<![CDATA[This study examines the legal and humanitarian challenges of the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh through the framework of International Refugee Law (IRL). While existing scholarship predominantly emphasizes humanitarian responses and geopolitical dynamics, this article advances a normative legal analysis of Bangladesh’s obligations under customary international law, notwithstanding its non-party status to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. Employing qualitative doctrinal and policy analysis, the study evaluates Bangladesh’s domestic regulatory framework concerning refugee recognition, repatriation, and access to education, healthcare, and employment. The findings reveal a persistent statutory and administrative legal vacuum in refugee governance, resulting in fragmented protection and reliance on ad hoc humanitarian measures. The article’s principal contribution lies in demonstrating that the principle of non-refoulement and related customary norms impose binding legal obligations beyond treaty commitments, thereby challenging the assumption that non-signatory states bear merely moral responsibilities. By linking legal indeterminacy to structural deficiencies in humanitarian governance, the study proposes a rights-based framework for refugee protection applicable to non-signatory host states. It concludes by advocating strengthened international cooperation and normative harmonization to ensure durable, legitimate, and rights-compliant solutions for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and comparable contexts.]]>
