The former NUG deputy human rights minister says the proposed body aims to create an organized Rohingya political institution capable of participating in Myanmar’s transition and advocating for return with full citizenship rights.
by RK Desk
22 August 2026: Former National Unity Government Deputy Minister for Human Rights Aung Kyaw Moe has outlined plans to build a Rohingya Consultative Council, saying the community needs a structured political institution capable of representing Rohingya interests in discussions over Myanmar’s future.
The proposal marks a new phase in Aung Kyaw Moe’s political work following his recent departure from the NUG, where he served for five years and was the first Rohingya to hold a ministerial-level position in Myanmar’s opposition administration.
Rohingya Khobor previously reported on his departure from the NUG. In a new interview with Democratic Voice of Burma published on August 20, Aung Kyaw Moe said his next priority would be establishing the Rohingya Consultative Council, or RCC.
He described the absence of an organized political institution as a major weakness in the Rohingya political movement.
“The missing component in the Rohingya struggle is an organized political institution that fits with the contemporary political architecture of Myanmar,” Aung Kyaw Moe told DVB.
According to his outline, the proposed council would seek to move Rohingya political engagement beyond individual advocacy and create a more structured platform for participation in Myanmar’s political transition.
He said the council would also work to build relationships with ethnic resistance organizations, civil society groups and other democratic actors inside Myanmar.
Aung Kyaw Moe argued that Rohingya political strategy should not depend only on international advocacy, but should also establish stronger alliances with political and resistance movements shaping Myanmar’s future.
Another major objective, he said, would be developing a political roadmap for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of displaced Rohingya from Bangladesh, Malaysia and elsewhere to their places of origin with full citizenship rights.
Aung Kyaw Moe linked a sustainable solution for the Rohingya to the wider struggle for democratization and an inclusive federal political system in Myanmar.
He also argued that Rohingya should be recognized as participants in the country’s political future rather than treated only as a humanitarian or refugee issue.
The proposed Rohingya Consultative Council, however, has not yet been publicly presented as a fully established representative body.
No detailed charter, membership structure, selection process or accountability mechanism has so far been publicly announced. It is also not yet clear how refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya living in Arakan, diaspora communities, women and young people would be represented within the proposed institution.
Those questions will be significant for any body seeking to claim a representative role for a community dispersed across Myanmar, Bangladesh, Malaysia and other countries.
The legitimacy of the council would also depend on whether it gains meaningful support from Rohingya communities themselves and recognition from other Rohingya organizations and political actors inside Myanmar.
Aung Kyaw Moe said his departure from the NUG was not the result of a dispute with its leadership but part of a strategic shift in how he believes he can contribute to the Rohingya cause.
During his time in the NUG Ministry of Human Rights, he said he worked on policy frameworks addressing the discriminatory 1982 Citizenship Law and linking citizenship reform to the Federal Democracy Charter.
His move to build a separate Rohingya political institution now raises a larger question over how Rohingya representation will be structured as Myanmar’s conflict and political transition continue.
For the proposed council, the next test will be whether it develops from an individual initiative into an institution with a clearly defined mandate, transparent leadership and broad participation from Rohingya communities across different locations.
