Nine Years On, Rohingya Call for Rights, Opportunities and a Credible Path Home

A Cox’s Bazar discussion highlighted declining humanitarian support, the need for greater education and skills opportunities, and the continuing absence of conditions that would allow Rohingya to return safely and with dignity to their homeland.

by Hafizur Rahman

Cox’s Bazar, 24 August 2026: Nearly nine years after the mass displacement of 2017, Rohingya refugees remain without a clear pathway home as declining humanitarian funding puts growing pressure on life in the camps.

Rohingya representatives, humanitarian actors, government officials and international partners discussed the continuing crisis on Monday at an event titled “The Rohingya Exodus: Challenges and the Future of this Protracted Crisis.”

The discussion was jointly organised by the Office of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner and the Norwegian Refugee Council ahead of August 25, when Rohingya communities mark nine years since Myanmar military operations forced more than 700,000 people into Bangladesh.

Participants stressed that humanitarian assistance remains essential, but said managing displacement indefinitely cannot substitute for a political solution that allows Rohingya to return to their homeland voluntarily, safely and with dignity.

Return Must Be More Than a Promise

Repatriation remained one of the central issues at the discussion.

Participants called for stronger international political and diplomatic efforts to create conditions inside Myanmar that would make a sustainable return possible.

For Rohingya refugees, however, repeated repatriation initiatives have failed because the fundamental conditions they have demanded remain unresolved.

Rohingya communities have consistently called for recognition of their identity, citizenship, security, freedom of movement, access to their homes and land, and meaningful participation in decisions concerning their return.

The political situation inside Arakan has also changed dramatically. The Arakan Army now controls large parts of the state, while conflict with Myanmar’s military junta continues elsewhere.

Despite those changes, Rohingya continue to flee Arakan. UNHCR recently said around 150 newly arrived Rohingya approach the agency in Bangladesh each week.

The continuing arrivals underline a basic contradiction: discussions about repatriation are taking place while some Rohingya are still being forced to leave their homeland.

Participants at Monday’s event called for a clearer and more practical roadmap involving Bangladesh, international organisations, donors and other actors rather than allowing repatriation to remain an indefinite diplomatic objective.

Humanitarian Support Under Pressure

The discussion also focused on the growing funding crisis facing the Rohingya response.

Humanitarian organisations have warned that declining international support is affecting essential services across the camps, including shelter, healthcare, education, sanitation and protection.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said in July that funding gaps were limiting the ability of humanitarian agencies to repair damaged infrastructure and respond to growing needs following landslides and flooding.

For Rohingya families, reductions in assistance come after almost nine years of living with severe restrictions on movement, formal employment and access to higher education.

Participants said the international community should not allow the prolonged nature of the crisis to turn Rohingya displacement into a forgotten emergency.

Education and Skills While Return Remains Blocked

Speakers called for greater investment in education, vocational training, digital learning and skills development for Rohingya.

The issue is particularly urgent for a generation of young Rohingya who have spent much or all of their lives in displacement.

Children who fled Myanmar in 2017 are now reaching adulthood, while thousands of others have been born and raised inside the camps.

Participants argued that young Rohingya need opportunities to develop skills that can help them rebuild their communities if return becomes possible, rather than spending years in displacement without meaningful educational or professional pathways.

Education and skills should not be treated as alternatives to repatriation. For Rohingya, they are part of preparing a generation to exercise rights and rebuild lives wherever their future takes them.

Accurate Data, but Rights Must Remain Central

The meeting also discussed the joint population verification exercise being carried out by the RRRC and UNHCR.

Participants said accurate information about the refugee population is important for humanitarian planning and future policy.

But population verification alone does not resolve the fundamental political questions surrounding Rohingya return.

Recent disputes over Myanmar’s verification process have shown that questions of identity and eligibility remain deeply contested.

Rohingya representatives have repeatedly rejected any process that requires them to abandon their Rohingya identity or treats verification as a substitute for citizenship and other fundamental rights.

Rohingya Should Not Be Blamed Collectively

Participants also warned against increasingly negative narratives surrounding Rohingya refugees.

They stressed that crimes or security incidents involving individuals or armed groups should not be used to stigmatise the wider refugee population.

Collective blame can deepen discrimination against ordinary refugees and obscure the conditions in which more than a million Rohingya continue to live after fleeing persecution in Myanmar.

The discussion called for greater responsibility in public and political discourse and for Rohingya to be treated as individuals rather than collectively associated with criminality or insecurity.

Rohingya Voices Must Be Part of the Solution

Representatives of the United Council of Rohingya also participated in the discussion.

The organisation welcomed opportunities for Rohingya to speak directly in discussions concerning repatriation and the future of the community.

The question of meaningful participation has become increasingly important as governments, international organisations and political actors discuss possible solutions to the crisis.

Rohingya organisations and youth groups have repeatedly argued that refugees themselves must have a substantive role in determining the conditions of return rather than being consulted only after policies have already been developed.

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam attended the event as chief guest, alongside representatives of UN agencies, donors, humanitarian organisations and local actors.

The discussion ended with a broad recognition that humanitarian assistance can sustain people in displacement but cannot resolve the political conditions that created the crisis.

Nine years after the 2017 exodus, that distinction has become increasingly difficult to ignore.

Rohingya do not only need enough assistance to survive another year in the camps. They need the rights, political guarantees and conditions that would allow them to leave the camps and return home safely.