Chittagong, August 25, 2025
The University of Chittagong (CU) hosted an international conference on Monday to mark the 8th Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day, bringing together scholars, researchers, and human rights activists from Bangladesh and abroad. The day-long event, organized by CU’s Department of Anthropology, highlighted the Rohingya crisis as both a humanitarian tragedy and a pressing global justice issue.
Inaugural Session
The opening session was attended by CU Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. Yahya Akhtar, Pro-VCs Professor Dr. Mohammad Shamim Uddin Khan and Professor Dr. Md. Kamal Uddin, and Dean of Social Sciences Professor Dr. Md. Enayet Ullah Patwary.
Chair of the Anthropology Department Professor Dr. Md. Anwar Hossain presided over the session, where speakers emphasized that the Rohingya issue must remain at the center of international debate — not only as a humanitarian crisis but also as a matter of global memory, denial, and accountability.
Research Presentations
Three academic sessions covered diverse aspects of the Rohingya crisis:
- History, Displacement, and Resilience — with contributions from Bangladeshi, Czech, and Malaysian scholars, alongside Rohingya activist Razia Sultana, who highlighted the lived experiences of women and children.
- Law, Geography, and Human Rights — featuring Bangladeshi and Indian academics, as well as Aman Ullah, a Rohingya historian, who stressed the need to preserve Rohingya history against systematic erasure.
- Politics, Sociology, and International Perspectives — with papers from CU and SUST scholars, PhD researchers from LSE, and health specialists, linking field realities to global accountability debates.
Roundtable Dialogue
An exclusive roundtable moderated by Professor Dr. Nasir Uddin brought together legal experts, historians, and activists, including Aman Ullah and Razia Sultana. Discussions focused on denial of genocide, politics of recognition, and the role of academia in amplifying Rohingya voices against ongoing marginalization.
International Collaboration
The event was part of the British Academy–funded project “Politics of Denial and Non-Recognition of Genocide”, co-organized with University College London, University of Dhaka, and the University of South Wales. The collaboration brought an international lens to the Rohingya issue, bridging research, activism, and policy.
A Call for Memory and Justice
Speakers and participants underscored that the Rohingya crisis is not just a regional matter but a global human rights challenge. They emphasized the urgent need to preserve memory, demand justice, and resist the normalization of atrocities.
By gathering anthropologists, sociologists, lawyers, historians, and activists on one platform, Chittagong University reaffirmed its role as a critical academic space where the plight of the Rohingya is studied, remembered, and linked to wider struggles for justice and human dignity.
By Mizan Rehman, Chittagong University
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