Cox’s Bazar journalist Abdur Rahman took these two photos of the Rohingya camp on August 25, 2025.

By Newsman, Dhaka, Bangladesh

“We were forcibly displaced to our neighboring country. (Military junta) took away our right to live in our own motherland,” Furkan Mizan addressed a conference in Cox’s Bazar, on August 24, marking eight years since the Rohingya’s expulsion from Myanmar, the Daily Star reports.

“We became refugees unwillingly. We never wanted this life,” he added.

Another refugee youth, Sahu Asyus, said, “For us, repatriation is not just about going back. It is about returning with rights, with dignity, and with the guarantee that we will never face persecution again.”

“Without legal recognition, we fear we will remain voiceless, stateless, and excluded from opportunities to live a dignified life,” he added.

Diaspora leader Anwar Arkani, co-general secretary of the Arakan Rohingya National Council, said the international community must stop ignoring Myanmar’s responsibility.

Arkani, who escaped in 1978 after his father’s wrongful arrest, called Myanmar a refugee-producing factory. “From Thailand to Bangladesh, Malaysia to Indonesia, Burmese refugees are everywhere,” he said.

Besides The Daily Star, the coverage from Al Jazeera amplified Rohingya voices with poignant reflections on identity, rights, and justice, especially during the Cox’s Bazar conference.

This conference aims to find solutions, said Kamal Hossain, chairman of the Forcefully Displaced Myanmar National Representative Committee, a Rohingya advocacy group, Al Jazeera reports.

“Since 2017, Rohingyas have had no direct dialogue with international bodies, the Bangladeshi government, local communities, or Myanmar,” he added.

Fatema Khatoon, who fled Myanmar three times because of military crackdowns in 1978, 1992, and again in 2018, is not sure of the conference’s outcome.

“I want to go home with justice, to get back my land and property. I want to see peace there. It’s been eight years since I came here for the third time. How much longer must we suffer?” she told Al Jazeera.

Bangladesh Sounds Alarm on Rohingya Crisis

As momentum builds towards the UN High-Level Conference in New York in September, Bangladesh and international stakeholders are sounding the alarm over the escalating Rohingya crisis and calling for urgent global action.

On August 25, Nobel Peace Laureate and Bangladesh’s interim Chief Adviser (CA), Professor Muhammad Yunus, emphasized that Bangladesh, currently hosting approximately 1.5 million Rohingya refugees, “can no longer provide additional support” and called for a practical, seven-point roadmap to ensure their safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return to Myanmar.

“It is not only the responsibility of Bangladesh, but also of the international community to share the burden of the Rohingya crisis, find solutions, and play an active role in implementing those,” he said.

His plan underscores justice and security as foundational requirements, urging renewed donor support, an immediate end to violence, dialogue among ethnic groups, and heightened involvement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and regional powers.

Additionally, Yunus appealed to the international community to press for accountability via the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Charles Santiago, co-chair of the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said ASEAN and China must shoulder greater responsibility in resolving the crisis.

“China’s role is super key. There is no way out of this unless China chooses to solve it. Will China do it? That’s the real question. Only China has the leverage to stop the flow of arms and press for dialogue under ASEAN’s five-point consensus,” he said.

“Any repatriation will be based on bilateral agreements. Bangladesh is now the host; Myanmar is the homeland,” Yao Wen, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh, said at a session.

“China will never give up. Ending hostilities and achieving consensus between Bangladesh and Myanmar is the only way forward,” he said.

Bangladesh’s humanitarian contributions received international recognition, particularly from the West. The United States praised Bangladesh‘s consistent commitment to humanitarian efforts through diplomatic channels.

Several European partners, including the UK, France, and nine additional countries, have reaffirmed their backing and emphasized inclusive Rohingya engagement strategies.

These diplomatic overtures signal escalating global readiness to cooperate in seeking durable solutions. With a UN High-Level Conference set for September 30 in New York, the Rohingya crisis stands at a critical juncture.

“Our main goal now is to present this united voice at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and ensure safe repatriation through regional cooperation,” Dr. Khalilur Rahman said, BSS reports. He is the High Representative to the CA on Rohingya Issues and National Security Adviser (NSA) of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh’s strong leadership, coupled with mounting humanitarian warnings and diplomatic support, sets the stage. Still, the real test will be in turning commitments into effective, accountable action.

Tom Andrew, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, emphasized the need to restrict weapons flow to the military as a crucial step for repatriating Rohingya refugees.

“While a global arms embargo by the UN Security Council may not be immediately achievable, member states can act independently when they receive verified information,” he said.

Nicholas Koumjian, head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, emphasized the urgent need to hold perpetrators accountable so that the Rohingya can safely return home and rebuild their lives.

Funding Cuts Deepen Hardship for Refugees

Al Jazeera reports highlighted the dire humanitarian situation within the camps. Food rations have plummeted, from $12 per month down to just $6, forcing families to subsist on rice and lentils, often without any protein sources like fish or chicken.

These drastic reductions reflect steep funding shortfalls, though temporary US aid has offered some relief through September.

Meanwhile, humanitarian organizations, led by World Vision, warn that over half a million Rohingya children are teetering on the brink of crisis as violence surges in Myanmar and aid dwindles.

This worsening situation has triggered a spike in malnutrition rates, which have jumped by approximately 27%, deepening the urgency for sustained humanitarian commitment.

The NGO Platform in Cox’s Bazar echoed this sense of urgency in a joint statement titled “No More Delays: Eight Years of Rohingya Displacement Demands Global Action.”

They stressed that the humanitarian context has reached a tipping point and called on the international community to move beyond rhetoric and enact tangible solutions.