UN Warns Rohingya Face Systematic Abuses, Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Rakhine
- Arakan Now
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Arakan Now | 2 March 2026
A new report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warns that Rohingya communities in northern Rakhine State continue to face systematic human rights abuses by both the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), amid severe displacement, food insecurity, and restricted humanitarian access. The findings, covering development in 2025, highlight the continuing vulnerability of civilians and the lack of enforcement of international protections.
The following excerpts are taken directly from the OHCHR annual update on the human rights situation of the Rohingya:
Rohingya continued to live in the most precarious protection environment, subjected to systematic and widespread human rights abuses by both the military and the AA. Following the serious violations against Rohingya communities throughout northern Rakhine in 2024, mass displacement, lack of humanitarian assistance, acute food insecurity and a constant threat of violence continued with no actions to respect the provisional measures imposed by the International Court of Justice in 2020.
After assuming the de facto authority in large parts of Rakhine, the AA has implemented discriminatory policies in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships and committed widespread abuses against the Rohingya similar to those systematically perpetrated by the military for decades. Particularly indicative is the persistent denial of Rohingya identity and the obstinate efforts to refer to them as "Bengali" or other derogative terms. Patterns of abuses documented throughout 2025 included arbitrary arrest and detention, enforced disappearances, forced recruitment, forced labour, extortion, taxation, confiscation of Rohingya homes and lands, and restrictions on freedom of movement, communications and livelihood activities. These abuses may reflect an intention of the AA to motivate further displacement and cross border movements to Bangladesh. Interviewees consistently reported having limited or no access to medical care and humanitarian access is largely restricted. Absence of humanitarian agencies further exacerbated protection risks and humanitarian needs for the civilian population remaining in northern Rakhine. According to UN analysis, the nutrition situation in northern Rakhine is projected to rapidly deteriorate to Critical Phase 4 in Maungdaw township and to Catastrophe Phase 5 in Buthidaung between November 2025 and May 2026. In central Rakhine, reports of survival strategies and negative coping messages emerged, including women resorting to sex work to sustain their families, early marriages, and suicides and attempted suicides allegedly due to hunger.
Rohingya living in military-controlled areas in and around IDP camps in Sittwe were subjected to widespread violations, with arbitrary arrests, forced labour, and ill-treatment reported throughout the year as well as forced recruitment and extorsion. Over 5,000 Rohingya had reportedly been conscripted in the first six months of 2025, with this practice continuing throughout the year. Further, the military's continuing campaign of airstrikes on AA-controlled areas continued to claim civilian lives, including those of Rohingya. Additionally, armed clashes between the AA and Rohingya armed elements have contributed to widespread insecurity in northern Rakhine. However, due to the military's internet shutdowns and surveillance as well as communication restrictions imposed by the AA, verification of civilian casualties and other violations remains extremely challenging, further entrenching impunity.
Appalling conditions imposed on the Rohingya by the military and the AA continued to cause people to flee over the land border to Bangladesh and via deadly maritime routes to third countries. By mid-2025, 150,000 Rohingya had fled Rakhine for Bangladesh in the preceding 18 months, and in 2025, 5,600 Rohingya had undertaken maritime journeys from Myanmar and Bangladesh, with over 600 dead or lost at sea. Additionally, the arrest of nearly 800 Rohingya passengers of two boats intercepted by the military in November and December respectively illustrate the nature of the continuing Rohingya tragedy; many passengers were fleeing northern Rakhine, only to be arrested and jailed by the military for trying to leave.
