rohingya – UAB Institute for Human Rights Blog

UN Conference on Rohingya: Spotlight on a Forgotten People

The Rohingya, a stateless Muslim ethnic minority, have been the victims of a decades-long ethnic cleansing campaign. Their native country, Myanmar, does not recognize them as citizens; because of this, they are denied basic rights. In 2017, over 742,000 Rohingya were forcibly displaced to refugee camps in neighboring Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, following mass killings and attacks on their villages. More have been displaced after a 2021 military coup and subsequent civil war.

UN’s High-Level Conference on Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar

On September 30, 2025, the UN held a conference on the Rohingya population, which hosted speakers including Rohingya leader Lucky Karim, the Bangladesh interim leader Muhammad Yunus, and Wai Wai Nu, the executive director of the Women’s Peace Network-Myanmar. Speakers urged the international community to take immediate action for the protection of the Rohingya people. The impacts of aid cuts, the necessity of sanctions on Myanmar, and the importance of immediate repatriation of Rohingya to their homeland were discussed.

Background: A Long History, 2017 mass expulsion, and Ongoing Civil War

Ethnic tensions between the Rohingya minority and the Buddhist majority ethnic groups existed long before the 2017 mass exodus of Rohingya to Bangladesh. In 1982, Myanmar’s government denied the Rohingyas’ status as an ethnic group, making them stateless. In 2017, following Rohingya militant attacks on police outposts, Myanmar’s troops and local mobs attacked and burned Rohingya villages, killing 6,700 Rohingya and perpetrating sexual violence on women and girls.

Following these atrocities, cases were filed in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on behalf of the Rohingya, which are still pending. Most Rohingya fled to Bangladesh as refugees, where over a million remain in refugee camps.

In 2021, civil war broke out following a military coup in Myanmar. After years of an unsteady power-sharing agreement between the military and democratically elected leaders, the military declared the 2020 election, won by the National League for Democracy (NLD), illegitimate. Myriad forces opposed the military junta, forming pro-democracy coalitions and ethnic rebel militant groups, like the Arakan Army.

The Arakan Army currently controls most of the Rakhine State and the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Rohingya are caught in the middle of the civil war. Rohingya have reported massive restrictions on freedoms under the Arakan Army control, and other human rights abuses like extrajudicial killings and forced labor.

The image depicts a run-down refugee camp in Bangladesh — Image 2: Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh. Source: Adobe Stock.

Displacement in Bangladesh

Over one million Rohingya now live in dire conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh. They rely almost entirely on international humanitarian aid and are largely unable to find work. Bangladesh’s interim leader, Yunus, told the UN during the Conference that Bangladesh is “forced to bear huge financial, social and environmental costs” due to the refugee crisis. Following aid cuts, particularly those made by the Trump administration to USAID, non-emergency medical care and food resources provided by the World Food Program were drastically reduced, exacerbating an already grim situation. At the Conference, the US pledged $60 million to support Rohingya refugees while urging other governments and organizations to step up.

Repatriation

While the Bangladeshi government and the Rohingya themselves hope for repatriation back to Myanmar, the conditions are still too hostile for immediate return. Both the military junta and Arakan Army are accused of grave human rights abuses against Rohingya, and if the Rohingya returned, their situation might be even more dangerous than in the poorly funded Bangladeshi camps. A Human Rights Watch investigation revealed that the Arakan Army has committed widespread arson on Rohingya villages and stoked ethnic tensions by unlawfully recruiting Rohingya men and boys.

Rohingya representatives at the UN Conference stated their need for international protection to make progress toward the Rohingyas’ return to Myanmar. Rofik Husson, Founder of the Arakan Youth Peace Network, reiterated the wish of Rohingyas to live in their “ancestral homeland with safety and security.” He added that the issue of Rohingya repatriation and safety is a “test for this Assembly and a test for humanity itself.”

While the chances of repatriation to Myanmar remain slim, other actions must be taken to improve the situation of Rohingya refugees. Funding shortfalls, limited mobility, and a lack of formal education have cost the Rohingya their freedom and livelihoods.

Conference Shortfalls, Outside Solutions

UN Representative Statements: UN delegates from across the world offered different perspectives on the Rohingya situation, as outlined by the United Nations’ press release regarding the Conference. Myanmar’s delegate to the UN urged the international community to reject the military junta’s planned December election as illegitimate, stating that the military is the root of Myanmar’s crisis. The representative of Poland condemned the employment of advanced military technologies on civilians, while Türkiye’s representative urged Myanmar to comply with the International Court of Justice. China’s delegate warned against politicizing human rights and called for dialogue between Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Few concrete commitments were made at the Conference for improving the Rohingyas’ situation, other than international aid offered by the US and UK, which still does not bridge the funding gap required to create decent and stable conditions within the Cox’s Bazar camps. The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization suggested some solutions to the international community following the conference. These include:

Reduce mobility restrictions to allow for development and reduce aid dependency within Cox’s Bazar camps

Regional states recognize Rohingya as refugees and ensure refugees do not return to Myanmar under detrimental conditions (also called non-refoulement)

Refer the Myanmar situation to the ICC while U.N. member states prosecute individual perpetrators under the principle of universal jurisdiction

Impose an embargo on military supplies to Myanmar and reject the military junta as illegitimate

Rohingya Perspectives on Their History and Future

Perhaps the most powerful and illuminating moments from the Conference came from the Rohingya representatives themselves, however. The first Rohingya to attend New York University, Maung Sawyeddollah, emphasized the international community’s role in empowering the Rohingya community, particularly through higher education. He urged universities to give lifelines to Rohingya students, who lack access to formal education in refugee camps. “It’s not a big burden for a university to offer one or two scholarships to Rohingya students in an academic year,” Sawyeddollah stated.

Lucky Karim recounted fleeing Myanmar in 2017 to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and then her return to the camp years later. She stressed that the genocide of the Rohingya is not an isolated event. It did not begin or end with the 2017 mass expulsion to Bangladesh, stating, “Rohingya have been refugees to Bangladesh numerous times, even before 2017, and we keep going back and forth to Myanmar, and it’s never been sustainable.”

Karim spoke of the conditions she returned to earlier this year in Cox’s Bazar, where aid cuts shut down healthcare facilities, and new arrivals were forced to share already overcrowded shelters. Her hope is for a stable and permanent repatriation of Rohingya refugees to the Rakhine state.

Despite the powerful statements from Rohingya leaders, some noted that no Rohingya who currently reside in the Cox’s Bazar camps were present at the Conference. Some officials cited logistical obstacles, but the Rohingya lamented that the voices of those within the camps were not heard.

The image depicts a child playing on the fence of the Bangladesh refugee camp. — Image 3: Child climbs fence at refugee camp. Source: Adobe Stock.

Unanswered Questions and the International Community’s Role

There is much to be done for Rohingya refugees and those still living in Myanmar. Converging crises prevent effective solutions, and the wider conflict within the region overshadows the Rohingyas’ plight. The UN Conference put an international spotlight on the situation of forgotten people; however, few tangible commitments were made at the Conference. To relieve the suffering of the Rohingya, substantial action should be taken to prevent widespread atrocities by the Myanmar military, and the international community should materially invest in Rohingya development, education, and opportunities.

Rohingya Refugee Crisis Leads to Shifting Tide in Indonesia

by Delisha Valacheril

Figure 1 Displaced Rohingya at a refugee camp. Source: Yahoo Images

The Rohingya are survivors of atrocities committed by the government of Myanmar. Described as the most persecuted minority in the world by the United Nations, the Rohingya are the world’s largest stateless population. Under Myanmar’s Citizenship Law, the government has consistently denied citizenship to this group of people for decades. 135 distinct ethnic groups are recognized under the law, with Rohingya being one of the few exceptions. Without citizenship, they are deprived of basic rights such as access to health services, education, and employment. Forced to leave their homes and families, more than 730,000 fled to neighboring countries like Bangladesh or Indonesia. Approximately 600,000 still reside in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State. They are restricted to refugee camps and settlements where there is a severe lack of food, adequate healthcare, education, and livelihood opportunities. The long-lasting systemic abuses against the Rohingya at the hands of the Myanmar government are equivalent to crimes against humanity, deprivation of liberty, and even apartheid.

Who are the Rohingya?

The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic group who have lived in the predominantly Buddhist region of the Rakhine State of Myanmar for generations. Since the government of Myanmar does not recognize them as an official ethnic group, during the conflict, authorities took over much of the former Rohingya land. Forced to flee their homeland, nearly a million Rohingya live in makeshift camps on the outskirts of civilizations. Despite being disenfranchised, refugees try to have a way of life, but the seasonal flooding and tropical storms endemic to safe haven regions like Bangladesh prevent them from doing so. Due to decades of state-sanctioned discrimination, repression, and violence, the Rohingya refugees cannot return to their homes either.

The remaining 600,000 Rohingya who have been arbitrarily detained in Myanmar endure even worse conditions with no agency or freedom. Of the 72,000 children who are confined to these detention sites, 40,000 were born into imprisonment, and it is all they have ever known. Access to indispensable necessities like clean water, enough food, and adequate housing is limited in this squalid, stateless purgatory. Military officials impose strict curfews, unnecessary checkpoints, and barbed wire fencing, significantly affecting the Rohingya population’s right to movement. This directly violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, respective of Article 13. By depriving this community of their civil liberties and development rights, such as freedom to movement, food, water, and housing, the government is hardening the barrier of segregation to marginalize them from society permanently.

Figure 2 Young girl holding a child in detention sites in Myanmar. Source: Yahoo Images

How did the crisis begin?

Presently, in Sittwe, a town that was once home to approximately 75,000 Rohingya residents before 2012—constituting nearly half of the town’s population—only 4,000 individuals remain. Anti-Muslim sentiments across Myanmar marked the onset of a period of heightened oppression of the Rohingya in both policy and actions. Article 3 of the 1982 Law, on the other hand, positions taing-yin-tha, national race, and identity as an ongoing basis for recognition of citizenship. This meant that national race trumps citizenship, so even though Rohingya were born and raised in Myanmar, they can be kicked out because they are not a part of the national race. This environment set the stage for more severe and organized military atrocities in 2016 and 2017. The largest exodus of refugees is marked by military attacks that occurred in August of 2017 that resulted in the massacre of thousands, villages burned to the ground, and the whole community displaced. The war crimes that occurred offer a clear warning of Myanmar’s military to carry out ethnic cleansing and the government to support the internment of the Rohingya people. The brutality that played out in the Rakhine State is on par with apartheid, persecution, and imprisonment.

Figure 3 Rohingya landing on the shores of Indonesia. Source: Yahoo Images

What is happening to Rohingya refugees in Indonesia right now?

Indonesia is turning away 150 Rohingya refugees from its shores because of local resentment about the arrival of boats carrying exhausted refugees. Due to the unending oppression in Myanmar and the growing risks of calamity in Bangladesh, refugees are now risking tumultuous sea voyages to seek refuge in neighboring countries like Indonesia. However, the growing influx of immigrants is a cause for concern for Indonesian residents. The Indonesian navy has intercepted a boat with Rohingya refugees as it neared the coast of Aceh. Aceh is the only state in the archipelago where 90 percent of the population follows Islamic law. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that since November 11 Rohingya boats have landed, and the refugees have relocated to informal sites, mainly in Aceh and one in North Sumatra. The attack on refugees is not an isolated incident but rather the consequence of an organized online campaign of misinformation, deception, and hate speech directed towards Rohingya.

In the escalation of hatred against the Rohingya, hundreds of students stormed a temporary Rohingya shelter in Indonesia’s western Aceh province, demanding their deportation. The students shouted and physically abused the migrants before forcing them onto trucks and transporting them to the government office responsible for immigration. Demands for relocation stem from local anger over the already limited resources that are overstretched to accommodate new arrivals. Residents do not want the refugees in their communities and have gathered to protest boat landings. The greater international pressure to provide fair asylum to Rohingya refugees is causing tensions to rise in Southeast Asian governments. It is unfair to expect these countries to deprive resources of their citizens instead of addressing the real issue.

What Can We Do?

The responsibility to end the worst forms of violence and persecution falls on the government of Myanmar. For instance, by cutting off the Myanmar military’s government funding, the revenue from the abusive operations can be allocated to the Rohingya people so they can finally experience justice.

The governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Bangladesh should pressure the government of Myanmar to be responsible for the genocide and displacement of the Rohingya people. By exerting the existing international obligations that require governments to take a number of actions to prevent and punish genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, Myanmar will have to respond. It is a long road to repatriation, but placing pressure on governments and non-profit organizations ensures the onus falls on Myanmar to correct its wrongs.

The long-term root causes of the crisis must be addressed to quell the tide of hopelessness. However, until safe and dignified returns are guaranteed for Rohingya refugees, they will require emergency assistance in order to survive. Myanmar is strengthened as a state by its multi-ethnic, multi-religious makeup. With help from foreign governments and humanitarian aid, the Rohingya can work towards restoring their rights.

Crisis in Myanmar: Ethnic Cleansing of the Rohingya

**This is a repost. Please make plans to join us for a lecture and discussion with Dr. Wakar Uddin on Monday, Nov 13 at 630pm, in the Edge of Chaos.

Taung Paw Camp in Rakhine State – Burma. Source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Creative Commons.

Trigger warning: this blog references graphic physical and sexual violence. Please do not read if easily affected by these topics.

“Now is the worst it has ever been. We have heard from our grandparents that there were bad things happening in the past too, but never like this.” – interviewee from Pwint Hpuy Chaung commenting on the violence in the Rhakine, Myanmar

Ethnic cleansing. State-sponsored violence. Genocide. This is what the Muslim Rohingya and most scholars would call the egregious human rights violations carried out by the state over the last eleven months. Myanmar’s government disagrees. The village-burning, mass-murdering campaign has been a legitimate effort against militant Rohingya insurgents from their perspective. The Rohingya are members of an ethnic and religious minority group that has suffered discrimination from the Buddhist-dominated state for years. A large population of Rohingya live in the Rhakine, an extremely poor area on the coast of Myanmar. Though the Rohingya have been living in Myanmar for generations, the ethnic majority considers the group to be illegal Bengali outsiders. The minority group has been denied citizenship for decades and has recently had restricted travel with the institution of state-sponsored “Muslim-free zones.” The decades of discrimination came to a head in last October, when Rohingya militants killed nine police officers. In response, Myanmar government began a colossal campaign to push Rohingya into Bangladesh through burning entire towns, executing villagers, destroying food supplies, and widespread sexual violence. Officials describe the campaign as targeting militant insurgents, yet vulnerable groups like women, children, and the elderly have been beaten, murdered, and raped at a wide level. Entire communities have been devastated through arson, executions, and looting. The violence has been strategic in an effort to drive out the Rohingya. The mixing of mud with village grain supplies forces surviving villagers to flee or starve.

Interviews with refugees from the region conducted by the United Nations Office of High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) report of atrocities like murders of newborn babies, massive gang rapes of girls as young as eleven, houses set on fire with entire families locked inside, and brutal beatings of pregnant women.

“In Kyet Yoe Pyin I saw the military killing a newborn baby of a distant relative … My relative could not come out [of her house] as she was in labour so they dragged her out and hit her stomach with a big stick. They killed the baby by stomping on it with their heavy boots. Then they burned the house.” -19 year old woman from Ngar Sar Kyu (OHCHR 2017)

Much of the violence is fueled by decades of religious and ethnic discrimination against the Rohingya, a majority Muslim population within a Buddhist state. When the October 9, 2016 attack occurred, religious tension reached a boiling point. As a part of the government’s reaction, state military officers have been committing heinous crimes against innocent Muslim individuals. Survivors report their attackers as saying, while raping or beating them, “What can your Allah do for you? See what we can do?” Women systematically dragged into holy places to be gang-raped by groups of soldiers. A long beard is a religious practice among the Rohingya; however, several religious leaders have been publicly humiliated by having their beards shaved or burned off with melting plastic. Holy Qurans have been gathered and burned, and numerous religious leaders are kidnapped and murdered. There is also the denial of families to perform religious ceremonies to mourn their dead.

“I was rounded up, along with 30 others villagers, who were mainly youngsters. They tied my hands behind with a rope. They burnt plastic and dropped melted plastic on my feet and neck. They also burnt my beard with burning plastic.” – Religious leader (OHCHR 2017).

Activists worldwide, including Malala Yousafzai and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, have called the Myanmar government’s response to last October’s incident “grossly disproportionate”. Many specifically criticize Myanmar’s de facto leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for her leadership during this period. Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel peace prize in 1991 “for her non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights” (Nobel Peace Prize 1991). Today, some see this as incredibly ironic, even labelling the atrocities of her administration as crimes against humanity. In fact, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein calls the campaign “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Harsh V. Pant suggests that while Suu Kyi, the de facto leader, does not control the military, “her refusal to condemn military abuses against Rohingya provides the generals with political cover”.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s leadership as a prominent factor is why international forces have not yet intervened. Suu Kyi is a much-loved public figure, has garnered enough legitimacy to make the violence seem possibly justified. Suu Kyi’s struggle to gain democracy in Myanmar nearly a decade ago brought globally acclaimed; however, these new democratic processes have magnified prejudices of the public. Suu Kyi herself has expressed anti-Muslim sentiment at times. Peter Popham describes a 2013 interview conducted by BBC presenter Mishal Husain, the Nobel laureate was heard saying angrily, “no one told me I was going to be interviewed by a Muslim.” This statement is a strong indication that Aung San Suu Kyi’s non-violent legacy should be dismissed when considering the legitimacy of Myanmar’s claims.

The Myanmar government has recently blocked UN forces from entering the country to administer aid so refugee testimonies are the source of much of the information on the violence. Over half of the refugees report family members still missing after officers rounded up important male villagers–teachers, businesspersons, and religious leaders. Fifty-two percent of women reported experiencing sexually violence in some way – usually during public nude line-ups of female villagers, where officers grope, slap, and pinch the vulnerable women. Most reported occurrences of mass executions by knife or shooting, including babies, toddlers, children, women, and elderly people. OHCHR in January’s flash report is the source of the collected data and all the reports of violence cited earlier.

Rohingya Refugee Women Stand By Their Homes. Source: US Department of State, Creative Commons. Source:

These issues have been ongoing since last October’s attack, but fighting began anew last month when Rohingya militants once again launched an attack that killed nearly a dozen security officers. The group that launched the attack call themselves ARSA, or the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. Nearly three-hundred thousand Rohingya are currently fleeing this violence, but have faced obstacles every step of the way. The path to the Bangladesh border is treacherous already, weaving through mountains and jungles, but Myanmar security forces have added additional danger. Yanghee Lee, Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, said, “Rohingyas [are] being indiscriminately killed and injured by military gunfire, even while fleeing, and helicopters and rocket-propelled grenades being used against the civilian population.” Amnesty International reports that Myanmar security forces have been putting land mines along the route of fleeing refugees. Even if the violence dies down and refugees attempt to return home, they will likely be denied entry back into Myanmar. The government has recently released a statement that any returnees are required to show proof of citizenship — something that has been denied to Rohingyas for decades.

The international response has been halfhearted at best. Entities like the United Nations and Amnesty International have collected information through interviews and satellite surveillance, yet, Myanmar still refuses to allow international aid. India, one of the most powerful countries in the region, has shown support to the Myanmar state by condemning ARSA and being hostile to Rohingya refugees. U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley seems to tiptoe around the matter by similarly condemning Rohingya violence but reminding Myanmar to “adhere to international humanitarian law, which includes refraining from attacking innocent civilians and humanitarian workers.” In a situation of clear ethnic cleansing, politically delicate statements like these are insufficient.

Human rights violations at this level and scale are painful to read about and not become stricken with grief. However, we must keep in mind that hope is still alive—the world is in the process of becoming a better place, and awareness of these topics is vital to that change. To those who are reading this, remember to treat yourself kindly. When the horrors of the world make you feel hopeless, remember the good that still exists. Remember to take a break every so often to recharge. Whenever I feel like the world is just too bad to improve, I remind myself of this quote by Anne Frank: “I hold onto my ideals because, in spite of everything, I still believe that people are good at heart.”

The Birmingham Islamic Society (BIS) will host a demonstration for Rohingyas outside the Hill Student Center on Saturday, September 16 at 12-1:30PM. The event is free and open to the public.