New Rohingya council launched to act as unified political voice

Arakan Now, 14 July 2025

The Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC) was officially launched on Sunday, following nearly two years of consultations among Rohingya leaders and representatives from Myanmar, refugee camps, and the diaspora.

According to its founding statement, the ARNC was formed to “advance the collective aspirations” of the Rohingya people and serve as “the most inclusive and unified platform ever formed to represent Rohingya communities.”

The statement says the Council includes representatives from nearly every township in Arakan and consists of 40 Central Executive Committee (CEC) members and 60 Central Committee (CC) members.

The ARNC also noted that its formation comes in response to “decades of systematic exclusion, persecution, and efforts to erase Rohingya identity.” It cited continued violence by both the Burmese military and Arakan Army as reasons for unifying Rohingya political voices.