ASEAN Summit: Rights Groups Urge Action on Rohingya Crisis

Photo: Dhaka Tribune

Arakan Now | 27 October 2025

Ahead of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, rights organizations have urged leaders to confront Myanmar’s worsening human rights situation and the Rohingya crisis affecting Bangladesh and neighboring countries. They also called on ASEAN to reject the Myanmar junta’s planned elections on 28 December, describing them as a “sham.”

Over a million Rohingya have fled Myanmar since 2017 amid clashes between the military junta and the Arakan Army. Bangladesh faces serious challenges hosting refugees, including funding shortages and human trafficking.

The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) highlighted that 22 million civilians in Myanmar need aid, while 3.5 million are displaced. Over 1.3 million Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar face dwindling aid and limited prospects for safe return.

APHR Chair Mercy Chriesty Barends and Thai MP Rangsiman Rome called for urgent leadership and rejection of the elections, warning they would deepen oppression and entrench military impunity.

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews and Human Rights Watch’s John Sifton criticized the junta’s disregard for international standards, urging ASEAN and partners to categorically reject the elections.