Myanmar: The Refugees — Camps, Boats and Return

Summary

Nine years after fleeing Myanmar's 2017 crackdown, more than a million Rohingya remain in Bangladesh camps as Malaysia starts deporting some back, sea crossings turn deadlier, and funding cuts strip away aid.

What it argues

1. Malaysia's Deportations

   Malaysia began sending nearly 1,500 Rohingya back to Myanmar in September 2026, part of 5,000 Anwar Ibrahim says Myanmar agreed to accept in July. UNHCR says it had no role in the operation and that conditions for safe return do not exist, as the military and the Arakan Army, which now controls most of Rakhine, keep fighting with Rohingya "caught in the middle" Malaysia moved ahead with returns despite warnings that Rakhine remains unsafe.

2. Calls For A Solution

   Hundreds protested at Cox's Bazar on the ninth anniversary of the 2017 crackdown, demanding return "with full rights, peace, safety, dignity and justice" UN officials Barham Salih, Julie Bishop and Khalilur Rahman renewed calls for return with citizenship and rights; Bangladesh's PM Tarique Rahman said "the crisis originated in Myanmar; its solution lies in Myanmar" Governments and refugees agree the displacement must end, but Myanmar is still asked to make it possible.

3. Statelessness

   Rohingya have been denied Myanmar citizenship since 1982, making them the world's largest stateless group. Myanmar's government describes them as undocumented "Bengali" migrants and excluded them from the 2014 census. Denial of citizenship underlies the refugees' lack of legal protection anywhere.

4. Genocide Cases Stall

   The ICJ genocide case brought by The Gambia in 2019 ordered provisional measures in 2020 but has reached no final ruling. The ICC investigation opened in 2019 has produced no public indictments or trials. Legal accountability processes remain unresolved nine years after the crackdown.

5. Aid Funding Collapses

   The 2025-26 Joint Response Plan needed $934.5m but ended 2025 only 46% funded; the 2026 appeal, cut 26% to $710.5m, is about 66% covered. WFP food vouchers were cut from $12.50 to as little as $6-8 per person per month between 2023 and 2026. Shrinking donor funding is forcing deep cuts to food, health and shelter.

6. Rationed Services

   Cox's Bazar operations are shifting from broad coverage to a prioritized "minimum package," with health facilities merged and staff cut, per Humanitarian Practice Network. Funding cuts halted plans to rebuild 50,000 semi-permanent shelters; Rohingya remain barred from formal work in Bangladesh. Cuts are reshaping daily camp operations, not just budgets.

7. Deadliest Years At Sea

   UNHCR calls 2025 the deadliest year on record, with about 6,500 Rohingya undertaking sea journeys and nearly 900 dead or missing. UN agencies say two further shipwrecks off Myanmar's coast in June-July 2026 left more than 500 feared dead, and 154,000 more Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh's camps since 2024. Sea crossings keep growing more lethal even as new arrivals keep coming.

8. Trafficking Grows Coercive

   Smuggling routes shifted through Myanmar and Thailand transit camps after Indonesian crackdowns, with ransoms over 400,000 taka, The Diplomat reports. Kidnappings inside Bangladesh's camps, forced conscription and underage marriage are reportedly rising as families grow more desperate. Desperation in the camps is pushing more people onto coercive trafficking routes.