Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Bangladesh 2026: Constitution, Hill Tracts, Land and Refugee Status

Indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh: the legal framework in 2026

Indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh law recognises sit in an unusual legal space. The Constitution does not use the word "indigenous" or "Adivasi". It speaks instead of "tribes, minor races, ethnic sects and communities", and the main statute uses the term "small ethnic groups". Yet the Chittagong Hill Tracts keep a separate legal order of their own, built on a colonial regulation of 1900, three Hill District Council Acts, a Regional Council and a peace accord that treats the region as one with a mainly tribal population. On the plains, older tenancy law limits the sale of land held by listed communities.

Whether to recognise these communities in the Constitution is again a live question in the reform process that began after 2024, and the answer will shape representation, language and land claims for years.

This guide sets out that framework as it stands in October 2026: the constitutional text and the reform debate, the Hill Tracts statutes and the courts' treatment of them, the land commission and its stalled hearings, customary law, and the cultural institutions statute. It also covers a second group whose legal position is fragile in a different way: the more than 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The country has no refugee statute and is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, so their protection rests on executive policy, UNHCR's presence, constitutional guarantees that extend beyond citizens, and international litigation in The Hague. We cover each in turn, with practical points for communities, NGOs, employers and advisers.

Summary: Bangladesh protects the culture of its ethnic minorities under Article 23A of the Constitution and the Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Institutions Act 2010, but does not recognise them as "indigenous peoples". The Chittagong Hill Tracts run on a separate framework of the CHT Regulation 1900, the Hill District Council Acts 1989, the Regional Council Act 1998 and the 1997 Peace Accord, with a land commission whose hearings have still not begun. Rohingya refugees have no statutory refugee status; the government calls them Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals and manages them by policy, with UNHCR.

Key point: In the Hill Tracts, land cannot be leased, settled, bought, sold or otherwise transferred without the prior approval of the Hill District Council, and the Appellate Division confirmed in 2016 that the CHT Regulation 1900 remains valid law. Any land deal, project or lending decision in the three hill districts that ignores this layer is exposed to challenge.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

Who the law protects and what it calls them

Any analysis of indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh courts and officials apply starts with vocabulary, because the choice of words is itself the central legal and political dispute. The State's position is that the Bengali population is native to the land, and that the hill and plains communities are ethnic minorities rather than indigenous peoples in the sense of international instruments. Community organisations and many scholars use "Adivasi" or "indigenous peoples" and argue that the label matters for land, consent and representation. This article uses the statutory terms when describing the law, and the communities' own terms when describing their claims, without taking a side on the naming question.

The statutory count

The Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Institutions Act 2010 (Act No. 23 of 2010) carries a schedule of the groups to which it applies. On 23 March 2019 the Ministry of Cultural Affairs used the power in section 19 of the Act to replace that schedule by S.R.O. No. 78-Law/2019.[4] The current list names 50 groups, while indigenous organisations identify more than 54 communities.[5] The gap matters in practice: a community missing from the schedule has no claim to the cultural programmes that the Act supports, and inclusion is often treated as informal proof of identity in other government dealings.

Where the communities live

Many of the listed groups live in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, the three districts of Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban in the south-east. Others, including Santal, Oraon, Garo, Munda and Koch communities, live on the plains, mainly in the north and north-centre.[12] The two settings have different legal regimes. In the hills, a special statutory order governs land and local government. On the plains, protection comes mainly from general land law and a single tenancy provision, which does not recognise customary or communal tenure.[5]

Constitutional status after the Fifteenth Amendment

The Constitution (Fifteenth Amendment) Act 2011 (Act XIV of 2011) inserted Article 23A. It provides that the State shall take steps to protect and develop the unique local culture and tradition of the tribes, minor races, ethnic sects and communities.[1] It sits in Part II, among the fundamental principles of state policy, so it guides the legislature and the government but cannot be enforced directly in court. It speaks of culture and tradition, not of land, self-government or consent. It is the only constitutional text aimed at the indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh communities claim, and its reach is limited.

Article 6(2), in the form adopted by the same 2011 amendment, describes the people of Bangladesh as Bangalees as a nation, and the reform process has proposed changing it.[2] The clause has drawn criticism from hill and plains communities, who are not ethnically Bengali. Their enforceable rights therefore come from the general fundamental rights in Part III, such as equality before the law, non-discrimination, protection of life and personal liberty, and property. Those rights are analysed in our guide to fundamental rights in Bangladesh.

How the international position fits

Bangladesh abstained when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007, and it has not built a general framework of free, prior and informed consent into domestic law.[5] The Declaration is not a treaty and needs no ratification, so its effect in Bangladeshi courts is persuasive at most. Advocates more often rely on treaties that Bangladesh has ratified and on domestic statutes, which carry far more weight before the High Court Division.

Indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh and the 2024–2026 constitutional reform debate

After the political transition of August 2024, the interim government set up reform commissions, including a Constitution Reform Commission. Its proposals were taken forward by the National Consensus Commission into the July National Charter. The charter was signed on 17 October 2025 and was put to a referendum held alongside the general election on 12 February 2026, where about 68 per cent of valid votes were cast in favour.[2] Two items in the charter bear on ethnic minorities: citizens would be known as "Bangladeshis" rather than "Bengalis", and all mother languages spoken in Bangladesh would be recognised as languages in use alongside Bengali.[2] The charter does not adopt the term "indigenous".

The process has since moved to the elected parliament. A Special Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Amendment has been taking submissions.[3] At a meeting reported on 5 October 2026, indigenous representatives asked the committee to remove the terms "small ethnic groups", "minor ethnic entities", "communities" and "tribes" from the Constitution and to use "Indigenous peoples" or "Janjati" (ethnic nations) instead. They also asked for reserved seats in a proposed upper chamber, proportional representation for hill and plains communities, and at least one reserved women's seat for plains indigenous women.[3] No government response was reported.

What to watch

Three questions will decide whether the reform changes the law in practice. First, whether any amendment replaces or expands the Article 23A wording. Second, whether the nationality clause is amended as the charter proposes. Third, whether a reserved-seat or upper-house model gives hill and plains communities a guaranteed voice. Political parties disagree on how the charter should be carried into the Constitution, so timing remains uncertain,[2] and the wider amendment machinery is explained in our guide to constitutional law in Bangladesh. Until an amendment bill is published, the 2011 text governs.

The Chittagong Hill Tracts legal framework

No account of indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh recognises is complete without the Hill Tracts, the one part of the country with a distinct statutory order for land and local government. Four layers interact, and practitioners need all of them in view: the CHT Regulation 1900, the three Hill District Council Acts of 1989, the CHT Regional Council Act 1998, and the Peace Accord of 2 December 1997 that reshaped the last two. Ministries in Dhaka, the Deputy Commissioners, the councils and the traditional institutions all have a role, and in a land matter several of them may need to agree.

The CHT Regulation 1900 and its survival

The Regulation, made under colonial rule, created a separate administrative framework for the region and regulated settlement, land access and governance.[5] It is the source of the three circles, each headed by a circle chief, and of the mouza headmen and village karbaris who handle community administration, customary disputes and parts of land administration, including jhum (swidden) land.[5]

Its status was put in doubt in 2003, when the High Court Division, in a customs case brought by Rangamati Food Products, described it as a "dead law". On 22 November 2016 the Appellate Division, in Civil Appeal No. 8 of 2008, set aside that observation. It held that the Regulation was continued by Presidential Order No. 48 of 1972 and Article 149 of the Constitution, and that later legislation, including the council statutes and the 2003 amendments to the Regulation itself, confirmed it remained in force.[8] For practical purposes the Regulation, and the rules made under it, are binding law.

The Hill District Council Acts 1989

The Rangamati Hill District Council Act 1989 (Act XIX of 1989), with parallel Acts for Khagrachari and Bandarban, set up elected councils for each hill district.[7] The councils' most important power concerns land. Section 64, substituted in 1998 after the Accord, provides that no land within the district, including khas land suitable for settlement, may be leased out, settled, purchased, sold or otherwise transferred without the prior approval of the Council. A proviso excludes reserved forests, the Kaptai hydroelectric project area, the Betbunia satellite station and certain state-owned industrial land.[7]

Section 64 also provides that land, hills and forests under the Council's control may not be acquired or transferred without the Council's consultation and consent, and section 65 gives the Council responsibility for collecting land development tax.[7] Any developer, lender or buyer in the hills should therefore treat Council approval as a condition of title, not a formality. The general rules on government land are covered in our guide to khas land in Bangladesh; in the hill districts, those rules apply only alongside section 64.

The Regional Council Act 1998 and the pending appeals

The CHT Regional Council Act 1998 gave statutory form to the Regional Council provided for in Part C of the Accord, which sits above the three district councils.[6] Its constitutionality is still unresolved.

In 2010, on writ petitions filed by M Badiuzzaman and Tajul Islam, the High Court Division declared the Act unconstitutional on the ground that it undermined the unitary character of the State. On 3 March 2011 the Appellate Division upheld a stay of that judgment, and the government and the Council appealed.[9] The appeals were listed in March 2018 and adjourned. As of December 2020 they had not been heard again,[9] and we have found no later report of a final decision. The Council continues to function under the stay.

The CHT Peace Accord 1997

The Accord was signed on 2 December 1997 by Abul Hasanat Abdullah, as convenor for the Government of Bangladesh, and by Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma for the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS). It has four parts: general provisions; the hill district councils; the Regional Council; and rehabilitation, general amnesty and other matters.[6] In Part A, both sides accepted the Hill Tracts as a "tribal populated region" whose character should be preserved.[6]

Part D provides for a land commission headed by a retired justice, whose decisions are final with no appeal, and which must settle disputes according to the existing laws, customs and usages of the Hill Tracts. It also provides for a Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs headed by a tribal minister, with an advisory council.[6] The Accord is a political agreement rather than a statute. It has legal effect through the Acts passed to implement it, and the courts read it in that light.

Implementation remains contested

The government and PCJSS disagree about how much of the Accord has been carried out. The government says that most provisions have been carried out. PCJSS says that core provisions, particularly on land, are still outstanding. An independent policy brief published in September 2026 noted that the land commission's work has been limited by disagreement over procedure, delays in adopting rules, lack of capacity and incomplete implementation of the Accord.[5] For anyone advising in the region, the practical point is that the statutory text and practice on the ground do not always match.

The CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission

The Chittagong Hill Tracts Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act 2001 gives effect to Part D of the Accord. As first enacted, it was criticised by hill organisations because the chairman could decide disputes alone and the governing law was not clearly tied to custom. The 2016 amendment, made in October 2016, changed both points. Decisions now require a quorum of the chairman and three other members, and disputes are to be resolved in accordance with the law, custom and practice in force in the Hill Tracts.[10] [11]

Status of hearings in 2026

The commission has received more than 26,000 applications.[11] It has not yet heard individual claims. The procedural rules required under the Act have not been finalised, and the commission held only 11 meetings after the 2016 amendment before its work stopped during the pandemic.[10] In August 2025 a retired Appellate Division judge, Justice Mohammad Abdul Hafiz, was appointed chairman. A meeting planned for Rangamati on 19 October 2025 was postponed after a student group, the Parbatya Chattagram Chhatra Parishad, called a hartal demanding its cancellation. At the time the commission was also reported to lack adequate staff and budget.[11]

As at October 2026 we have found no public report that the commission has decided a single claim. Some organisations in the hills, including the student group that called the October 2025 hartal, oppose the commission's work.[11] Hill organisations say the delay is itself a denial of rights. The commission's composition and mandate are therefore likely to stay contested.

What indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh law gives land claimants

For a hill family seeking to recover land, the commission remains the forum the Accord promised, but it is not yet a working remedy. Applications already lodged should be preserved with every supporting document: headman's reports, jhum and grove-land records, tax receipts, and evidence of possession before and after displacement. Where land is under immediate threat, the ordinary civil courts and writ jurisdiction may still be needed for interim protection. The writ route is explained in our guide to the writ petition in Bangladesh.

Land rights and customary law beyond the hills

Indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh law gives on the plains are narrower. The key provision is section 97 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950. The government may by notification apply it to aboriginal castes and tribes in a district or area, and the listed groups include Santals, Garos, Mundas, Oraons and others.[12] Once it applies, a raiyat from a notified group may transfer a holding freely only to another eligible aboriginal person. A sale, gift or will to a non-aboriginal needs the prior written consent of the Revenue Officer, given before a registered deed is executed.[12]

Transfers in breach of section 97 are void, and the Revenue Officer may evict the transferee and restore the land to the aboriginal owner or heirs. Mortgages are limited to complete usufructuary mortgages, and a court cannot order the sale of a protected holding in execution of a decree, except for rent arrears and certain agricultural loans.[12] Section 97 protects individual holdings recorded in the record of rights. It does not recognise communal, customary or shared tenure, which is how much plains land has traditionally been held.[5]

Customary personal law

Marriage, inheritance and family matters for most hill and plains communities are governed by their own customary law, which the courts will apply where it is proved. In the hills, circle chiefs and headmen give evidence of custom and resolve many disputes before they reach court. Because custom is rarely written down, a party relying on it should obtain a statement from the circle chief or headman and, where possible, evidence of how similar cases have been decided. Advisers should also check whether a family's records have been corrected after mutation. Our land records and khatian correction practice handles those problems.

Common mistakes in land transactions

Buyers and lenders most often go wrong in three ways. They rely on a registered deed in the hills without Hill District Council approval. They accept a plains transfer from a notified community without the Revenue Officer's prior consent. Or they treat land in long, open customary use as vacant khas land. Each can make the transaction void or open to challenge years later. In the hills, due diligence should also include the headman's report on the land and a check with the Council.

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The Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Institutions Act 2010

The 2010 Act is the main statute that gives effect to Article 23A. It provides the legal basis for state cultural institutions that preserve and promote the languages, music, dance, literature and traditions of the listed groups, under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. Its definition of "small ethnic groups" depends on the schedule, so the March 2019 replacement of that schedule, which brought the list to 50 groups, has practical effect.[4] [5]

On culture, the 2010 Act is where the statute law on indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh currently begins and ends. Three limits should be understood. The Act is cultural, not territorial, and creates no land or self-government rights. Listing in the schedule is an executive act under section 19, so communities seeking inclusion make administrative representations rather than suing for a right. And the terminology of the Act, "small ethnic groups", is the same terminology the reform submissions of October 2026 ask the State to drop.[3]

Refugee status in Bangladesh: the legal framework

Refugee law in Bangladesh is a framework without a statute. Bangladesh is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, and it has no domestic refugee legislation or national procedure for deciding refugee status.[13] In law, a person who crosses the border to seek protection is a foreigner under the Foreigners Act 1946, which governs entry, stay and departure. Section 10 lets the government exempt individuals or classes of foreigners from the Act, and commentators have proposed using that power to give Rohingya a lawful basis to stay.[13]

For anyone asking how to apply for refugee status in Bangladesh, the honest answer is that there is no statutory application. Protection depends on government policy, UNHCR registration where the government permits it, and constitutional and international law guarantees that do not depend on citizenship. A foreign national outside the Rohingya response who fears return home should keep their immigration status regular through the visa and permit system described in our guide to the Bangladesh residence permit, and should take advice before a visa expires.

Non-refoulement in the High Court Division

The leading domestic decision is Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) v Government of Bangladesh (2017). It concerned a Rohingya man who stayed in prison after completing a sentence under the Foreigners Act. The High Court Division held that his further detention had no lawful authority, ordered his release to a camp in Cox's Bazar, and said that the 1951 Convention had become part of customary international law.[13] That statement carries weight in later cases. But the judgment is a single High Court decision, and the principle has not been tested in a mass-return case.

Rights that do not depend on citizenship

Several constitutional protections extend to "any other person" for the time being in Bangladesh, not only to citizens. These include the right to the protection of the law under Article 31 and the due process guarantees around trial and punishment. The Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure also apply to everyone in the country. A non-citizen can therefore report a crime and should receive a fair trial.[15] How those rights are enforced is covered in our guide to fundamental rights.

The Rohingya: status as Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals

The government's official term for the Rohingya in the camps is "Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals" (FDMN). The label signals that they are Myanmar's nationals, temporarily sheltered and expected to return. It gives no statutory status.[15] A smaller, longer-established group holds recognised refugee registration, centred on the Kutupalong and Nayapara registered camps.[14]

As of 31 August 2026, UNHCR recorded 1,204,492 registered refugees in Bangladesh, living in camps in Cox's Bazar and on the island of Bhasan Char in Noakhali district. UNHCR has been present in Bangladesh since 1992.[14] New arrivals have continued. Since January 2025, 155,296 people have been biometrically identified. Regular refugee registration has been suspended by the government since May 2022, so new arrivals do not receive individual identity documents.[14] The 2026 Joint Response Plan seeks USD 710.5 million to reach up to 1.56 million people, including Bangladeshi host communities, and at 30 June 2026 it was 66 per cent funded.[14]

Registration, identity and movement

Registration is carried out jointly by the Government of Bangladesh and UNHCR. Refugees aged twelve and over receive smart cards, and families receive a family attestation. [16] These are humanitarian identity documents, not residence permits or visas. Rohingya without lawful status remain exposed to prosecution under the Foreigners Act, as the RMMRU case shows.[13]

Birth registration and legal aid for refugees

Children born in the camps are not registered in the same way as Bangladeshi children.[17] A newborn is recorded in the refugee registration database through a Birth Information Note. The camp health facility starts the note, the Camp-in-Charge endorses it, and the family then applies to UNHCR registration, normally after the child is six months old.[16] These records prove birth and parentage for humanitarian purposes. They do not confer Bangladeshi citizenship, and they are not a Myanmar document either.

Concern about Rohingya children obtaining Bangladeshi birth certificates also affected Bangladeshi citizens. Birth registration in Cox's Bazar district was suspended in 2017. A High Court order in 2019 required it to resume, but by August 2021 only 12 of the district's 71 union parishads had restarted, and residents faced late-registration fines and heavy document requirements.[17] Host-community families in the district should keep complete family records and, where a union parishad refuses registration, consider the legal aid and writ options open to any citizen.

Access to justice inside the camps

In practice, camp residents face serious barriers in going to the police, appearing in court or obtaining a lawyer. Many disputes are handled informally by camp leaders, religious figures and NGOs.[15] The Legal Aid Services Act 2000 does not tie eligibility to immigration status, and commentators have proposed legal aid desks inside the camps.[15] The national legal aid system is explained in our guide to legal aid in Bangladesh. NGOs running protection programmes should map which matters, such as gender-based violence, detention and child protection, can be referred to the district legal aid office.

International litigation: the ICJ and the ICC

Two international proceedings address the 2016–2017 events that drove most Rohingya into Bangladesh. Neither changes their status in Bangladesh directly, but both shape repatriation, accountability and diplomacy.

The Gambia v Myanmar at the International Court of Justice

The Gambia filed proceedings under the Genocide Convention in 2019. On 23 January 2020 the Court ordered provisional measures requiring Myanmar to prevent genocidal acts against the Rohingya and to report regularly. On 22 July 2022 it rejected Myanmar's preliminary objections and confirmed jurisdiction under Article IX of the Convention.[18] Several states have intervened, and in July 2025 the Court admitted the declarations of Slovenia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium and Ireland.[18]

Hearings on the merits were held from 12 to 29 January 2026, including closed sittings for witness evidence.[18] As at 20 October 2026, the Court's case page lists no merits judgment, so the judgment is still awaited. A finding against Myanmar would bind Myanmar as a matter of state responsibility. It would not itself create refugee status in Bangladesh.

The ICC situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar

On 14 November 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court authorised the Prosecutor to investigate crimes within the Court's jurisdiction in the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar. On 27 November 2024 the Prosecutor applied for an arrest warrant against Senior General Min Aung Hlaing for the crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya.[19] The Court's situation page lists the application as pending before Pre-Trial Chamber I, and no public warrant had been reported as at October 2026.[19] Our public international law practice follows both proceedings.

Practical guidance for communities, NGOs and investors

The framework for indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh recognises is fragmented, so outcomes depend on choosing the right forum and building the right record early. A few rules hold across the hills, the plains and the camps.

For hill and plains communities

Keep land evidence in more than one place, including headman reports, tax receipts, khatian copies and photographs of possession. Lodge or update claims with the land commission where it has jurisdiction, but do not rely on it alone when land faces imminent loss. Use the writ jurisdiction against unlawful acquisition or settlement made without Council approval. Engage with the constitutional amendment committee through written submissions, because the drafting stage is where the wording of Article 23A will be decided.

For NGOs, donors and humanitarian agencies

Treat Rohingya documentation as humanitarian, not as legal residence. Build referral pathways to district legal aid offices, and keep records of births, deaths and family changes current in the joint registration system. Activities involving foreign funding should also meet NGO Affairs Bureau requirements. Projects in the hill districts need clearance from the relevant Hill District Council, and often from the Regional Council, as well as from line ministries.

For investors and lenders

Due diligence in the three hill districts must include section 64 approval, the headman's report and any pending land commission claim over the plot. On the plains, check whether the seller belongs to a group notified under section 97, and obtain the Revenue Officer's consent before registration if they do. Where a project could affect a community's land or forest, record meaningful consultation even though the law does not yet require free, prior and informed consent. Lenders and development finance institutions increasingly expect it.

Taken together, the law on indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh courts apply, and the policy-based regime for Rohingya refugees, reward those who prepare early. TRW advises communities, NGOs, development partners and investors on this framework. For matters involving refugee status Bangladesh law does not yet define, we work with humanitarian partners on detention, documentation and legal aid referrals.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Bangladesh Constitution recognise indigenous peoples?

Not by that name. Article 23A, inserted in 2011, requires the State to protect and develop the culture and tradition of tribes, minor races, ethnic sects and communities. It is a principle of state policy and cannot be enforced directly in court, so enforceable indigenous peoples rights Bangladesh courts uphold come from the general fundamental rights.[1]

Is the term "Adivasi" part of the 2026 constitutional reform?

It has been proposed, not adopted. In October 2026 indigenous representatives asked the Special Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Amendment to use "Indigenous peoples" or "Janjati". The July Charter itself does not use the term.[2] [3]

How many ethnic groups are officially listed?

Fifty, in the schedule to the Small Ethnic Groups Cultural Institutions Act 2010 as replaced in March 2019. Indigenous organisations identify more than 54.[4] [5]

Is the CHT Regulation 1900 still law?

Yes. On 22 November 2016 the Appellate Division set aside the High Court Division's observation that it was a "dead law" and held that it remains in force.[8]

Can land in the Hill Tracts be sold without Council approval?

No. Section 64 of each Hill District Council Act requires the Council's prior approval for leasing, settling, buying, selling or otherwise transferring land in the district, subject to limited exceptions.[7]

Has the CHT land commission started hearings?

No. More than 26,000 applications have been filed, but the rules are not final, and an October 2025 meeting was postponed after a hartal call. We have found no public report of any decided claim as at October 2026.[10] [11]

What protects plains indigenous land?

Section 97 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950. A transfer by a member of a notified group to a non-aboriginal needs the Revenue Officer's prior consent, and transfers in breach are void.[12]

Can someone apply for refugee status in Bangladesh?

There is no statutory procedure. Bangladesh is not a party to the 1951 Convention, and protection depends on government policy and UNHCR. Regular Rohingya registration has been suspended since May 2022.[13] [14]

Are Rohingya children born in Bangladesh citizens?

No. Their births are recorded in the joint registration database through a Birth Information Note endorsed by the Camp-in-Charge. That record does not give Bangladeshi citizenship.[16]

Has the ICJ ruled in The Gambia v Myanmar?

Not yet. Merits hearings ended on 29 January 2026, and the judgment is awaited. At the ICC, the arrest warrant application against Min Aung Hlaing is pending.[18] [19]