Rohingya rights: Situation worsening in Burma
The human rights situation of Rohingya in Rakhine state of Burma (also called Myanmar) has sharply deteriorated since late 2023
NAYPYIDAW, MYANMAR (MNTV) – The human rights situation of Rohingya in Rakhine state of Burma (also called Myanmar) has sharply deteriorated since late 2023, says a report by the UN Human Rights Office.
The report adds that escalating hostilities between the military and the Arakan Army (AA) have left civilians trapped in a cycle of killings, forced displacement, and deprivation.
Verified accounts point to nearly 400 civilian casualties in Rakhine state, though the true figure is believed to be far higher, the report says.
The AA has steadily expanded control over nearly all of Rakhine, seizing the Western Military Command in December 2024 and pushing offensives into neighbouring regions. The military resorted to brutal retaliation, often targeting Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine civilians.
The UN estimates that some 150,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh since November 2023, joining more than a million already taking refuge there.
“Civilians from both Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine communities continue to suffer the consequences of the hostilities,” said UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk in a statement.
“The military and the Arakan Army have acted with near complete impunity, enabling the recurrence of violations in an endless cycle of suffering for the civilian population.”
In 2017, some 750,000 Rohingyas fled to Bangladesh amid a brutal military crackdown, which UN and other rights organisations labelled as genocide.
In light of the ongoing violations of international law and the prevailing impunity, Türk reiterated his previous calls for a full referral of the Myanmar situation to the International Criminal Court by the Security Council.
The report, which covers the 14 months up to May 31, 2025, finds that nearly half of all civilian deaths throughout the country — 838 out of 1,811 — were the result of direct military aerial attacks.
“As the Arakan Army has taken control of northern Rakhine, they have carried out killings, forced recruitment, forced displacement, disappearances, arrests, burnings, extortions, looting, and occupation of properties, causing hundreds of deaths and suffering,” it says.
At the same time, food insecurity continues to rise, linked to the armed conflict, economic instability, and natural disasters.
In 2025, an estimated 15.2 million people, nearly a third of the country’s population, were projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity, a sharp increase from 13.3 million in 2024, the report adds.
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