Dr. Azeem Ibrahim :
The Rohingya crisis is one of the most harrowing humanitarian tragedies of our time. Yet, as global attention has shifted elsewhere, the plight of the Rohingya refugees stranded in Bangladesh has been relegated to the sidelines. This is a crisis that demands immediate and sustained international attention and the recent call by Nobel peace laureate Mohammed Yunus for a global conference on the Rohingya issue could not be timelier.
The situation in Bangladesh’s refugee camps is worsening by the day. These camps, the largest in the world, house more than 1 million Rohingya who fled persecution and genocide in Myanmar. The population in these camps continues to grow, driven both by new arrivals and a high birth rate. The scale of the crisis is staggering, yet global efforts to address it have been virtually nonexistent. Bangladesh has been left to shoulder this immense burden largely on its own, with minimal support from regional neighbours or the international community.
The only sustainable solution to this crisis is the safe and voluntary return of the Rohingya to their homeland in Myanmar. However, the reality on the ground makes this prospect increasingly unlikely. Since their expulsion in 2017, entire Rohingya villages in Myanmar’s Rakhine state have been systematically burned and bulldozed, with the land redistributed to local Rakhine communities and others loyal to the Myanmar military. Even if the political will for repatriation existed — which it currently does not — the physical infrastructure for the Rohingya to return to simply no longer exists.
Adding to the complexity is the shifting power dynamics within Myanmar. The junta that orchestrated the genocidal campaign against the Rohingya in 2017 is losing its grip on Rakhine. The Arakan Army, a powerful ethnic rebel group, now controls much of the region. While this could present new opportunities for dialogue, it also underscores the fragmented and unstable political landscape that makes any resolution to the Rohingya crisis even more challenging.
Bangladesh, for its part, must also reckon with its strategic missteps. Initially, Dhaka sought to preserve its relationship with Myanmar — both its civilian government and its military — by negotiating a repatriation agreement when global attention was focused on the crisis. This strategy failed spectacularly. Myanmar’s military never intended to honour any agreement and Bangladesh missed the opportunity to apply maximum pressure on Myanmar through international legal mechanisms.
It was only years later after the crisis had largely faded from the global spotlight, that Gambia took Myanmar to the International Court of Justice on charges of genocide. By then, the momentum for international action had waned, leaving Bangladesh to bear the brunt of the crisis.
The Rohingya themselves face another significant challenge: the lack of a unified, globally recognized leadership. The Rohingya community is deeply fragmented, with multiple groups claiming to represent their interests. This disunity has hindered their ability to present a cohesive narrative to the world and advocate effectively for their rights. A global conference could provide a platform to address this fragmentation, bringing together representatives from the Rohingya community, host countries, donor nations and international organizations to chart a path forward.
Yunus’ initiative to organize such a conference, which was last week backed by a UN committee, is a vital step in this direction. It offers an opportunity to refocus global attention on the Rohingya crisis and to galvanize international action. A conference of this scale could serve several critical purposes.
Firstly, the conference would remind the world of the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Bangladesh’s camps and the urgent need for a sustainable solution.
Secondly, it could mobilize countries to impose targeted sanctions, support legal actions at the International Court of Justice and pressure Myanmar’s military and emerging power players, such as the Arakan Army, to facilitate safe and voluntary repatriation.
Thirdly, it could secure long-term support for Bangladesh. Dhaka cannot continue to bear this burden alone so that the conference could push for increased financial aid, resettlement options and stronger support from regional powers such as India, China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations members.
Fourthly, by bringing together disparate Rohingya groups, the conference could help create a unified and internationally recognized leadership that can effectively advocate for the community’s rights.
The stakes could not be higher. The continued neglect of the Rohingya crisis risks not only a humanitarian catastrophe but also significant regional instability. Prolonged statelessness and deprivation among the Rohingya population could lead to radicalization, fueling insecurity in an already volatile region. Moreover, the strain on Bangladesh’s resources and social fabric is unsustainable, with rising tensions between refugees and host communities threatening to boil over.
Time is running out. The world cannot afford to look away any longer. A global conference on the Rohingya crisis is not just a moral imperative — it is a strategic necessity. It is an opportunity to right past wrongs, to provide hope to a community that has been systematically dehumanized and to reaffirm the international community’s commitment to justice and human dignity.
Yunus is right to call for such a conference. Now, it is up to the international community to heed that call and act decisively. The Rohingya deserve nothing less.
(Dr. Azeem Ibrahim is the director of special initiatives at the Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy
in Washington, DC.
Courtesy: Arab News).
