Monday, 25 August, 2025
A high-level dialogue among key stakeholders on the Rohingya crisis begins today in Cox’s Bazar, where over one million Rohingya refugees have been living in sprawling camps since fleeing a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017.
The meeting brings together government officials, international agencies, donor representatives and humanitarian organisations to review the current situation, discuss aid commitments, and explore pathways for a sustainable solution to one of the world’s largest protracted refugee crises.
Bangladesh continues to shoulder the heavy burden of hosting the Rohingya population, who crossed the border in waves following what the United Nations has described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Despite repeated attempts at repatriation through bilateral talks with Myanmar, not a single refugee has returned voluntarily due to ongoing insecurity, lack of recognition, and fears of renewed persecution in their homeland.
Today, the Rohingya camps face worsening conditions. Funding shortfalls have forced international agencies, including the World Food Programme, to slash food rations, fuelling rising malnutrition and despair. Security challenges, including criminal networks and militant activities, have further complicated the situation, while tensions between refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar continue to grow.
Dhaka has repeatedly urged the international community to exert greater pressure on Myanmar’s military junta to create conditions conducive for safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation. However, with Myanmar itself mired in civil conflict since the 2021 coup, prospects for a swift resolution appear dim.
Against this backdrop, today’s dialogue is seen as crucial for reaffirming global commitment to humanitarian support, strengthening coordination, and keeping the issue on the international agenda at a time when donor fatigue and competing global crises risk overshadowing the plight of the Rohingya.
With international aid drying up, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh remain trapped in a state of limbo. Hundreds of thousands of children are growing up without access to formal education, leaving many vulnerable to child labour or forced into early marriage as desperate families struggle to survive.
In the world’s largest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar, where around 1.2 million Rohingya live in overcrowded camps, children make up more than half the population. Most are now cut off from education after years of stalled initiatives to introduce formal schooling. With classrooms shuttered and humanitarian aid dwindling, families are left with heartbreaking choices: send their children to work, marry them off too early, or keep them at home with no schooling at all.
The humanitarian crisis is deepening as donor fatigue sets in. Severe cuts in international funding have already forced aid agencies, including the World Food Programme, to reduce monthly food rations, while healthcare, shelter, and education programmes are increasingly under threat.
Against this backdrop, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his office on Thursday. According to a press release from the chief adviser’s press wing, Andrews praised Yunus for his leadership in keeping the Rohingya crisis at the forefront of the global agenda.
He recalled Professor Yunus’s successful initiative in convening an upcoming UN International Conference on the Rohingya issue, scheduled to be held at UN headquarters in New York on 30 September. “The world is grateful to Bangladesh for its generosity in hosting and supporting the Rohingyas, and to you for keeping alive the hope of a lasting solution,” Andrews said.
During the meeting, Professor Yunus voiced concern over the growing toll of financial shortfalls, stressing that recent cuts in international assistance are undermining essential services such as healthcare and education. He expressed hope that the September conference would pave the way for concrete commitments from the global community towards a sustainable resolution of the crisis.
The chief adviser urged Andrews to continue his advocacy to ensure adequate funding, while the UN envoy commended Bangladesh’s engagement with regional and international stakeholders in search of a lasting solution.
More than six years since the mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar’s Rakhine State following a brutal military crackdown in 2017, the refugees remain stateless and without prospects for safe repatriation. With Myanmar mired in conflict and the military junta unwilling to guarantee rights or security, repatriation has stalled, leaving the Rohingya to languish in camps that are increasingly volatile and unsustainable.
The crisis remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian challenges — and with resources dwindling, Bangladesh insists the international community must step up to prevent a worsening catastrophe.
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A high-level dialogue among key stakeholders on the Rohingya crisis begins today in Cox’s Bazar, where over one million Rohingya refugees have been living in sprawling camps since fleeing a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017.
The meeting brings together government officials, international agencies, donor representatives and humanitarian organisations to review the current situation, discuss aid commitments, and explore pathways for a sustainable solution to one of the world’s largest protracted refugee crises.
Bangladesh continues to shoulder the heavy burden of hosting the Rohingya population, who crossed the border in waves following what the United Nations has described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Despite repeated attempts at repatriation through bilateral talks with Myanmar, not a single refugee has returned voluntarily due to ongoing insecurity, lack of recognition, and fears of renewed persecution in their homeland.
Today, the Rohingya camps face worsening conditions. Funding shortfalls have forced international agencies, including the World Food Programme, to slash food rations, fuelling rising malnutrition and despair. Security challenges, including criminal networks and militant activities, have further complicated the situation, while tensions between refugees and host communities in Cox’s Bazar continue to grow.
Dhaka has repeatedly urged the international community to exert greater pressure on Myanmar’s military junta to create conditions conducive for safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation. However, with Myanmar itself mired in civil conflict since the 2021 coup, prospects for a swift resolution appear dim.
Against this backdrop, today’s dialogue is seen as crucial for reaffirming global commitment to humanitarian support, strengthening coordination, and keeping the issue on the international agenda at a time when donor fatigue and competing global crises risk overshadowing the plight of the Rohingya.
With international aid drying up, Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh remain trapped in a state of limbo. Hundreds of thousands of children are growing up without access to formal education, leaving many vulnerable to child labour or forced into early marriage as desperate families struggle to survive.
In the world’s largest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar, where around 1.2 million Rohingya live in overcrowded camps, children make up more than half the population. Most are now cut off from education after years of stalled initiatives to introduce formal schooling. With classrooms shuttered and humanitarian aid dwindling, families are left with heartbreaking choices: send their children to work, marry them off too early, or keep them at home with no schooling at all.
The humanitarian crisis is deepening as donor fatigue sets in. Severe cuts in international funding have already forced aid agencies, including the World Food Programme, to reduce monthly food rations, while healthcare, shelter, and education programmes are increasingly under threat.
Against this backdrop, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at his office on Thursday. According to a press release from the chief adviser’s press wing, Andrews praised Yunus for his leadership in keeping the Rohingya crisis at the forefront of the global agenda.
He recalled Professor Yunus’s successful initiative in convening an upcoming UN International Conference on the Rohingya issue, scheduled to be held at UN headquarters in New York on 30 September. “The world is grateful to Bangladesh for its generosity in hosting and supporting the Rohingyas, and to you for keeping alive the hope of a lasting solution,” Andrews said.
During the meeting, Professor Yunus voiced concern over the growing toll of financial shortfalls, stressing that recent cuts in international assistance are undermining essential services such as healthcare and education. He expressed hope that the September conference would pave the way for concrete commitments from the global community towards a sustainable resolution of the crisis.
The chief adviser urged Andrews to continue his advocacy to ensure adequate funding, while the UN envoy commended Bangladesh’s engagement with regional and international stakeholders in search of a lasting solution.
More than six years since the mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar’s Rakhine State following a brutal military crackdown in 2017, the refugees remain stateless and without prospects for safe repatriation. With Myanmar mired in conflict and the military junta unwilling to guarantee rights or security, repatriation has stalled, leaving the Rohingya to languish in camps that are increasingly volatile and unsustainable.
The crisis remains one of the world’s largest humanitarian challenges — and with resources dwindling, Bangladesh insists the international community must step up to prevent a worsening catastrophe.
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