Marking the eighth anniversary of the Rohingya genocide, the United Nations and 11 Western countries have renewed calls on Myanmar to create conditions for the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of over one million Rohingya refugees still trapped in camps in Bangladesh.

UN officials and rights advocates stressed that Myanmar’s military bears full responsibility for addressing the root causes of displacement and ending the cycle of violence and persecution against the Rohingya minority.

“Humanitarian aid alone cannot resolve the crisis. The safe and dignified voluntary return of the Rohingyas remains the most desirable solution, and the responsibility to create such conditions lies squarely on Myanmar,” said Raouf Mazou, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, during a statement issued from Cox’s Bazar.

Since August 25, 2017, Myanmar’s army has carried out a campaign of mass killings, rape, torture, and arson against Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, forcing more than 750,000 people to flee into Bangladesh. Survivors joined earlier waves of displaced Rohingya, and since late 2023, another 200,000 have crossed the border, swelling the population in Cox’s Bazar to over one million.

International experts warned that justice remains elusive. Chris Sidoti of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) stressed: “The most meaningful contribution the international community can make for the Rohingya is to bring Min Aung Hlaing and other military leaders before an international court.”

Marzuki Darusman, also of SAC-M, accused Myanmar’s generals of acting with “total impunity” while continuing to commit atrocity crimes against ethnic minorities.

In a joint statement issued in Dhaka, the embassies of Canada, Australia, the UK, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Finland condemned escalating violence in Myanmar and pledged continued humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees and host communities. They emphasized that conditions for return require a peaceful and stable Myanmar, acknowledging that no timeline can yet be set.

Rights groups argue that the crisis cannot be solved without addressing accountability and dismantling the discriminatory system that has denied the Rohingya citizenship, freedom of movement, and basic human rights for decades.

“The Rohingya want to return to their homes, but return without rights is no solution — it would simply be a return to apartheid,” said one refugee leader in Cox’s Bazar.

The international community is expected to intensify pressure on Myanmar at the upcoming High-Level Conference on the Rohingya crisis in September 2025. Advocates insist that beyond aid, the world must ensure justice by curbing the arms trade to the junta, enforcing sanctions, and pushing for international prosecution of Myanmar’s military leaders.

For the Rohingya trapped in camps, eight years of waiting has deepened despair. Children are growing up without education, families survive on shrinking rations, and hopes of returning home remain uncertain. Refugees warn that without accountability, Myanmar’s generals will continue to repeat their crimes with impunity.

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