Conference on rohingyas: Dhaka to seek global pledge on Rohingya return

Bangladesh will seek political commitment from the international community for Rohingya repatriation, funding, and accountability for the Rohingya genocide at the high-level conference on the Rohingyas in New York today.

"We want three clear aspects of focus at the conference -- Rohingya repatriation is the ultimate solution to the crisis. Before that happens, the international community must support their humanitarian needs and the trial of the Rohingya genocide," a foreign ministry official told The Daily Star yesterday.

The event comes at a time when global attention on the Rohingyas is shifting due to other crises, while Bangladesh struggles to manage the growing number of refugees.

Since early 2024, nearly 150,000 more Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh amid intense fighting in Myanmar's Rakhine State, raising the total population to about 1.2 million, according to the UN.

Despite several attempts, repatriation has not been possible as Rohingyas say there is no guarantee of citizenship and safety. Meanwhile, funding for their needs in Bangladesh has declined.

This year, donors have provided only 38 percent of the required $934 million, affecting healthcare, food, nutrition, protection, and education. Unless new funds are secured -- at least $60 million over the next six months and $167 million over the next 12 months -- the World Food Programme faces a major disruption to food assistance starting in December 2025, said its Country Director Dom Scalpelli in a statement yesterday.

Bangladeshi officials warn of rising challenges in the camps, including domestic violence, human and drug smuggling, and extremist ideologies. They fear refugees may spill outside the camps.

Complicating the situation, the rebel group Arakan Army (AA) has taken control of about 90 percent of Rakhine State. During its clashes with the Myanmar military, scores of Rohingyas were killed and thousands displaced.

Against this backdrop, Bangladesh hosted an international event on the Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar in August, which saw participation from Rohingya leaders in the camps and diaspora communities.

"We have mobilised the Rohingya voice that will be placed at the UN conference," a Bangladesh official in New York told The Daily Star yesterday, adding that Rohingyas have emphatically said they want to return home.

The New York conference will bring together several heads of state and government, ministers, representatives of UN member states, UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, civil society, and Rohingya leaders from diaspora communities.

Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus will deliver a statement urging global commitment to repatriation, humanitarian support, and justice. The event will feature an opening segment, a plenary meeting, and a closing segment, and the UNGA will adopt an outcome document.

"There was a notion that the Rohingyas are integrated into Bangladesh. We don't accept this notion. Repatriation is the only solution, and we seek support from the international community for this," said an official of Bangladesh's mission to the UN.

At a panel discussion in New York last week, Bangladesh's National Security Adviser Khalilur Rahman said the international community must make political investment in Myanmar to create the right conditions for repatriation.

He noted that while the world community has spent $5 billion on Rohingya needs over the past eight years, and Bangladesh has contributed even more, such assistance has been limited to humanitarian relief and has brought no sustainable solution.

"We have not seen enough progress in justice for the Rohingya genocide. This must be supported and sped up to prevent further atrocities," said another Bangladesh official, referring to the case at the International Court of Justice.

In a statement yesterday, Human Rights Watch UN director Louis Charbonneau said the UN Security Council should follow up on the conference by ending its silence on Myanmar and taking prompt, effective action.

"Building durable solutions for the Rohingya and addressing the root causes of the crisis depend on holding the Myanmar military accountable for its crimes," he said.