Rohingya refugees deserve a future beyond survival, not endless displacement

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Nine years after the mass displacement of the Rohingya from Myanmar, their situation remains one of the world’s most protracted and complex refugee crises, marked by years of persecution and uncertainty over the prospect of returning home.

Against this backdrop, senior UN officials on Wednesday renewed calls for a durable solution that would enable Rohingya refugees to return home safely and with dignity, while ensuring justice and accountability.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih, a keynote speaker at a high-level event held on the sidelines of the 81st session of the General Assembly, reminded participants that nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh.

“An entire generation is growing up in exile…Conflicts continue in Myanmar. Conditions for voluntary, safe, and dignified, and sustainable return do not exist at the moment.”

In August 2017, Myanmar’s military launched a crackdown in the country’s western Rakhine state, forcing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee across the border into Bangladesh, where the vast majority remain refugees.

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Life in limbo

The Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, lamented that for children born in 2017, displacement now encompasses their entire childhood.

“It’s estimated that over 30,000 children are born into the camp each year.”

The Myanmar envoy said women and girls living in the camps face growing risks of gender-based violence, including from armed groups and criminal networks, while access to protection services is declining.

“The young are losing hope.”

UN officials commended Bangladesh for its extraordinary hospitality and generosity but cautioned that the international community cannot stand by while the country continues to host the world’s largest refugee settlement.

“When funding disappears, needs do not disappear with it. There is less food, less education, fewer opportunities, greater pressure on health and other essential services, and more desperation for families,” the UNHCR chief said.

Without prospects for a safe and dignified future, Rohingya refugees face increasing risks of exploitation, trafficking, forced conscription and dangerous sea journeys.

The growing cost of displacement

In his address, Prime Minister of Bangladesh Tarique Rahman drew attention to the growing costs of prolonged displacement, both for the Rohingya and for host communities.

“Prolonged uncertainty and disruption are creating new challenges and security risks, including human trafficking, migrant smuggling, drug trafficking, and other transnational crimes.”

He thanked international partners for their support but stressed that generosity cannot become an excuse for political inaction.

“Nor can Bangladesh be expected to shoulder this responsibility indefinitely.”

“The crisis originated in Myanmar; its solution lies in Myanmar,” the Prime Minister said.

Pursuing a durable solution

President of the General Assembly Khalilur Rahman expressed concern that familiar patterns of violence and persecution continue to cast a long shadow across Rakhine state and the rest of Myanmar.

“Civilians face indiscriminate attacks, air strikes, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, enforced disappearances, forced recruitment, destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, and the denial of humanitarian assistance.”

The Assembly President underscored the importance of sustained political attention to keep the Rohingya crisis high on the international agenda. Predictable humanitarian assistance, he said, would also remain critical.

UN officials also pointed to the genocide case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), brought by The Gambia against Myanmar, stressing that justice must be an integral part of any lasting solution and that momentum towards accountability must not be lost.

Hope beyond survival

“Victims deserve to see that we, as an international community, are doing our utmost to avoid a repeat of past horrors,” PGA Rahman added.

Mr. Salih said refugees deserve a future that goes beyond survival.

Drawing on his conversations with Rohingya refugees, he said many continue to hope for a return home, but that return must mean more than simply crossing a border.

“It means returning with rights, being able to move freely, to go to school, to work, to access services, the ability to live alongside other communities without fear,” and have a pathway to citizenship.

“Our responsibility is to help make that future possible,” the UNHCR chief added.

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