Myanmar’s Rohingya population has been denied citizenship rights and subjected to systematic exclusion and mass expulsion for decades. Most of its approximately three million people are now living in other countries. The international community’s approach to the problem has focused primarily on the one million who have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Responses to the crisis have been short term, focused on meeting basic needs. This approach has been inadequate. A broader strategy is now required, addressing the political, security and developmental dimensions of the situation.
Workshop: Alternative for Rohingya
On 5 September, UAI and UNA-UK co-hosted a hybrid workshop to launch a campaign for an alternative medium-term strategy, in advance of the International Conference taking place in New York on 30 September.
Latest Publications
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“The Architecture of Rohingya Exclusion”, by Shafiur Rahman
The humanitarian discussion around Rohingya refugees often portrays Bangladesh as a generous host burdened by circumstances beyond its control. This “burdened host” humanitarian storytelling is everywhere. But this narrative misses the real story. Bangladesh has built a political economy of containment around the Rohingya refugee population. In fact, its posture as a reluctant host masks…
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“Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: restoring hope and humanity”, by Jeff Crisp.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has recently concluded a visit to Bangladesh, where he expressed great concern about the impact of impending aid cuts on the country’s one million Rohingya refugees, as well as their inability to return to their homes in Myanmar. In these circumstances, there is a need to adopt a sustainable and medium-term…
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“As long as we carry that fire within us, the resistance will persist” – Interview with the Burmese activist Hnin Thet Hmu Khin.
Since the 2021 coup in Myanmar, young activists have led the resistance movement, differing from previous generations in their approach to ethnic minorities. Hnin Thet Hmu Khin, a humanitarian and activist from Yangon, shared her experiences in the youth movement and her hopes for the future of Myanmar. Could you discuss the resistance movement and…
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Myanmar is in a struggle for its life
Myanmar (Burma) has lived under military dictatorship for six decades since the coup led by Ne Win in 1962. Even during the NLD (National League for Democracy), the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which had five years to 2020, and the transition government (headed by former general Thein Sein) for five years…
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Witnessing the Emergence of Hope in Myanmar – by Sir Charles Petrie
The conflict in Myanmar is in the midst of a profound transformation, with the groups confronting the Myanmar military shifting their focus from the consolidation of control over areas they consider historically theirs into the establishment of a new form of federalism a federalism created from the bottom up. This is an evolving process that…
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Not since Nagasaki… By Antonio Donini
Global order in retreat… normalisation of unrestricted warfare. Reflections in these troubled times by Antonio Donini, a UAI co-founder. Comments welcome. All pictures are taken by Antonio himself.
