[🇧🇩] Insurgencies in Myanmar. Implications for Bangladesh

[Saif]

UK provides fresh $1.4m aid for Rohingyas in Bangladesh

This support will also directly benefit Bangladesh’s economy, says UK deputy high commissioner

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UK provides fresh $1.4m aid for Rohingyas in Bangladesh

This support will also directly benefit Bangladesh’s economy, says UK deputy high commissioner

By Star Online Report

The Kutupalong camp in Cox’s Bazar’s Ukhiya. Star file photo

The UK has provided a new funding of $1.4 million for the Rohingyas in Bangladesh, following earlier allocation of $11.6 million through the World Food Programme in 2025.

"The UK is proud to continue supporting WFP’s vital work for Rohingya refugees, ensuring families have access to nutritious food and essential services," said British Deputy High Commissioner to Bangladesh James Goldman, also the development director at the British High Commission.

“Together, we will keep working to provide the essentials they need and build hope for a better future. This support will also directly benefit Bangladesh’s economy by sourcing goods locally from suppliers within host communities.”

The WFP in a statement today said through an e-voucher system, WFP supports the entire Rohingya community, now nearly 1.2 million people, with lifesaving food assistance.

Families receive an entitlement of $12 per person per month to purchase a variety of staple and fresh food items.

In addition, WFP provides nutrition support to prevent and treat malnutrition for children under 5 and pregnant and breastfeeding women; school feeding for 260,000 Rohingya children aged 3-14; and livelihoods interventions to strengthen resilience for both Rohingya and host community members.

“We are deeply grateful to the UK for continuing to stand with the Rohingya community and supporting WFP’s efforts to meet their essential needs,” said WFP Country Director Simone Parchment.

“At a time when needs are rising and humanitarian funding is declining, the solidarity of the UK and the international community is what vulnerable communities like the Rohingya rely on to survive.”

Now in its ninth year, the Rohingya crisis is confronting severe challenges, including a sharp decline in funding.​

 

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Rohingya repatriation only viable solution: Yunus

Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus said that the repatriation of more than one million Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar remained the only viable and sustainable solution to the crisis.

www.newagebd.net

Rohingya repatriation only viable solution: Yunus
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dhaka 29 January, 2026, 13:14

The new country representative of the UNHCR in Bangladesh Ivo Freijsen, 2nd from left, along with chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus and others poses for photo at the state guest house Jamuna in Dhaka on Wednesday. | CA’s press wing photo

Chief adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus said that the repatriation of more than one million Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar remained the only viable and sustainable solution to the crisis.

He urged the UN refugee agency to continue its active engagement to facilitate their safe return.

Yunus made the remarks when the newly appointed country representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ivo Freijsen, paid a courtesy call on him at the state guest house Jamuna in Dhaka on Wednesday, said the chief adviser’s press wing Thursday morning.

During the meeting, the UNHCR representative highlighted the ‘dramatic decline’ in aid for Rohingyas living in camps in Bangladesh’s southeastern district of Cox’s Bazar and stressed the need for greater self-reliance and livelihood opportunities in the settlements.

Professor Yunus said the Rohingya crisis was not receiving the attention it deserved, despite the interim government of Bangladesh organising a series of high-profile events over the past year, including a visit by the UN secretary-general to the camps during Ramadan, which helped draw international focus to the humanitarian issue.

He said prolonged stay of the Rohingyas in the camps could never be a solution, as it had already created tensions with host communities, and called for renewed international efforts to ensure repatriation.

‘The problem began in Myanmar, and the solution must also come from there. A frustrated and angry young generation is growing up in the camps, with access to technology. This is not good news for anyone. Our job is to make sure they return to their homeland in peace and dignity,’ the chief adviser said.

The meeting also covered the Rohingya situation in Bhasan Char, the forthcoming general elections and referendum, and the country’s democratic transition.

Professor Yunus noted that many Rohingyas had fled shelters on Bhasan Char Island and blended into the mainland population, creating new challenges for the country.

Ivo Freijsen said that Barham Salih, the newly appointed UNHCR chief, has expressed keen interest in visiting Bangladesh in the near future and is expected to travel to the Rohingya camps. His predecessor, Filippo Grandi, visited the camps several times since 2017.

Professor Yunus said Bangladesh was fully prepared to hold a free, fair and festive election.

‘We want to set a new standard in conducting elections. All our efforts are focused on ensuring a credible and well-conducted poll. For first-time and new voters, we want the process to be enjoyable and to create a festive and inclusive atmosphere,’ he said.

Lamiya Morshed, SDG coordinator and senior secretary to the government, was also present at the meeting.​

 

[Saif]

Rohingya survivors expect UN's highest court to find Myanmar committed genocide

Rohingya survivors of the 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar expect the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' highest court, to rule the country committed genocide against them, they said on Friday. A judgment is expected in three-to-six months' time following three weeks of hearings

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Rohingya survivors expect UN's highest court to find Myanmar committed genocide

REUTERS
Published :
Jan 30, 2026 22:50
Updated :
Jan 30, 2026 22:50

Judge Yuji Iwasawa, president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), presides over the the ICJ, as the court starts two weeks of hearings in a landmark case brought by Gambia, which accuses Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya, a minority Muslim group, in The Hague, Netherlands, Jan 12, 2026. Photo : REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

Rohingya survivors of the 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar expect the International Court of Justice, the United Nations' highest court, to rule the country committed genocide against them, they said on Friday.

A judgment is expected in three-to-six months' time following three weeks of hearings at the court in the Hague that is also known as the World Court.

The outcome of the case will have repercussions beyond Myanmar, including affecting South Africa’s genocide case at the court against Israel over the war in Gaza.

GAMBIA BROUGHT THE CASE

In their final submissions this week, lawyers for Gambia, a mainly Muslim country that brought the case, told the court that the only reasonable conclusion to be drawn from Myanmar's conduct is that it intended to destroy the Rohingya as a group.

Myanmar has denied accusations of genocide and said the 2017 offensive that forced at least 730,000 Rohingya from their homes and into neighbouring Bangladesh was a legitimate counterterrorist operation.

Speaking on Friday on the sidelines of a meeting of survivors of mass atrocities, Yousuf Ali, a 52-year-old Rohingya refugee who says he was tortured by the Myanmar military, said he believed the court would declare a genocide had been committed.

"The world has witnessed us suffering for so many years (... ) how we were deported, how our homes were destroyed and we were killed," he said.

A UN fact-finding mission concluded the offensive had included "genocidal acts" and survivors recounted killings, mass rape and arson.

At the international court, Myanmar's lawyers said the fact-finding mission was biased and that its conclusions did not have the standard of proof needed for a finding of genocide.

Gambia's Justice Minister Dawda Jallow asked the court to reject Myanmar's arguments and said a judgment declaring genocide would help to break Myanmar's "cycle of atrocities and impunities".​

 

[Saif]

Rohingya refugee crisis and global failure of justice

Years after the mass exodus of Rohingya people from Myanmar, the crisis stands as one of the clearest examples of the global failure of justice.

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Rohingya refugee crisis and global failure of justice

Sayed Mohammad Abu Daud

File Photo: Reuters

Years after the mass exodus of Rohingya people from Myanmar, the crisis stands as one of the clearest examples of the global failure of justice. Although Myanmar is bound by the Geneva Conventions, customary international humanitarian law norms, and the Genocide Convention of 1948, the Rohingya people are still deprived of justice, safety, and a viable path to return home. The problem, therefore, lies not in the absence of legal rules, but in the absence of principled enforcement.

International courts have played a role, although lacking effects. In response to the Gambia’s allegation against Myanmar, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered temporary measures in 2020 to stop the genocide and protect evidence. However, the orders remain largely symbolic as military operations are still ongoing in Rakhine State, humanitarian access is limited, and there is no real accountability in sight. Although the ICJ has moral and legal authority, it has limited enforcement mechanism. Consequently, its decisions could end up being nothing more than formal condemnations.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) suffers from similar limitations. However, in 2018, it was decided that the ICC can deal with crimes that cross borders to a signatory State, like that of the forced deportation of Rohingya people to Bangladesh (although Myanmar is not a signatory to the Rome Statute). While this has allowed an investigation to proceed, it does not address the full scale of atrocities committed within Myanmar. Eventually, arrests remain impossible without cooperation from the very same authorities accused of the crimes. As a result, justice delayed, in this context, increasingly resembles justice denied.

Furthermore, geopolitics has further weakened enforcement. China and Russia have repeatedly protected Myanmar from strong actions by the UN Security Council using their veto powers. On the other hand, ASEAN’s long-standing policy of non-interference has led to careful diplomacy instead of holding the states accountable. As a result, most of ASEAN’s work is still symbolic, with little or no effect to stop the mass atrocities. This paralysis exposes a harsh reality: international humanitarian law depends both on legal obligation and on political will.

The consequences of this failure are borne most heavily (and disproportionately) by Bangladesh. The conditions for more than a million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char are increasingly deteriorating. The scarcity of funds has resulted in reduced food rations, limited educational opportunities, and overburdened health services. Moreover, donor fatigue has made an already fragile humanitarian situation even more vulnerable. On the other hand, the lack of accountability in Myanmar makes safe, voluntary, and dignified return rather impossible.

If the world really cares about justice, it needs to stop responding in bits and pieces and start working together. Bangladesh, willing ASEAN members, and relevant UN bodies could all support a regional system for collecting and documenting evidence. This could help keep the evidence safe and protect the witnesses, even if Myanmar remains unwilling to cooperate. Justice should not rely on the acquiescence of alleged offenders.

At the same time, sanctions need to be clear and impactful as well. While individual national measures have little effect, a unified sanctions regime aimed at military leaders, military-owned businesses, and arms transfers would put real pressure on them. Trade privileges and development cooperation ought to be explicitly contingent upon demonstrable adherence to international court directives. Similarly, ASEAN must also reflect on its actions. The principle of non-intervention should not equate to lack of responsibility. Establishing a regional framework that aligns humanitarian access with accountability will eventually strengthen ASEAN’s credibility.

Indeed, as of 2026, the Rohingya crisis shows a dangerous schism between law and reality. International humanitarian law is well developed, but it fails when political interests trump accountability. Closing this gap is not only a legal imperative but also a moral one. For the Rohingya people, justice delayed is a lived experience in overcrowded camps, through uncertain futures and broken promises. The world must now decide whether international law will remain a statement of principles or finally become a tool that delivers justice.

The writer teaches law at the European University of Bangladesh.​