On 25 August 2017, the Myanmar military launched its genocidal campaign against the Rohingya people in Rakhine State. Entire villages were burned to the ground. Men, women, and children were killed. At least 700,000 people were forced to flee to Bangladesh, where they remain in camps to this day.
Eight years later, the Rohingya are marking this anniversary at one of the darkest moments yet.
Global reports and from inside Myanmar, including the Women’s Peace Network, inform that while the military junta continues its brutal rule, the Arakan Army (AA) has also turned on the Rohingya for more than two years as it has gained territorial control across Rakhine State. However, the situation in Rakhine State remains highly challenging, with ongoing violence significantly impacting the Rohingya community underscoring the need for continued efforts to ensure safety and support for all affected communities. The AA has committed atrocities against the Rohingya communities in townships such as Buthidaung and Maungdaw.
These abuses include:
- Arson attacks and looting
- Arbitrary detention and forced labour
- Mass killings and forced transfers
- Sexual and gender-based violence against Rohingya women and girls
- Anti-Rohingya hate speech and propaganda
- For survivors of the 2017 genocide, the nightmare has not ended—it has deepened.
Starvation and blocked aid
In northern Rakhine and in the heavily militarised camps around Sittwe, humanitarian aid is being blocked. Food and clean water are scarce, and reports of hunger and famine are growing. With internet and communication blackouts imposed across Rakhine, the crisis remains hidden from much of the world.
With conditions worsening, over 150,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in the past two years. Many others have taken to the sea. In just over a year, more than 11,000 Rohingya attempted the dangerous sea crossing across South and Southeast Asia—only to face trafficking, torture, and sexual violence at the hands of smugglers.
Yet, instead of safety, refugees are being pushed further into precarity. In Bangladesh, funding cuts have deepened insecurity for more than one million Rohingya. Across Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Malaysia, hundreds of thousands remain unregistered and unprotected, vulnerable to detention, deportation, and exploitation. Meanwhile, global anti-refugee sentiment has made third-country resettlement increasingly unattainable.
Calls to action
On the Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day, the Women’s Peace Network is urging the international and regional community to act without delay:
For those still in Rakhine State:
- Allow cross-border humanitarian aid through the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, with the support of UN agencies, NGOs, and trusted local groups.
- Establish an independent human rights monitoring mechanism to investigate ongoing atrocities and preserve evidence, in line with the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures.
- Hold all perpetrators accountable under international law.
- Ensure that the UN High-Level Conference on Rohingya and Other Minorities in September 2025 puts justice and accountability at the centre of its agenda.
For Rohingya refugees across the region:
- Resume humanitarian assistance, and provide access to education and employment.
- Guarantee safe disembarkation and protection for those fleeing by sea, dismantling trafficking networks in line with the Bali Process.
- End detention, deportation, and anti-Rohingya hate speech.
- ASEAN must act to protect the Rohingya, rather than legitimising the junta’s sham elections.
- Any repatriation must only occur when conditions are safe, voluntary, and sustainable.
Most importantly, Rohingya voices—including women and youth—must be part of shaping their own future.
