EIGHT years after the military purge that forced over 700,000 Rohingya to flee Myanmar鈥檚 Rakhine State, the crisis remains unresolved. On 25 August 2025, refugees in Bangladesh will mark another year in limbo, with more than 1.15 million people still confined to squalid camps in Cox鈥檚 Bazar and the remote island of Bhasan Char. Bangladesh has displayed exceptional humanitarian leadership, but the burden has grown unsustainable. Safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation, the only lasting solution, is now clouded by political uncertainty inside Myanmar, where the Arakan Army has declared its ambition to control the region鈥檚 leadership while the junta continues to deny the Rohingya citizenship.
The tragedy did not begin in 2017. The Rohingya have lived in Arakan, now Rakhine State, for centuries, yet Myanmar鈥檚 authorities have long stripped them of recognition. The 1982 Citizenship Law excluded them entirely, rendering some 800,000 stateless and restricting education, healthcare, and freedom of movement. Military operations over decades, notably the 1991鈥�92 鈥榗lean and beautiful nation鈥� campaign that displaced up to 250,000 Rohingya, entrenched persecution. In 2017, after attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, Myanmar鈥檚 military launched a brutal crackdown that the United Nations called ethnic cleansing. Since then, a new influx of around 150,000 refugees in 2024鈥�25 marks the largest movement since the original exodus.
Bangladesh now shelters roughly 1.15 million Rohingya. The vast majority live in overcrowded camps at Cox鈥檚 Bazar, where Kutupalong alone holds almost 950,000 people on barely 13 square kilometres. A further 35,000 have been relocated to Bhasan Char to ease pressure on land, but conditions in both locations remain precarious. Daily life is defined by overcrowding, shortages of clean water, poor sanitation, limited healthcare and restricted education. Some 400,000 children remain outside formal schooling, while girls are disproportionately exposed to early marriage and abuse. Malnutrition, anaemia and maternal mortality are common, compounded by births taking place outside medical facilities. With virtually no access to livelihoods, mental distress is rife, and humanitarian dependence is near total. Camps are also vulnerable to fires, flooding and landslides, while security threats range from petty crime to sporadic violence from armed groups such as ARSA.
Despite repeated appeals, international funding continues to fall short. The humanitarian plan for 2025 requires USD 255 million, but contributions 鈥� such as South Korea鈥檚 pledge of USD 3 million last year 鈥� only partially meet needs. Without adequate resources, vital services including food assistance, sanitation and psychosocial support risk further decline.
Bangladesh, not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, administers the camps through ad hoc measures rather than a formal legal framework. This leaves Rohingya refugees without recognised rights even as the country shoulders the responsibility almost alone. Meanwhile, global accountability efforts move at a glacial pace. The International Criminal Court opened an investigation in 2019, and in 2024 a request was made for an arrest warrant against Myanmar鈥檚 military chief Min Aung Hlaing. Yet these steps have done little to alter the junta鈥檚 behaviour. Symbolic acceptance of a handful of returnees serves only as a fa莽ade, while Rohingya leaders who advocate for rights are often silenced through intimidation or murder inside the camps.
The political landscape in Myanmar complicates matters further. Whatever the nominal government, the military continues to dictate policy on the Rohingya. Now, the Arakan Army鈥檚 claim to political control in Rakhine adds a new layer of uncertainty. In this context, agreements on voluntary repatriation, such as the 2017 memorandum of understanding signed by Bangladesh and Myanmar, remain stalled. Myanmar has identified 180,000 refugees for return, but few are willing to go without firm guarantees of citizenship, land and protection.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh continues to push for international action. The International Conference on the Rohingya issue, beginning tomorrow in Cox鈥檚 Bazar (24鈥�26 August), brings together policymakers, diplomats, humanitarian actors and Rohingya representatives to reassess the crisis, highlight funding shortfalls, and chart a realistic path toward repatriation. The event will be followed by advocacy at the United Nations General Assembly on 30 September in New York, and a follow-up conference in Doha on 6 December to consolidate commitments and financing.
A significant development this year is the creation of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), formed in July 2025 under the leadership of Nay San Lwin. The council unifies Rohingya voices from Myanmar, the refugee camps, and the global diaspora, giving the community a stronger platform to demand justice, citizenship and safe return. As the principal voice at the Cox鈥檚 Bazar conference and upcoming UN sessions, the ARNC represents a crucial step in ensuring the Rohingya themselves are no longer sidelined in decisions about their future.
What must happen next is clear. Humanitarian support must be strengthened, with more resources for healthcare, sanitation, education and psychosocial services. Bangladesh, while maintaining its temporary protection, needs help establishing a formal refugee framework to ensure legal safeguards. Above all, repatriation must be genuinely voluntary, based on guarantees of citizenship, land rights and security, monitored by credible international observers. Diplomatic pressure on Myanmar must be intensified, particularly by regional powers such as China and India, which hold leverage over the junta. For those unable to return in the near term, access to skills training, livelihoods and education is vital to prevent an entire generation from being trapped in stateless dependency.
The Rohingya crisis is a test of global humanity and political will. Bangladesh has offered refuge under extraordinary strain, while many wealthier nations have stood at a distance. As eight years have passed since the 2017 exodus, the world cannot allow complacency to set in. Persistent violence in Myanmar, a growing refugee population and shrinking aid flows all demand a stronger international response.
This week鈥檚 Cox鈥檚 Bazar conference is a critical opportunity to refocus attention, secure commitments, and remind the world that over a million people cannot be left to languish indefinitely. To do nothing is to accept that mass expulsion and statelessness can stand unchallenged in the 21st century. The choice before the international community is stark: act decisively now, or condemn yet another generation of Rohingya to a life without rights, dignity or hope.
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Sheikh Oahida Rahman Oishi is a student of international relations at Jahangirnagar University.