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Safety and Security in the South-East Border Area of Bangladesh

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Safety and Security in the South-East Border Area of Bangladesh REPORT Bangladesh Enterprise Institute, Mitra and Associates and Saferworld Safety and security in the South-East border area of Bangladesh A public perceptions survey February 2013 Safety and security in the South-East border area of Bangladesh A public perceptions survey BANGLADESH ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE, MITRA AND ASSOCIATES, AND SAFERWORLD FEBRUARY 2013 Acknowledgements This report represents an analysis of primary research commissioned by Bangladesh Enterprise Institute (BEI) and Saferworld in Bangladesh during 2012. The household survey was conducted by Mitra and Associates and focus group discussions and key informant interviews were carried out by BEI. The research project was managed by Chamila Hemmathagama with the assistance of Neila Husain, Md Touhidul Islam, Mohammad Humayun Kabir and Evelyn Vancollie. This report was written for BEI and Saferworld by Nic Benton. The author would like to thank Chamila Hemmathagama, Md Touhidul Islam, Neila Husain, Evelyn Vancollie and G. M. Shoeb Ahmed from Saferworld, and Mohammad Humayun Kabir, Faiz Sobhan, Mirza Sadaqat Huda, Ashish Banik and Sumaiya Nour from BEI for their advice and contributions to this report. Finally, thanks are due to people living in the South-East border area of Bangladesh, officials from the Government of Bangladesh, security service providers and civil society members for their contributions and support in conducting this research. This report was edited by Eleanor Gordon, copy-edited by Benedict Stainer and designed by Jane Stevenson. BEI and Saferworld are grateful to the British High Commission in Bangladesh for its financial support for this project. © BEI and Saferworld, February 2013. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without full attribution. Contents Acronyms Glossary Tables and figures Map of Cox’s Bazar District Foreword i Executive summary ii 1. Introduction 1 2. General perceptions of safety and security 5 2.1 Socio-economic drivers of crime 5 2.2 Law and order situation 8 2.3 Rohingya in the South-East border area 12 2.4 Women and children 17 3. Trafficking 21 3.1 Drug trafficking and abuse 23 3.2 Small arms and light weapons trafficking and misuse 27 3.3 Human trafficking 30 4. Armed violence in the South-East border area 35 4.1 Violent extremism 35 4.2 Armed robbery against ships 40 4.3 Financial crime 42 5. Public perceptions of law enforcement agencies: Police, 45 Rapid Action Battalion, Border Guard Bangladesh and Coast Guard 5.1 Crime reporting 45 5.2 Crime prevention and maintaining law and order 47 5.3 Levels of public confidence and trust 50 5.4 Corruption and external interference 53 5.5 Respect for human rights 54 5.6 Equality and inclusion 55 5.7 Suggestions to improve law enforcement services and community 56 engagement on security issues 5.8 Other security and justice providers 57 6. Conclusions and recommendations 60 ANNEX A: Methodology 66 ANNEX B: Crime statistics for Chittagong Range (January 2012–May 2012) 69 Acronyms ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations NIPORT National Institute for Population Research and ADR Alternative dispute resolution Training BDT Bangladesh taka PoA Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light BEI Bangladesh Enterprise Institute Weapons in All Its Aspects BGB Border Guard Bangladesh PRP Police Reform Programme BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical RAB Rapid Action Battalion and Economic Co-operation ReCAAP Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating DNC Department of Narcotics Control Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia FGD Focus group discussion RSO Rohingya Solidarity Organisation GoB Government of Bangladesh SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation HHS Household survey SALW Small arms and light weapons HIV Human immunodeficiency virus SE South-East HuJI-B Harkat-ul-Jihad-al Islami Bangladesh TCO Transnational criminal organisations ICC International Chamber of Commerce TDR Traditional dispute resolution ICT Information and communication technologies TI Transparency International IMB International Maritime Bureau TIP Trafficking in persons INCB International Narcotics Control Board UN United Nations INGO International non-governmental organisation UNDP United Nations Development Programme JMB Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees KII Key informant interview UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund LeT Lashkar-e-Taiba UN TIP UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish MLPA Money Laundering Prevention Act Protocol Trafficking in Persons MoHA Ministry of Home Affairs UP Union Parishad NGO Non-governmental organisation VDP Village Defence Party Glossary Char A tract of land surrounded by water Children Those aged between 0 and 14 Citizen’s Charter An initiative to improve public sector institutions, Citizen’s Charters were introduced by several public agencies, including some law enforcement agencies, to set out the standard of service that public institutions should provide to the people and offer an interactive platform for civil servants and citizens to discuss their concerns and challenges and plan solutions together 1 Context sensitivity Awareness of actors and possible sources of tension, and avoiding negative impacts and maximising positive effects in practice Domestic violence Pattern of abusive and threatening behaviour that may include physical, emotional, economic or sexual violence Dowry The passing of money, goods and/or property to any person, directly or indirectly, to ensure marriage and a secured married life Eve teasing Euphemism for sexual harassment and abuse of girls and women in public places, also known as jouno hoirani in Bangla Human trafficking Forced, fraudulent or involuntary movement or migration of people across borders for sexual, labour or other forms of exploitation Hundi An informal, and illegal, money transfer network Khas land Common land Law enforcement Process of ensuring observance of the law, and thereby preserving peace and stability Madrassa Religious school or college that specialises in Islam Mastans Criminal thugs with political or influential patrons Old aged Those aged over 65 Qaumi madrassa Unregulated madrassa Recruitment fraud False offers of employment that cause people to unwittingly become trafficked Rohingya refugees Can represent registered refugees and/or ‘self-settled’/unregistered refugees Rural Non-urban and largely agricultural areas Security sector An umbrella term for the structures, institutions and personnel responsible for the provision of security Self-settled Unregistered cross-border settlement Sexual harassment Unwelcome and inappropriate sexual advances Shalish An informal mediation process usually chaired by local leaders Strangers An unfamiliar person or an outsider to a particular group Students Those that attend college/university or madrassas Thana Police station; ‘model thanas’ are modern, upgraded police stations which have been established in selected metropolitan and rural locations as part of the Bangladesh Police Reform Programme Upazila Sub-district Urban Densely populated and largely non-agricultural areas Violent extremism Violence carried out by militant groups to assert an extreme ideology Youth Those aged between 15 and 25 1 Ministry of Establishment, Citizen’s Charter: a Manual (Civil Service Change Management Programme, 2010). Tables and figures Tables Table 1: Disaggregation of data on concerns related to freedom from socio-economic and 6 cultural threats (2012, %) Table 2: What effect does crime have on your life? (2012, %) 9 Table 3: Number of respondents who (themselves or a family member) experienced different 11 types of crime in the last 12 months (2012) Table 4: Are you worried that you or a member of your family may become a victim of a crime? 12 (2012, %) Table 5: Summary of the socio-economic and security concerns identified by communities in the 15 South-East border area (2012) Table 6: Perceived perpetrators of crime/unlawful acts (2012, %) 16 Table 7: How would you classify relations between Bangladeshis and Rohingya in your locality? 17 (2012, %) Table 8: Which do you perceive to be the most common crimes in your locality? 19 (2012, %) Table 9: Total seizures of drugs in Bangladesh (2008–2011) 23 Table 10: Where do the drugs come from? (2012, %) 27 Table 11: Have human traffickers attempted to trick you or someone you know? (2012, %) 32 Table 12: Border Guard Bangladesh operational activity relating to trafficking in persons 34 (2006–2010) Table 13: How successful are government agencies at tackling extremist activities in your locality? 38 (2012, %) Table 14: If you or a member of your family were a victim of crime in the past year, did you report 46 the crime to the police? (2012) Table 15: Who would you approach if you or your family were threatened by crime or unlawful 48 acts? (2012, %) Table 16: Do you believe law enforcement agencies respect human rights? (2012, %) 54 Table 17: If no, in what ways are human rights not respected? (2012, %) Table 18: Percentage of respondents who contacted a specific dispute resolution system, the 58 extent to which the contact was helpful and whether they had success in achieving justice (2012, %) Figures Figure 1: Incidence of severe child deprivations per division (2006, %) 3 Figure 2: Percentage of respondents listing concerns related
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