What began as a temporary response has metastasized into a protracted crisis. Few Rohingya see a safe path back to Myanmar, where the ruling military junta continues to persecute minorities and faces its own armed rebellion.
By Vibhu Mishra
More than eight years after over 750,000 Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar for sprawling camps in Bangladesh, the crisis remains unresolved. On Tuesday, world leaders, UN officials and civil society groups will convene in New York for a high-level summit to confront not just the humanitarian emergency, but the geopolitical deadlock that perpetuates it.
The stakes for the conference, part of the UN General Assemby’s annual week of high-level discussions, could hardly be higher: shrinking aid budgets and intensifying conflict inside Myanmar leave one of the world’s most persecuted minorities in limbo.
Delegates are expected to address human rights and minority protections of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities, while exploring political, social and security measures to ensure the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Rohingya and other refugees.
Meanwhile, the flow of those fleeing has not ebbed. Traumatized Rohingya continue to arrive in southern Bangladesh, adding new scars to an already deep human suffering.
Unceasing Limbo
The Rohingya, a Muslim minority long denied citizenship and basic rights in Myanmar, fled waves of violence that culminated in 2017 with what Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”
Crossing into Bangladesh, they found emergency shelter in what is now arguably the world’s largest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar.
But what began as a temporary response has metastasized into a protracted crisis. Few Rohingya see a safe path back to Myanmar, where the ruling military junta continues to persecute minorities and faces its own armed rebellion.
In Bangladesh, opportunities for education and work remain limited, while security incidents, trafficking and tensions with host communities intensify the strain.
Yunus: Warning of Collapse
Addressing the General Assembly’s annual debate on Friday, Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of Bangladesh’s interim government, issued one of the starkest warnings yet.
“The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warns of a critical funding shortfall. Without urgent new funding, monthly rations may have to be halved to a paltry $6 per person, pushing the Rohingya deeper into hunger and forcing them to resort to desperate measures,” he said.
He called for “enhanced contribution” from donors but stressed that the roots of the crisis lie inside Myanmar:
“Deprivation of rights and persecution of the Rohingya, rooted in cultural identity politics, continue in Rakhine. Reversal of the process of marginalization of the Rohingya cannot wait any further,” he said.
“There must be a political solution to the problems involving all stakeholders there, so that they become part of the Rakhine society with equal rights as equal citizens.”
Many leaders echoed these concerns, highlighting the Rohingya plight as emblematic of broader conflicts left unresolved amid geopolitical paralysis.
Guterres: ‘We Will Not Give Up’
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who visited Cox’s Bazar earlier this year, described the camps as “a stark reminder of the world’s collective failure to find solutions.”
He stressed that the primary solution is the safe, voluntary and dignified return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, and called on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, protect civilians and create conditions for democracy to take root.
These conditions, however, do not yet exist, making returns impossible for now.
Until conflict and systematic persecution end, the UN chief urged continued international support for those in need of protection in Bangladesh.
Myanmar’s Deepening Political Crisis
After a military coup on 1 February 2021, Myanmar has plunged into violence and instability.
Thousands of civilians have been killed, millions displaced and over half the population requires humanitarian assistance. Natural disasters, including floods and earthquakes, have compounded the strain on fragile infrastructure.
Ethnic minorities – including the Rohingya, Kachin, Shan and Chin – have been disproportionately affected.
The military is accused of systematic human rights violations, many likely amounting to crimes against humanity, including arbitrary detention, torture and extrajudicial killings. Schools, hospitals and places of worship have also faced indiscriminate attacks.
Hope, Courage and Resilience
Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, highlighted both the courage of those affected and the urgent risks they face.
“I see it in the people of Myanmar and the great courage that they display. I am just in awe of them. They are what give me hope as an individual and trust that one day this nightmare will be over. That’s my source of hope,” he told UN News last November, after presenting his annual report to the General Assembly.
As world leaders gather in New York, advocates say the real question is not just whether fresh funding can be secured, but whether the political will exists to resolve a crisis that has come to embody global drift and despair.
