Global Overview 2014: people internally displaced by conflict and violence - Bangladesh
| Publisher | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC) |
| Publication Date | 14 May 2014 |
| Cite as | Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (NRC/IDMC), Global Overview 2014: people internally displaced by conflict and violence - Bangladesh, 14 May 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5374748d17.html [accessed 4 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
| Number of IDPs | Up to 280,000 |
| Percentage of total population | Up to 0.2% |
| Start of displacement situation | 1973 |
| Peak number of IDPs (year) | 667,000 (2000) |
| New displacement in 2013 | No information available |
| Causes of displacement | ✓ Armed conflict ✓ Generalised violence ✓ Human rights violations |
| Human development index | 146 |
There was no updated comprehensive information on the number of IDPs due to conflict, violence and human rights violations since the government's count of more than 128,000 internally displaced Pahari and Bengali families, or more than 667,000 individuals, in 2000. Based on available information it was estimated that there were up to 280,000 IDPs in Bangladesh at the end of 2013.
The 1997 peace agreement between the government and the United People's Party of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (PCJSS) has still not been fully implemented. The accord ended 24 years of conflict that broke out in 1973 in the south-eastern Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region after the government rejected demands for greater autonomy from non-Bengali indigenous people known collectively as Pahari or Jumma.
The conflict forced Paharis to flee to the forests and to neighbouring India, while the government supported the settlement of Bengalis, Bangladesh's majority community, including on Pahari land, as a counterinsurgency measure. Some settlers were then also displaced as a result of the fighting.
Tensions between Paharis and Bengalis have continued, with clashes displacing more people and preventing others from returning to their homes. Some have reportedly been forcibly evicted by the state or private companies without receiving appropriate compensation. IDPs are widely dispersed and face a number of challenges, including insecurity, lack of access to basic services and difficulty in rebuilding their agricultural livelihoods in the absence of secure tenure.
An amendment to the CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act 2001 intended to improve the settlement of land disputes is due for approval in 2014.
