8 Years On: Accountability Needed for Myanmar Atrocities Against Rohingya

August 25, 2025, marks eight years since the Myanmar military and authorities launched widespread atrocities against the Rohingya population in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. 

Starting in August 2017, Myanmar security forces razed several hundred Rohingya villages and killed Rohingya women, men, and children throughout northern Rakhine State, forcing at least 700,000 to flee to Bangladesh. An Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar documented evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Since these atrocities, no one has been held accountable in Myanmar for the crimes committed against the Rohingya. In 2021, the military launched a coup that overthrew the democratically elected, civilian-led government. Since then, the military junta has committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, including targeted airstrikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, displacement camps, and places of worship.

The Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State continue to face grave risks and ongoing persecution. The junta’s movement restrictions and aid blockages have increased food shortages and health concerns. The Myanmar junta and Rohingya armed groups have unlawfully conscripted Rohingya in Bangladesh and Myanmar to fight in the ongoing conflict against the ethnic Rakhine armed group, the Arakan Army, which also uses forced recruitment. 

The Arakan Army in recent years has committed serious abuses against the Rohingya, including extrajudicial executions, torture, forced labor, and large-scale arson. An estimated 150,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since mid-2024.

Over one million Rohingya refugees are facing increasingly dire conditions in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camps, including abductions, sexual violence, and the impact of aid cuts on health care, education, and food.

Important accountability measures are taking place. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating atrocity crimes committed in Myanmar and Bangladesh, and provisional measures have been issued by the International Court of Justice as it hears a genocide case against Myanmar brought by the Gambia. Despite this, impunity remains. 

In November 2024, the ICC prosecutor requested the issuance of an arrest warrant against Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief, Min Aung Hlaing. Based on publicly available information, the request is still pending before the court’s judges. 

We, the undersigned organizations, urge the United Nations Security Council to immediately refer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC, to ensure comprehensive accountability for crimes committed against all communities. UN member states should also exercise universal jurisdiction to initiate or support criminal prosecutions of those responsible for crimes under international law, including through national courts, as done in Argentina.

While the Myanmar military has committed the vast majority of human rights abuses since 2021, we call on all parties to the armed conflict in Myanmar to comply with international humanitarian law and engage with international justice mechanisms, including the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.

In addition, we hope the UN General Assembly resolution to convene a High-level Conference on the Situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar on September 30, 2025, at the UN Headquarters in New York will provide much-needed attention to this crisis. However, we are concerned about the lack of Rohingya representation at the conference and the need for a wider spectrum of voices, including Rohingya women, youth, and diverse Rohingya-led civil society from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the global diaspora. 

Rohingya community members must be at the forefront of discussions about their future. As such, we urge the High-Level Conference to be more inclusive, survivor-centered, and focused on accountability and durable solutions, including restored citizenship and the full spectrum of economic, social, and political rights for all Myanmar citizens.

We urge all countries hosting Rohingya refugees to protect their rights, including allowing access to education and livelihoods and ensuring they are not threatened with forced returns to Myanmar. 

We stand united in our call for an end to impunity, the right of the Rohingya to live in safety and dignity, full recognition of the Rohingya as citizens of Myanmar, and the inclusion of their voices in shaping the country’s future. 

Signed:

1. Al-Arakan Integrity Foundation
2. Amnesty International
3. Anonymous Rohingya organization
4. Arakan Rohingya Committee
5. Arakan Rohingya National Council
6. Arakan Rohingya National Union
7. Arakan Youth Peace Network
8. Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network
9. Assistance Association for Myanmar-based Independent Journalists
10. Beyond Borders Malaysia
11. British Rohingya Community UK
12. Burma Campaign UK
13. Burma Human Rights Network
14. Burma War Crimes Investigation
15. Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
16. Chin Human Rights Organization
17. Coalition for the Rights of Refugees and Stateless Persons
18. Community Rebuilding Center
19. Comrades of Rohingya Youths
20. Counter Foto
21. Education and Wisdom Development for Rohingya Women
22. Education Garden for Rohingya
23. European Rohingya Council
24. Fortify Rights
25. Free Rohingya Coalition
26. Future of Rohingya
27. Geutanyoe Malaysia
28. Human Rights Foundation of Monland
29. Human Rights Watch
30. Kachin Human Rights Watch
31. Kachin Women’s Association – Thailand
32. Kaladan Press Network
33. Karen Human Rights Group
34. Karenni Human Rights Group
35. Mayu Region Human Rights Documentation Center
36. Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization in Malaysia
37. Next Gen Rohingya Network
38. Odhikar
39. Refugees International
40. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
41. Rohingya Advancement Committee
42. Rohingya Association of Thailand
43. Rohingya Human Rights Initiative
44. Rohingya Inspiration Network
45. Rohingya Peace Network of Thailand
46. Rohingya Progressive Network
47. Rohingya Right Advocacy Network
48. Rohingya Student League
49. Rohingya Student Network
50. Rohingya Student Union
51. Rohingya Women Association for Education and Development
52. Rohingya Youth Empowerment Network
53. RW Welfare Society
54. Thailand Migration Reform
55. Women’s Peace Network
56. Youth Action for Myanmar
57. Youth Congress Rohingya
58. Youth Led Initiative