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World Refugee Day was observed on June 20 under the United Nations theme, "Until Everyone Is Safe" - a call to stand in solidarity with refugees until every displaced person can live in safety, dignity, and hope. For Bangladesh, the theme carries a particularly poignant significance. As the world marked the day, about 1.3 million Rohingyas forcibly displaced from Myanmar remained stranded in refugee camps across Cox's Bazar, Ukhiya and Teknaf. Nearly nine years have passed since Bangladesh opened its borders in a remarkable act of humanitarian solidarity. What was expected to be a temporary refuge has instead become one of the world's most protracted displacement crises, with repeated promises of repatriation yielding little to no progress. Worse still, ongoing violence and instability in Myanmar continue to drive fresh waves of refugees across the border.
The Rohingya crisis did not begin in 2017. The first major influx into Bangladesh occurred in 1978, followed by subsequent waves over the decades as Myanmar systematically denied the Rohingyas citizenship, rights and security. The largest exodus came in 2017 after a brutal military crackdown that the United Nations described as a "textbook case of ethnic cleansing." Nearly a decade later, the underlying conditions that forced the Rohingyas to flee remain unchanged. Instead of moving toward a solution, the crisis has become further exacerbated.
The international response has also lost momentum. Global attention has shifted to other conflicts and humanitarian emergencies, while donor fatigue has steadily reduced financial support for Rohingya relief operations. Funding shortages have already affected food assistance, education and other essential services in the camps, while the prospect of repatriation seems more remote than ever.
Bangladesh has done more than many wealthier nations would have been willing to do under similar circumstances. We are neither a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol and has no formal domestic asylum framework. Nevertheless, Bangladesh provided shelter to hundreds of thousands of desperate people and worked closely with the United Nations and humanitarian agencies to address their needs. But how long can Bangladesh be expected to shoulder a burden created by Myanmar's military janta and sustained by the international community's inability to resolve the crisis?
The international community must therefore move beyond expressions of sympathy and take meaningful action. Observers think addressing this crisis requires both national and global commitments to be pursued simultaneously across three key fronts. First, the chronic funding shortfall for the Rohingya response must be addressed. Donors need to increase their contributions not only to meet the refugees' basic humanitarian needs but also to support the host communities that have borne the economic and environmental costs of this prolonged crisis. Second, developed countries should expand third-country resettlement opportunities for vulnerable Rohingyas. While resettlement cannot be a substitute for repatriation, it can provide durable solutions for some refugees and help ease pressure on Bangladesh. Third, regional diplomacy must become more effective. As Myanmar is a member of ASEAN, countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand have both a moral responsibility and a strategic interest in pressing Myanmar to create conditions conducive to the safe return of the Rohingyas. Without sustained regional pressure, the status quo is likely to persist.
As Bangladesh is set to assume the presidency of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly for the 2026-2027 term, with Foreign Minister Dr Khalilur Rahman elected to the post, it has a unique opportunity to place the Rohingya issue at the centre of the global agenda. The world praised Bangladesh for showing extraordinary generosity and humanity towards the suffering Rohingya. The Rohingya crisis is not Bangladesh's burden alone; it should a international responsibility. The promise made in this year's World Refugee Day theme will remain unfulfilled until the world demonstrates that solidarity means more than compassion.