Rohingya plight in Myanmar, a ‘test for humanity’

This article is published in association with United Nations.

“Houses burned. Neighbours killed. Hope vanishing.” With those stark words, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock opened a high-level UN conference on Tuesday, as alarm rises over the impact of Myanmar’s deepening crisis which threatens to destabilise the wider region.

At the heart of the emergency are the Rohingya Muslims, denied Burmese citizenship, driven from their homes and forced into camps or exile.

More than a million now live as refugees in Bangladesh, while countless more remain displaced or trapped – alongside other minorities – inside Myanmar under conditions UN leaders described as “dire” and “unsustainable.”

The conference at UN Headquarters in New York, brought together top UN officials, heads of state and governments, to galvanise action alongside Rohingya activists.

Briefings and reports laid bare the daily realities since the February 2021 military coup: forced recruitment, sexual violence, airstrikes, starvation and mass displacement.

Humanitarian agencies warn that resources are running out, leaving refugees malnourished and pushing more people into taking dangerous sea journeys.

Conditions inside Myanmar’s Rakhine state – ancestral home of the Rohingya – are described as the worst in decades, with civilians caught between junta forces and ethnic armed groups.

UN Photo/Manuel Elías

General Assemby President Annalena Baerbock (at podium and on screens) addresses the high-level conference of the General Assembly on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.

‘Human rights trampled’

The Secretary-General, in a statement read by his Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray, said the crisis has “trampled on the human rights, dignity and safety of millions and threatens regional stability.”

He urged three immediate steps: protecting civilians in line with international law, guaranteeing humanitarian access, and reinvigorating investment to ease the strain on refugees and host communities.

“The solution to this crisis lies ultimately in Myanmar,” the message stressed, calling for an end to persecution and recognition that “the Rohingya belong – as full citizens.”

A crisis ‘that should put us to shame’

Assembly President Baerbock underscored the scale of suffering.

“Over five million Rohingya men, women and children share some version of this story,” she said, noting that 800,000 children remain out of school in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camp alone.

Humanitarian funding is critically short, with the 2025 response plan just 12 per cent funded.

“This should put us to shame,” she declared, urging states to boost aid and pursue a political solution that would enable safe, voluntary and sustainable return.

UNICEF/Patrick Brown

Rohingya refugees walk across a muddy field in southern Bangladesh, as fires burn in a distance. (file photograph)

Demand for accountability

For Rohingya activists, the conference was not another moment of awareness but a demand for justice.

Wai Wai Nu, founder of the Myanmar Women’s Peace Network, told delegates that the atrocities did not end in 2017, when over 750,000 Rohingya men, women and children fled violence described as a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.

“It has worsened,” she said, pointing to killings, forced conscription, sexual violence and starvation inflicted by both the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups fighting the junta.

“Without action, the Rohingya exodus will continue until there is no more Rohingya left in Myanmar,” she warned, urging cross-border humanitarian corridors, targeted sanctions and prosecutions for atrocity crimes.

‘A test for humanity’

Rofik Husson, founder of the Arakan Youth Peace Network, offered his own testimony of displacement and violence, recalling how the junta forced Rohingya men and boys into service, often as human shields. In one week alone, he said, at least 400 were killed.

He described village burnings and drone strikes, including a May 2024 massacre that displaced 200,000 people in a single day.

“Ending the crisis of insecurity for the Rohingya community is a test for this Assembly and a test for humanity itself,” he told delegates, calling for an internationally supervised safe zone in northern Rakhine.

Unsplash/Gayatri Malhotra

A demonstration against Myanmar’s military coup takes place n Washington, DC, United States. (2021 photograph)

No agreed pathway to peace

Adding a wider lens, Special Envoy Julie Bishop stressed that Myanmar’s multifaceted crisis is inseparable from the political turmoil unleashed by the 2021 coup.

With no ceasefire in place and armed conflict spreading, she warned that planned elections later this year would fuel further violence rather than deliver legitimacy.

“There is no agreed pathway to peace,” she said, cautioning that international condemnation of the junta has ebbed even as abuses persist.

A fragile hope

Despite the grim accounts, speakers emphasised that solutions remain possible if political will can be summoned.

Ms. Baerbock closed her remarks by noting: “The Rohingya people have survived eight years of hardship, displacement and uncertainty. Their resilience is extraordinary. Our response must match it.”

For Rohingya activists, the message was equally clear: declarations are no longer enough.

“Justice is not optional…It is the only deterrent, the only path to peace,” Ms. Nu said.