{"id":304123,"date":"2025-10-06T12:00:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T11:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=304123"},"modified":"2025-10-02T05:40:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T04:40:11","slug":"rohingya-plight-in-myanmar-a-test-for-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/10\/rohingya-plight-in-myanmar-a-test-for-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Rohingya Plight in Myanmar, a \u2018Test for Humanity\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rohingya refugees cross the Naf River on a makeshift raft while fleeing violence in Myanmar, on their way to Bangladesh. \u00a9 UNICEF\/Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin<\/p><\/div>\n

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30 Sep 2025\u00a0– \u201cHouses burned. Neighbours killed. Hope vanishing.\u201d With those stark words, General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock opened a high-level UN conference today, as alarm rises over the impact of Myanmar\u2019s deepening crisis which threatens to destabilise the wider region.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

At the heart of the emergency are the Rohingya Muslims, denied Burmese citizenship, driven from their homes and forced into camps or exile.<\/p>\n

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More than a million now live as refugees in Bangladesh, while countless more remain displaced or trapped \u2013 alongside other minorities \u2013 inside Myanmar under conditions UN leaders described as \u201cdire\u201d and \u201cunsustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Briefings and reports laid bare the daily realities since the February 2021 military coup<\/a>: forced recruitment, sexual violence, airstrikes, starvation and mass displacement.<\/p>\n

Humanitarian agencies warn that resources are running out, leaving refugees malnourished and pushing more people into taking dangerous sea journeys.<\/p>\n

Conditions inside Myanmar\u2019s Rakhine state \u2013 ancestral home of the Rohingya \u2013 are described as the worst in decades, with civilians caught between junta forces and ethnic armed groups.<\/p>\n

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General Assemby President Annalena Baerbock (at podium and on screens) addresses the high-level conference of the UNGA on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.
UN Photo\/Manuel El\u00edas<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018Human rights trampled\u2019<\/h2>\n

The Secretary-General, in a statement<\/a> read by his Chef de Cabinet Courtenay Rattray, said the crisis has \u201ctrampled on the human rights, dignity and safety of millions<\/strong> and threatens regional stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe solution to this crisis lies ultimately in Myanmar,<\/strong>\u201d the message stressed, calling for an end to persecution and recognition that \u201cthe Rohingya belong \u2013 as full citizens.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

A crisis \u2018that should put us to shame\u2019<\/h2>\n

Assembly President Baerbock underscored the scale of suffering.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver five million Rohingya men, women and children share some version of this story,<\/strong>\u201d she said<\/a>, noting that 800,000 children remain out of school in Bangladesh\u2019s Cox\u2019s Bazar camp alone.<\/p>\n

Humanitarian funding is critically short, with the 2025 response plan just 12 per cent funded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should put us to shame,<\/strong>\u201d she declared, urging states to boost aid and pursue a political solution that would enable safe, voluntary and sustainable return.<\/p>\n

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Rohingya – Burma Myanmar – From Amnesty International<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Demand for accountability<\/h2>\n

For Rohingya activists, the conference was not another moment of awareness but a demand for justice.<\/p>\n

Wai Wai Nu, founder of the Myanmar Women\u2019s 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 \u201ctextbook example of ethnic cleansing<\/strong><\/a>\u201d by then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra\u2019ad Al Hussein.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has worsened,\u201d she said, pointing to killings, forced conscription, sexual violence and starvation inflicted by both the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups fighting the junta.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout action, the Rohingya exodus will continue until there is no more Rohingya left in Myanmar,<\/strong>\u201d she warned, urging cross-border humanitarian corridors, targeted sanctions and prosecutions for atrocity crimes.<\/p>\n

\u2018A test for humanity\u2019<\/h2>\n

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He described village burnings and drone strikes, including a May 2024 massacre<\/a> that displaced 200,000 people in a single day.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnding the crisis of insecurity for the Rohingya community is a test for this Assembly and a test for humanity itself,<\/strong>\u201d he told delegates, calling for an internationally supervised safe zone in northern Rakhine.<\/p>\n

No agreed pathway to peace<\/h2>\n

Adding a wider lens, Special Envoy Julie Bishop stressed that Myanmar\u2019s multifaceted crisis is inseparable from the political turmoil unleashed by the 2021 coup.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no agreed pathway to peace,<\/strong>\u201d she said, cautioning that international condemnation of the junta has ebbed even as abuses persist.<\/p>\n

A fragile hope<\/h2>\n

Despite the grim accounts, speakers emphasised that solutions remain possible if political will can be summoned.<\/p>\n

Ms. Baerbock closed her remarks by noting: \u201cThe Rohingya people have survived eight years of hardship, displacement and uncertainty. Their resilience is extraordinary. Our response must match it.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

For Rohingya activists, the message was equally clear: declarations are no longer enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cJustice is not optional\u2026It is the only deterrent, the only path to peace,<\/strong>\u201d Ms. Nu said.<\/p>\n

Go to Original – news.un.org<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

30 Sep 2025\u00a0– \u201cHouses burned. Neighbours killed. Hope vanishing.\u201d With those words, UNGA President Annalena Baerbock opened a high-level UN conference today over Myanmar\u2019s deepening crisis, which threatens to destabilise the wider region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":304124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[677],"tags":[1688,2923,526,1044,865,883,335,821,107,527,2706,124],"class_list":["post-304123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-updates-on-myanmar-rohingya-genocide","tag-bangladesh","tag-buddhists","tag-burma-myanmar","tag-east-asia","tag-genocide","tag-migrants","tag-muslims","tag-refugees","tag-religion","tag-rohingya","tag-statelessness","tag-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304123"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304123\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":304128,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304123\/revisions\/304128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}