Over the last four years, the Trump administration’s increasingly restrictive immigration policies have drastically limited access to U.S. humanitarian protection pathways, blocked access to territory for asylum seekers, and deployed inhumane treatment as a mode of deterrence. Combined with the marked increase in forced displacement in Mexico and Central America and a reduction of U.S. aid to the region, these policies have severely exacerbated the preexisting humanitarian crisis.

Attacks on civilians and other violations of international humanitarian law reflect a growing trend in conflicts around the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on education around the world, with the closure of teaching institutions impacting an estimated 91 percent of students – approximately 1.6 billion children and young people. But for Rohingya children, adolescents and youths in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, interruptions and barriers to education are not new. Government restrictions on access to certified and standardised education opportunities have left informal education by humanitarian agencies as the only pathway to any form of education. A pilot of the Myanmar curriculum targeting 10,000 Rohingya students was due to begin in 2020 but was postponed after COVID-19 lockdown and the closure of learning facilities.