Marking the 8th anniversary of the Rohingya genocide:
PAEMA calls for immediate, sustainable, and long-term action
25 August 2025
Eight years have passed since the mass atrocities of August 2017 forced more than 730,000 Rohingya people from their homes in Rakhine State, Myanmar. What the United Nations has called a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing” and the U.S. determined was a genocide in 2022 remains unresolved. Today, one million Rohingya continue to shelter in camps in Bangladesh, while those who remain in Rakhine continue to face persecution, displacement, and a grave humanitarian crisis. This day is not only a moment of remembrance but also a call to immediate, medium-term, and long-term action.
Immediate call to action: Respond to dire humanitarian needs in Rakhine State
The situation facing Rohingya and other communities in Rakhine State is critical, with reports of people starving to death. The Myanmar junta imposes a long-term blockade that prevents the flow of goods from the interior, and cross-border trade from Bangladesh and India is insufficient to fill gaps. Meanwhile, according to a UNDP estimate, regional rice production this year met only 20 percent of local needs. Worryingly, just this month, there are signs of the junta reviving its military campaign against the Arakan Army (AA) in northern Rakhine, causing new fear and displacement.
PAEMA commends India for providing aid after the March 2025 earthquake, which required transport from Mizoram through resistance-controlled areas, and encourages similar cooperation to deliver aid in Rakhine State. We also call on Bangladesh to take a likeminded approach and allow cross-border trade and aid to Rakhine. This is important for enabling hungry and conflict-affected families to stay home and prevent additional displacement. Humanitarian agencies and government donors must adopt creative approaches to reach communities in Rakhine State and should partner with trusted community-based organizations who have been effectively delivering grassroots support. In times of disaster, whether conflict escalation, floods, or cyclones, aid is needed to prevent suffering.
Medium-term interventions: Support aid off-ramps in Bangladesh
No community wants to live indefinitely on handouts, and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have long advocated for the right to work and earn income. Steep humanitarian funding cuts by the US and other governments create new urgency for policy reforms that allow greater self-sufficiency. Bangladesh’s new pilot project to distribute SIM cards to Rohingya grants legal access to basic telecommunications for the first time, and is an encouraging sign of the government’s recognition of the need for self-reliance. PAEMA calls for Bangladesh to also lift restrictions on refugees’ right to work and for donors to support pilot initiatives to develop the in-camp economy.
However, building aid off-ramps takes time, and the U.S. and other governments have a moral responsibility to prevent unnecessary suffering by providing humanitarian support. Refugees’ access to healthcare, education, shelter materials, and other critical needs has been affected by the lack of funding. Even food rations - the sole source of sustenance for most refugees - could be cut completely by the end of the year if a recent flash appeal to fill critical funding gaps is unsuccessful. While we are appreciative of the U.S. approving $73 million in humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees earlier this year, much more is needed to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
Long-term needs: Face political realities
Humanitarian measures can address the symptoms of the crisis, and humanitarian cooperation is an opportunity for relationship-building across divisions. But it does not address the root causes of genocide, including denial of citizenship, systematic discrimination and state violence. In 2018, Secretary (then Senator) Rubio described the genocide as “a stain on humanity” and said the U.S. must “lead, ensure accountability, and prevent this from happening again.”
Long-term solutions must involve transitional justice, political solutions, and trust-building between communities in Rakhine State, where coexistence is inevitable. The AA must protect and uphold the rights of Rohingya and all communities while doing more to show genuine goodwill toward resolving the crisis. The international community must apply greater pressure on all parties in Myanmar to respect international human rights and humanitarian law. U.S. sanctions must not be lifted on the junta until conditions are met for their removal. PAEMA strongly condemns the recent removal from the U.S. sanctions list of four Myanmar individuals involved in dealing arms and supplies to the Myanmar military, and calls on the U.S. to maintain its historically strong support for the democracy movement.
The lasting scars of genocide
Just as the genocide of the Rohingya did not happen overnight, the crisis is not frozen in time. It continues to evolve, with severe human consequences. In the camps, chronic health emergencies, including a serious Hepatitis C epidemic, often go untreated. Families remain indefinitely separated across borders, and Rohingya languish indefinitely in prisons without legal representation, criminalized simply for migrating to other countries in pursuit of safety. Survival alone has become the reality for many Rohingya, but they deserve justice, dignity, and a future.
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PAEMA's mission is to support communities in Myanmar (Burma), Sudan and DRC to prevent and end mass atrocities, pursue justice, and build foundations for sustainable peace. We work at the intersection between local communities and international stakeholders to ensure that those directly affected by conflict are also directly involved in developing strategies and solutions for lasting change.
Contact: Jessica Olney, PAEMA’s nonresident advisor on Myanmar and Bangladesh, jolney@paema.ngo
