Working on Three Fronts, Says Foreign Adviser on Rohingya Crisis

Arakan Now | 29 June 2025

Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on Thursday emphasized that the government is actively pursuing a three-pronged approach to address the ongoing Rohingya crisis — securing continued foreign funding, keeping the issue on the global agenda, and ensuring the safe and dignified repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

“The issue should not be forgotten. We continuously bring it to focus. We are working on three fronts,” Adviser Touhid told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During his recent visit to Türkiye, the adviser called for stronger humanitarian support for the Rohingya community, underscoring the immense pressure on Bangladesh’s economy, environment, and local communities.

"We are facing mounting humanitarian, developmental and security-related challenges," he said while addressing the OIC Ad Hoc Ministerial Committee on Accountability for Human Rights Violations against the Rohingyas.

Despite limited resources, Bangladesh has hosted over 1.3 million forcibly displaced Rohingyas — a demonstration of what he described as “extraordinary compassion and responsibility.” Since November 2023 alone, renewed violence and instability in Myanmar have driven over 118,000 additional Rohingyas into Bangladesh.

A high-level conference focusing on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar is scheduled for 30 September 2025 in New York, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. “We expect high-level participation from the OIC countries,” the adviser said.

Humanitarian Funding Cuts Deepen Education Crisis

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that recent aid cutbacks by the United States and other donors are worsening an already critical education crisis for approximately 437,000 school-age Rohingya children in Bangladesh’s refugee camps.

On June 3, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) suspended thousands of learning centers due to funding shortages. These centers were primarily operated by NGOs. Currently, the only education being provided in the camps comes from community-led schools that operate without official recognition or external support.

HRW urged the interim Bangladesh government to urgently lift restrictions on Rohingya education — including accreditation barriers — and called on donors to back community-led efforts.

“The US and other donor governments are abandoning education for Rohingya children after the previous Bangladesh government long blocked it,” said Bill Van Esveld, associate children’s rights director at HRW.

“The interim Bangladesh government should uphold everyone’s right to education, while donors should support the Rohingya community’s efforts to prevent a lost generation of students,” he added.

Funding Gap and Community Response

The humanitarian education sector in Bangladesh secured only $22 million of its required $72 million annual budget as of April 2025. Consequently, programs are being scaled back significantly.

Of the 437,000 school-age children in the camps, roughly 304,000 had been enrolled in the learning centers before they were shuttered. Unicef aimed to reopen learning centers for grades 6 and above by June 29 and encouraged NGOs to reopen lower-level classes where possible.

Community-led schools, funded solely through modest tuition fees ranging from $0.50 to $5 per month, are struggling to meet demand. Many refugees argue these schools offer higher-quality instruction than the now-suspended learning centers, often employing teachers with strong educational backgrounds and subject specialization.

HRW has called on the interim Bangladesh government to officially recognize these community-led schools and include Rohingya educators in leadership and decision-making processes. Such recognition could open pathways for donor support and better learning outcomes.

"Bangladesh should follow examples like Türkiye, which accredits refugee-led schools and recognizes curricula from countries of origin," HRW said.

Van Esveld concluded: “The previous Bangladesh government for years blocked education for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya children because they were refugees. The interim government should reject old policies and support education without discrimination for all children.”