Kutupalong refugee camp () is the world's largest refugee camp. It is located in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and is inhabited mostly by Rohingya refugees who fled from ethnic and religious persecution in neighboring Myanmar. It is one of two government-run refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, the other being the Nayapara refugee camp.
A cross-sectional study that was conducted back in 2013 among 148 Rohingya refugees from the Kutupalong and Nayapara camps suggested the likelihood of a high prevalence of mental health disorders like depression and PTSD.
The UNHCR camp office at Kutupalong is supported by seven international entities: the governments of the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan, Finland, Sweden, and the Stichting INGKA Foundation.
With a population over 650,000 it is the sixth most populous urban area in Bangladesh as well as being the second most densely populated in the world.
Name Although the "Kutupalong Registered Rohingya Refugee camp," in Ukhia is the original camp, "Kutupalong refugee camp" may also refer to the makeshift camps that have sprung up adjacent to the government-operated camp, although these are not officially part of the refugee camp. Makeshift camps at Kutupalong and surrounding areas have grown to accommodate refugees fleeing Myanmar over the years. In late 2017, due to an unprecedented influx of refugees, the Kutupalong makeshift camp and surrounding camps at Ghumdum, Balukhali, Thangkhali, and others swelled rapidly, merging into each other. The International Organization for Migration refers to the collective settlement as the Kutupalong–Balukhali expansion site.
History Development and evolution The camp began informally in 1991, after thousands of Rohingyas fled from the Burmese military's Operation Pyi Thaya (Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation).
The two refugee camps of Kutupalong and Nayapara had a combined population of around 34,000 registered refugees in July 2017.
Beginning 25 August 2017, extensive attacks upon Myanmar's Rohingya in Rakhine State by Myanmar's military and local civilians drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar into Bangladesh, swelling the camp.
In early September 2017, Bangladesh's Disaster Management and Relief Minister said there was "no restriction on Rohingyas' entry" into Bangladesh, and those refugees would be sheltered "as long as they wanted." The Bangladesh government decided to bring all the Rohingya refugees "to a particular place," and build a camp for them in Kutupalong. The government's forest department allocated a portion of its 5,000 acres in Kutupalong for an expanded settlement. In all, 3,000 acres were allocated for a camp developed to accommodate up to 800,000 refugees. In September 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that the combined population of the two refugee camps had increased to over 77,000.
Since 2018, Kutupalong refugee camp has been the world's largest refugee camp.
With flimsy shelters built on steep hillsides, the camps are prone to flooding and landslides, particularly during monsoons."Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh on 'precarious ground' ahead of monsoon season," 21 April 2018, CBC News (Canada). Retrieved April 2018"Flame fades for Rohingya families amid mud and monsoons in Bangladesh," 6 August 2018, The Guardian, retrieved August 2018 In August 2018, Human Rights Watch urged Bangladesh to relocate the camps to sturdier structures on safer ground in Cox's Bazar."Bangladesh: Rohingya Endure Floods, Landslides; Refugees Awaiting Future Return to Myanmar Need Safer Camps," 5 August 2018, Human Rights Watch. Retrieved August 2018
On 30 June 2020, the Kutupalong refugee camp and expansion site had a combined population of 598,545 and 187,423 families, in an area of just 13 square kilometres, giving an average population density of 46,042 people per square kilometre. As of June 2024, nearly 950,000 refugees are in the camps in Cox's Bazar.
Environmental issues By late 2019, the development of the camps had been partially accomplished through the exploitation and destruction of 8,000 acres of forested area—including over 6,164 acres for living space, and 1,837 acres of forest for firewood and building materials (particularly bamboo), and other environmental losses, estimated to total about Tk24,200,000,000 (US$290,400,000) -- alarming local citizens, environmentalists, and government officials."Rohingya Settlements: 8,000 acres of forests razed; Expert team of forest ministry estimates Tk 2,420cr environmental loss," 18 October 2019, The Daily Star. Retrieved 24 May 2020"Rohingyas rally for elephants: Int'l Day for Biological Diversity observed in Kutupalong camp," 23 May 2018, The Daily Star. Retrieved 25 May 2020
Critically endangered Asian elephants, whose natural habitat includes the area around Cox's Bazar, endanger camp residents because the camps are on the elephants' historical migratory route and grazing areas, resulting in human-elephant conflicts, which, by late 2019, had killed at least 13 Rohingya in the Kutupalong-Balukhali settlement. In response, officials of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) developed a mitigation program, which included hundreds of Rohingya refugee volunteers organized into Elephant Response Teams (ERTs) to respond to the events, typically driving elephants away through standardized techniques.
Restrictions Local Bangladeshis have complained of Rohingya from the camps undermining natives' job prospectsDorosh, Paul (Dir., Development Strategy & Governance Div., International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)); John Hoddinott (nonresident fellow, IFPRI); and H.E. Babcock, Prof. of Food & Nutrition Economics & Policy, Cornell University. "The Rohingya in Bangladesh are surviving – but their long-term prospects are grim," 25 June 2019, London Daily Telegraph, retrieved June 2019 and becoming involved in criminal activity (particularly illicit drug trade in ya ba, a type of methamphetamine)."Bangladesh sees meth boom amid Rohingya crisis," 20 March 2018, Agence France-Presse in Dhaka Tribune (Bangladesh). Retrieved April 2018. Also, authorities have struggled to cope with human traffickers smuggling Rohingya into and out of Bangladesh (particularly by sea)Sheikh Hasina says Rohingya crisis may disrupt stability; Rohingya crisis may disrupt security: PM. Warns Bangladesh's stability may be at stake if the refugees are not repatriated soon," 27 June 2019, The Daily Star and exploiting women and children for the region's sex trade."The Rohingya children trafficked for sex," 20 March 2018, BBC News retrieved March 2018 In response, the authorities have restricted Rohingya refugees' movements into and out of the camps, and limited their right to work or travel outside the camps—resulting in rising hardship and frustration for the refugees."Bangladesh should end restrictions on movement of Rohingya refugees: - Human Rights Watch," 7 September 2019, The Daily Star, retrieved September 2019
Relocation and repatriation attempts
Attempted repatriation to Myanmar By mid-2018—as the burden of hosting nearly a million refugees (mostly at Kutupalong) became increasingly stressful and frustrating to the Bangladesh government and public—they began pushing for repatriation of the Rohingya back to Myanmar."Burma and Bangladesh agree to return hundreds of thousands of Rohingya within two years, despite warnings over camps" 16 January 2018, London Daily Telegraph, retrieved January 2019"Bangladesh Struggles To Cope With Pressures Of Hosting 1 Million Rohingya Refugees" 15 April 2019, NPR. Retrieved April 2019
However, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh refused to be repatriated due to continuing persecution and violence against the Rohingya still in Myanmar, and Myanmar's refusal to accept Rohingya demands to be reinstated as citizens, restored to their lands and property, granted freedom, and have international observers or peacekeepers to safeguard the Rohingyas' rights and safety"Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh protest repatriation move," 19 January 2018, Times of India, retrieved January 2018"Rohingya refugees say they would choose death over repatriation to Myanmar; Nearly all Rohingyas fear for their safety, and do not trust how they will be treated by authorities in Myanmar, if they were to return." 29 November 2018, ABC News retrieved December 2018"Rohingyas not to return without security, citizenship: -ISCG" 3 December 2018, United News of Bangladesh (same topic in official ISCG report: "ISCG Situation Report (Data Summary): Rohingya Crisis - Cox's Bazar 29 November 2018 (covering 13- 26 November)," retrieved December 2018—demands supported by international organizations."UN chief and rights groups raise concerns over Rohingya deal," 17 January 2018, The Guardian, retrieved January 2019"Bangladesh: Returning Rohingya to Myanmar illegal and premature" 16 January 2018, Amnesty International, retrieved January 2019"UN official says not safe yet for Rohingya return to Myanmar," 25 January 2018, Associated Press in U.S. News & World Report (same topic at "Conditions in Myanmar not yet suitable for Rohingya refugees to return safely: UN agency," 23 January 2018, United Nations News Centre). Retrieved January 2019 The Rohingya refugees boycotted and protested repatriation events in 2018 and 2019,Bangladesh PM attacks Myanmar over Rohingya deadlock," 10 June 2019, Agence France-Presse in Channel NewsAsia (Singapore). Retrieved June 2019 and shortly after the last 2019 repatriation event, on the second anniversary of the 25 August 2017 attacks on the Rohingya, a mass memorial service and protest arose in the camps, involving tens of thousands of Rohingya (some estimates say 100,000"Rohingyas want dialogue with Myanmar first, repatriation later. Without the dialogue, and unless (Myanmar's government in) Naypyidaw meets their demands, the Rohingyas will never opt for repatriation," 25 August 2019, Dhaka Tribune (Bangladesh). Retrieved August 2019"Tens of Thousands of Rohingya Mark 'Genocide Day' Amid Tensions in Bangladesh Camps," 25 August 2019, Reuters News Service in U.S. News & World Report, retrieved 25 May 2020), catching alarmed Bangladesh national authorities by surprise (though district officials had been aware of the event)."Rallies mark two years of exile in Bangladesh.", 25 August 2019, BBC News (same topic at New York Times and Daily Star (Bangladesh)). Retrieved August 2019"Foreign minister: Government to take steps to handle future Rohingya rallies," 26 August 2019, United News of Bangladesh in Dhaka Tribune (Bangladesh). Retrieved August 2019"[Bangladesh] Govt probing Aug 25 Rohingya rally, roles of NGOs. 3-member team asked to submit report within 7 working days," 1 September 2019, Dhaka Tribune (Bangladesh). Retrieved September 2019
Attempted relocation to Bhasan Char island