Regional shutdown
Internet Services
Refugee Camps in Cox Bazar district and peninsula adjoining the Naf River
Internet restrictions imposed on camp locations in Teknaf and Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar limited communications and access to information for nearly one million Rohingya refugees, and prevented humanitarian and aid organizations from providing assistance, including emergency services to those residing in the camps. One aid worker speaking to Human Rights Watch said the shutdown kept them from corresponding with refugees on emergency infrastructure repairs during the monsoon season. The shutdown extended to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. An open letter signed by 50 humanitarian organisations for the Bangladesh government pointed out that it restricted the ability of aid groups to coordinate preventive measures, deliver information about the coronavirus to refugees, refer patients to isolation facilities, and conduct ‘contact tracing’ to prevent its spread – activities that are slow and risks further exposure to the virus if done in person. Aid workers, health volunteers and community leaders rely on Whatsapp to communicate with and provide updates to refugees and each other. The Internet blackout had impeded timely intervention to stop the spread of measles in the camps in January 2020, leaving a dozen children dead. It has likewise prevented refugees from communicating, and receiving news on conditions in Rakhine State from their loved ones who are still in Myanmar.
- Total Duration 363 days
Bangladesh
- Population
- 171,466,990
- UN Classification
-
- Least Developed Country
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Partly Free
Local impact
Internet restrictions imposed on camp locations in Teknaf and Ukhiya in Cox’s Bazar limited communications and access to information for nearly one million Rohingya refugees, and prevented humanitarian and aid organizations from providing assistance, including emergency services to those residing in the camps. One aid worker speaking to Human Rights Watch said the shutdown kept them from corresponding with refugees on emergency infrastructure repairs during the monsoon season. The shutdown extended to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. An open letter signed by 50 humanitarian organisations for the Bangladesh government pointed out that it restricted the ability of aid groups to coordinate preventive measures, deliver information about the coronavirus to refugees, refer patients to isolation facilities, and conduct ‘contact tracing’ to prevent its spread – activities that are slow and risks further exposure to the virus if done in person. Aid workers, health volunteers and community leaders rely on Whatsapp to communicate with and provide updates to refugees and each other. The Internet blackout had impeded timely intervention to stop the spread of measles in the camps in January 2020, leaving a dozen children dead. It has likewise prevented refugees from communicating, and receiving news on conditions in Rakhine State from their loved ones who are still in Myanmar.
Related documentation
Other supporting information
It’s difficult to measure the effect of local/regional Internet shutdowns as most measurements are done at a country level. Learn more.