The junta says it will facilitate the safe and dignified return of displaced people, even as it continues to deny the existence of the Rohingya identity and the UN says conditions for sustainable return do not exist.
by RK Desk
Arakan State, 4 September 2026: Myanmar’s military junta has pledged to facilitate the “safe and dignified” return of displaced people from abroad while again rejecting the Rohingya identity, as questions continue over Malaysia’s planned return of 1,476 Myanmar nationals later this month.
In a statement on 3 September, the junta’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Myanmar was committed to working with Bangladesh and other countries to facilitate the voluntary return of what it described as “verified displaced persons” in a safe and dignified manner.
However, in the same statement, the junta again rejected the term “Rohingya,” claiming that the identity had never existed in Myanmar.
The statement comes ahead of Malaysia’s planned return of 1,476 Myanmar nationals on 29 September. Malaysia has described the operation as voluntary, but the ethnic identities and legal status of those selected for the first group have not been publicly disclosed.
Earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Myanmar had agreed to receive 5,000 Rohingya. It remains unclear how many Rohingya, if any, are included among the 1,476 people scheduled to be returned in the first operation.
UNHCR has said it has no role in Malaysia’s planned return process and warned that continuing conflict and violence mean conditions in Myanmar do not currently allow refugees to return safely, voluntarily and with dignity.
A UN Secretary-General’s report also concluded that conditions for the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees do not yet exist.
The report said the underlying causes of Rohingya displacement—including citizenship, equal protection under the law and discriminatory policies—must be addressed before sustainable return can take place.
The junta’s latest statement did not explain what citizenship status or documents returning Rohingya would receive, where they would live after arrival, whether they would be free to return to their places of origin, or whether UNHCR or another independent body would be allowed to monitor their treatment.
The continued denial of Rohingya identity also raises fundamental questions over how authorities could guarantee equal rights and protection to Rohingya who return.
More than one million Rohingya remain displaced in Bangladesh after decades of persecution and successive waves of violence in Myanmar.
