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Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Monday urged Bangladesh, the United Nations and international donors to take urgent steps to reduce disaster risks in the Rohingya refugee camps after landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains killed at least 17 refugees and displaced thousands in Cox’s Bazar.
The rights group said the latest tragedy highlighted the growing dangers facing more than one million Rohingya refugees living in overcrowded camps on steep, deforested hillsides, where funding cuts have severely weakened disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts.
“Every monsoon is becoming increasingly deadly for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, with denuded hills sliding away under makeshift structures, as the funding to buttress the camps has dried up,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch. “These are not simply natural disasters, but a predictable outcome of policies that put refugees’ lives at risk,” she added.
Bangladesh has hosted the Rohingya population for nearly a decade after hundreds of thousands fled violence in Myanmar in 2017. Since renewed fighting between Myanmar’s military and the Arakan Army in late 2023, at least 152,000 more refugees have crossed into Bangladesh, placing further strain on already congested camps.
According to the Rohingya Coordination Platform, between July 4 and July 9, the camps recorded 286 weather-related incidents, affecting more than 26,000 refugees. These included 95 landslides, which displaced 4,307 people, partially damaged 2,809 shelters and completely destroyed 13.
The severe weather also damaged learning centres, bridges, roads, retaining walls, stairways, water supply facilities and sanitation infrastructure.
Although Bangladesh authorities have relocated more than 1,000 refugees from high-risk areas, many families have been reluctant to leave their shelters because of limited alternative accommodation and fears of losing their homes.
Based on interviews with affected refugees and humanitarian workers, HRW said newly arrived refugees are among the most vulnerable because many have not been allocated official shelters and are forced to rent or build makeshift homes in hazardous locations.
One refugee who arrived in August 2024 said his two daughters and two grandchildren were killed after the hillside beside their shelter collapsed. “I repeatedly asked NGO staff for a shelter, but they told me shelters were not being allocated for new arrivals,” he said.
A civil engineer working in water, sanitation and hygiene programmes told HRW that the camps were established by cutting into hillsides without proper drainage systems, making them highly susceptible to landslides.
“Now, because of funding cuts, sustainable landslide-prevention work, especially brickwork, cannot be done properly, while the Bangladesh government refuses to allow permanent constructions in the camps,” he said.
Aid workers also said emergency relocation remains difficult because of severe land shortages. Temporary shelters, including learning centres and safe spaces for women and children, often lack adequate sanitation, privacy and essential services, discouraging many families from moving despite the risks.
In December 2024, the Bangladesh government approved stronger temporary shelter designs and three semi-permanent shelter models, while considering pilot two-storey shelters to ease overcrowding. It also approved the reconstruction of 50,000 shelters, but the programme was suspended after humanitarian funding was reduced in January 2025.
HRW said concerns over permanent settlement should not prevent measures to protect refugee lives.
“Shelter safety should be treated as a human rights issue, not as a concession toward permanent settlement,” the organisation said.
According to humanitarian agencies, the Shelter and Camp Coordination and Camp Management appeal remains only 42 percent funded, leaving a funding gap of US$73.9 million, while the disaster risk management programme faces an additional US$23.2 million shortfall.
The Rohingya Coordination Platform has called for immediate donor support for slope stabilisation, drainage improvement, watershed management, safer access roads and enhanced technical capacity to reduce disaster risks throughout the monsoon season.
“Rohingya refugees won’t benefit from further hand wringing, but by an urgent and effective response,” Ganguly said.
“Concerned governments need to act instead of waiting for the next landslide to sweep away another Rohingya family.”
