30 September, 2025
Eight years after the mass displacement of over 700,000 Rohingya, Bangladesh continues to provide a safe haven, now hosting more than 1 million refugees. Despite the generosity of host communities, regional governments, and the tireless work of local and international partners, prospects for Rohingya refugees remain bleak. At the same time, all minorities continue to face displacement and persecution as conflict continues, and almost 150,000 new Rohingya refugees have been forced to flee to Bangladesh since the start of 2024 according to UNHCR.
The situation is expected to deteriorate further, with the prospect of a safe and dignified return remaining out of reach.
Severe aid cuts place refugees and host communities in extreme vulnerability. Almost 230,000 children in Cox’s Bazaar may lose access to education. Rohingya children, displaced or not, are malnourished beyond emergency thresholds and will be in a much dire situation if further food ration cuts take place. The same can be testified for those living in Bashan Char where malnutrition levels remain high amongst children 6 to 59 months old.
Health and protection services for those fleeing violence are also collapsing across the region.
On behalf of 14 NGOs and networks, including national, international, and refugee-led organizations, that support Rohingya refugees and other minorities, we urge Member States to act on the following priorities:
Durable solutions are urgently needed. Yet – safe, voluntary, and dignified returns cannot occur while Rohingya remain stateless and exposed to violence and while other minorities are exposed to continued insecurity and forced displacement too. We urge you to support long-term, rights-based approaches that provide protection, education, livelihoods, access to civil documentation, and freedom of movement. Expanding third-country and complementary pathways will contribute to shared responsibility, reducing pressure on frontline communities, and ensuring that refugees can build dignified futures.
Civilians must be protected. Children, women, people with disabilities and other marginalized groups face heightened risks of forced recruitment, violence, and exploitation as conflict continues. Parties to conflict must protect civilians, including humanitarian workers, and civilian infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. Freedom of movement for all displaced populations and humanitarian access must be guaranteed.
Gender must remain central. Women and girls face disproportionate risks of violence and displacement in a crisis. They must be protected and meaningfully included in every stage of the response to ensure equitable, effective, and rights-based interventions that reach those in need.
Lastly, meaningful participation and leadership of displaced communities is essential. Finding durable solutions will not be possible without Rohingya communities and other affected groups, alongside civil society actors, including local responders and women- and refugee-led groups. Leadership from the Rohingya community must be front and center in the planning and decision-making bodies that are being established to work out these durable solutions.
Long-term, predictable funding is essential to sustain education, health, and protection programmes, while strengthening the resilience of Bangladeshi host communities who continue to shoulder this burden.
We call on this High-Level Conference and on Member States to:
- Increase funding volume and quality funding to those best placed to respond, including local, national, and women-led organizations.
- Coordinate diplomacy and action on protection, access, and long-term, rights-based durable solutions.
- Mandate the UN Special Envoy to lead a regular and inclusive platform on these issues and uphold a principled and sustained engagement with affected communities at all stages of the diplomatic process.
- The international community must uphold humanitarian principles and ensure that returns are only considered when conditions in Myanmar allow for them to be truly safe, voluntary, and dignified, with Rohingya rights fully guaranteed.
Rohingya and other displaced communities continue to face a severe humanitarian – and protection – crisis. How we respond is a test of our collective commitment to human rights, dignity, and protection for the most vulnerable.
The joint statement is endorsed by Action Contre la Faim (ACF), Bondeko Refugee Livelihoods Center, CARE International, Church World Service, Danish Refugee Council, Global Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights, ICVA, Norwegian Refugee Council, Plan International Bangladesh, Refugee Council of Australia, Refugee-Led Organisation Network (RELON) Uganda, Save the Children, Settlement Services International, and The Netherlands Refugee Foundation.
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