighted the necessity to differentiate between ‘refugees’, ‘economic migrants’ and ‘immigrants’. And also, the vagueness of the Indian judicial system when it comes to interpreting issues concerning refugee rights and repatriation. While speaking for the rights of refugees in India and India’s obligation towards refugees, Mr Colin said, “India doesn’t require to sign the 1951 United Nations Refugee convention to respect and observe the rights of refugees”. Given the Rohingya community’s precarious condition on account of the coup in Myanmar, Meenakshi was of the opinion that “India has the responsibility to not return people especially where they are at risk”. She also commented that if the current global pandemic has taught us anything, it is that disasters cannot be contained within borders. Amal drew attention to the need for inclusivity in the discourse of social justice and development, commenting “We cannot go on living under the pretext that it is okay to live in an unequal society”. Rachal carried a powerful message from a refugee activist in India as follows: “We Rohingya left our homes and country to save our lives. As India is one of the largest democracies in the World, we request the authorities in India to help us by showing humanity. Detaining and harassing these already persecuted people is like persecuting them again for being victims of persecutions. The second panel moderated by Biswajit Mohanty, Professor at Deshbandhu College discussed on the immense humanitarian difficulties that the refugee population is undergoing and the several instances of arbitrary incarceration and detention that the community is suffering, especially in recent times. Tapan Kumar Bose of Free Rohingya Coalition drew upon the histories of violence that the Rohingya community has been subjected to in order to argue for the current Indian State’s need to provide them with refuge, relief and protection. Dr. Priyanca Mathur from Jain University highlighted how precarious the lives of Rohingya community were in Myanmar by stating that “Any Rohingya that I have met with in India have never wanted to go back to Myanamr unless there is peace because even if they live in absolutely dehumanizing conditions, they are happy that they are still alive in refuge country”. Fazal Abdali, an Advocate at Supreme court who is committed to improve the humanitarian conditions and the lives of Rohingya refugees by helping them access to basic necessities such as health, education, safe drinking water and dignified living condition talked about the recent cases of incarceration, detention by the law enforcement authorities and instances of devastating fire incidents in refugee camps causing loss of lives and property in the camps and the various legal recourses that the community can resort to under such circumstances. Overall, the webinar was instrumental in highlighting the key concerns of the Rohingya refugees in India, both from a humanitarian and socio-legal perspective. All the panelists advocated that India being a major democratic power cannot shirk its moral responsibilities in the face of one of the most devastating refugee crises of 21st century. It is necessary for the Indian Judicial system to shed off its elusiveness and adopt a more robust framework when dealing with refugee concerns. And the Indian state needs to uphold its commitment towards Human Rights, International Laws and a more holistic execution of Article 21 to ensure food, drinking water, health and sanitation towards all, especially in light of the recent devastating pandemic. Rohingya Human Rights Initiative-R4R (ROHRIngya) www.rohringya.org info@rohringya.org +91-9971599290