The Rohingya are an Indigenous People of Arakan (historically known as the Kingdom of Rahma), a coastal region in present-day Rakhine State, Myanmar. For centuries, Rohingya communities lived in Arakan with established systems of governance, trade, culture, and education, long before the creation of the modern Burmese state. Despite the Rohingya’s rich cultural, ethnic and linguistic background dating back to the 8th Century, the state of Myanmar refuses to grant them any recognition.
Under Britain’s colonial rule over Burma, between 1824 and 1948, the Rohingya served in the civil administration and military. The Rohingya received greater support from the British Empire during the colonial period, giving rise to a significant amount of intercommunal tensions. This was apparent following Burma’s independence, where many conflicts broke out as a result of the unresolved ethnic tensions, exacerbated by the legacies of British colonial policies. The Rohingya in particular faced various exclusionary campaigns and ongoing marginalisation, alongside the refusal of any formal recognition.
Following Burma’s independence in 1948, Rohingya were progressively stripped of legal recognition, culminating in the 1982 Citizenship Law, identifying 135 ethnic groups said to have settled in Burma prior to 1823. Excluded from this are the Rohingya, formally denying them citizenship rights, and rendering them as stateless peoples. According to the UNHCR, the Rohingya are regarded as one of the world’s largest stateless populations (UNHCR, 2024).
As a result of their statelessness, the Rohingya are deprived of basic rights such as access to health services, education and employment and have been increasingly targeted by racial, cultural, religious, discrimination, systematic exclusion, deprivation and marginalisation by the civilian population and its government officials. The Rohingya have endured decades of exclusion, culminating in the humanitarian catastrophe of 2017 which resulted in the mass forced displacement of nearly a million Rohingya from Myanmar, following atrocities characterised as an ethnic cleansing campaigns and genocide. These atrocities were documented by the UN Fact Finding Mission for Myanmar in a report published in September 2018, and form the basis of an ICC investigation into these crimes, as well as a case against Myanmar at the International Court of justice. It is believed that the 600,000 remaining Rohingya in Myanmar are at risk of genocide and ethnic cleansing.
At a recent UN conference on the Rohingya crisis, no representative from the refugee camps in Bangladesh were included, despite being home to over 1 million Rohingya displaced since 2017. Travel restrictions, lack of documentation, and limited institutional support continue to block their participation in decisions that directly affect their future. While diaspora voices were present, many camp residents stressed they do not feel represented. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk underscored the need for inclusion, stating “we need to heed the Rohingya’s calls for peace and freedom… and ensure their voices are heard meaningfully in peace efforts.” As conditions in Myanmar worsen, sidelining those most affected only deepens the disconnect between global dialogue and lived realities.
Today, more than three million Rohingya live in exile across Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and beyond, yet remain united by a shared identity, history of dispossession, and commitment to preserving their peoplehood.
The UNPO will be collaborating with the Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network (RMCN) in strategic solidarity with the Rohingya people and to support their right of self-determination. RMCN is a Rohingya women-led organisation – you can find more information about the Rohingya People and RMCN here.
