The United Nations has strongly criticized the United States’ decision to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar, calling the move “inhumane” and a direct blow to human rights and humanitarian principles.

In a statement issued from Geneva on Thursday (27 November), the UN said Washington had based its decision on a “cruel fiction,” ignoring overwhelming and mounting evidence of Myanmar’s deepening crisis. A UN expert warned that disregarding the country’s dire situation would place thousands at grave risk while effectively legitimizing a brutal regime that continues to use war weapons against civilians.

Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, said he found it “inconceivable” that any honest assessment could conclude that Myanmar is now safe or that conditions have improved.

“The military junta has trapped the country in a downward spiral of violence and repression,” Andrews said. “This year, attacks on civilians have reached record levels. The military is burning villages, bombing churches and prisons, torturing detainees, and executing opponents.”

On 25 November, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the termination of TPS for Myanmar, set to take effect on 26 January 2026. Currently, around 4,000 Myanmar nationals benefit from this protection. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem justified the move by claiming that upcoming elections and a declared ceasefire have improved conditions enough to allow for the “safe return” of Myanmar’s citizens.

The UN, however, insists that such claims are detached from reality and risk exposing vulnerable populations, particularly Rohingya refugees, to renewed persecution, violence, and state-led atrocities.

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