Rohingya refugees elect council to push for return home
First representative vote in eight years raises hopes among displaced Rohingya, even as security threats and political control shadow camp leadership
DHAKA, Bangladesh (MNTV) — Rohingya refugees living in overcrowded camps in southeastern Bangladesh have formed a new leadership body through an unprecedented internal vote, seeking to reclaim political voice, improve living conditions, and reassert demands for a safe return to Myanmar, eight years after their mass displacement.
The elections were held in July across 33 refugee camps, resulting in the creation of the United Council of Rohang (UCR). More than 3,000 Rohingya participated in selecting an executive committee and a rotating presidency tasked with advocacy on human rights, education, health, and repatriation.
The camps, spread across roughly 8,000 acres near Bangladesh’s southern coast, house around 1.7 million stateless Rohingya. Most fled Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2017 following a brutal military crackdown that is now under a genocide probe at the United Nations’ top court.
For many refugees, the council represents a fragile but meaningful sense of hope. Families live compressed into single-room shelters under extreme heat, with limited mobility, employment, or access to formal education.
Former business owners, farmers, and students describe a life reduced to survival, with memories of homes, trees, and open space standing in stark contrast to life inside fenced camps.
UCR leaders have framed the council as a corrective to years of exclusion from decision-making processes that directly affect Rohingya lives.
Addressing residents at a camp gathering, UCR president Mohammad Sayed Ullah urged refugees not to forget the violence that forced them to flee, invoking relatives buried in Myanmar and women who died during the escape. He said the council aims to place Rohingya representatives at any future negotiation table on repatriation.
Organized Rohingya leadership has a fraught history. Earlier groups formed after 2017 were dismantled following a 2019 rally demanding full citizenship rights and security guarantees before any return.
Prominent activist Mohib Ullah, who led one such organization, was assassinated inside the camps in 2021, an event that deeply traumatized the community and silenced collective mobilization for years.
Trust, however, appears to be cautiously rebuilding. Refugees have begun approaching the UCR with complaints ranging from abuse to theft during flight, reflecting a shift away from fear-driven disengagement. Younger Rohingya say education and political organization are essential tools to build international consensus for repatriation.
Yet doubts persist. Analysts warn the council’s independence may be constrained. Thomas Kean of International Crisis Group said the elections appeared closely managed by authorities, raising questions about whether the body can truly represent Rohingya interests.
Despite these obstacles, many refugees see the council as a rare opening in an otherwise frozen crisis—an attempt to reclaim dignity, memory, and political agency while exile drags on with no clear end.
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