Cox’s Bazar: High-Level dialogue Sets Roadmap for Rohingya Justice and Repatriation
“It’ll be a historic blunder if we wait until the very last Rohingya leaves Rakhine. We cannot let it happen.” Dr. Muhammed Yunus, Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser clearly set the tone during his open speech at the high-level Rohingya stakeholders dialogue organized in Cox’s Bazar on the 25 August.
As the world marked the eight-year anniversary of the 2017 “clearance operations” by the Myanmar military, the campaign of violence and human rights abuses that led to the forcible displacement ofover 700,000 Rohingya into refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh, , new arrivals continue to pour into the already overcrowded camps as as conflict between the Myanmar military and armed groups such as the Arakan Army has escalated in recent months.. The Dialogue brought together Rohingya representatives, UN entities, Member States, civil society, academia, media and development partners to discuss the immediate concerns facing the Rohingya living in Bangladesh, as well as the hopes for a future that includes their safe and dignified return to their homeland. The auditorium was filled with voices from Rohingya living in camps and abroad. Key takeaways included – any credible roadmap must center survivors, advance accountability, and anchor any future return in rights and reparations. Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Dr Muhammad Yunus addressed the Dialogue, outlining a seven‑point proposal within a broader roadmap to resolve the crisis, and urging sustained international engagement to ensure protection, justice and durable solutions.
Antonietta Trapani, Legal Action Worldwide’s (LAW) Programme Coordinator for the Rohingya Crisis, participated in the panel on ‘Accountability and justice for atrocities committed against Rohingyas’. Trapani emphasized that Survivors must be at the centre of any credible path towards justice, accountability and reparations, prioritizing safety and dignity of survivors, and meaningful Rohingya participation in all justice processes. Moreover, Rohingya have expressed clear views on what justice means for them. Central to their views is their return to their homeland and the restoration of their citizenship and identity as Rohingya in Myanmar. “Justice for the Rohingya means more than a judgment made in court.” Trapani said, “For the victims and survivors, justice is the rebuilding of lives and communities, the restoration of the dignity of life and the recognition of the Rohingya as equal members of society”
Rohingya participants—including camp representatives, women and youth leaders, and members of the diaspora—set out a clear vision: Any pathway home must be rights-based to ensure a dignified future for the community and include reparative measures that address the injustices of the past. When conditions permit, return should be voluntary, safe and respectful, paired with reparations that restore citizenship, identity and access to fundamental rights, and guarantee non-recurrence. They also called for credible accountability for past and ongoing violations and for rights-respecting measures in Bangladesh—education, livelihoods, documentation and protection—so families can live with dignity while solutions are pursued.
LAW also underlined the need to sustain and leverage existing accountability avenues—the IIMM, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—including full implementation of the ICJ’s provisional measures and continued use of universal jurisdiction, like in Argentina. These challenges call for a renewed commitment to justice and immediate actions that ensure the protection and rights of Rohingya communities. If progress has been made since the 2017 so-called “clearance operations” in Rakhine, verdicts are yet to be rendered, and perpetrators of grave human rights violations continue to enjoy impunity and further harm civilian populations despite the vastly documented abuses. In July, the Human Rights council accepted a resolution calling for the first time for reparation for victims and survivors of grave abuses. Action must now follow words.
Outcomes from the Dialogue in Cox’s Bazar will inform the UN General Assembly’s high-level conference on the Situation of Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar on 30 September 2025. LAW will continue working alongside Rohingya survivors and partners to advance accountability, reparations and the rule of law, and to press for a survivor-centred, rights-based approach that ends impunity in Myanmar.
Photo: Panelists at the thematic session ‘Accountability and justice for atrocities committed against Rohingyas’ at the high-level Rohingya stakeholders dialogue organized in Cox’s Bazar on 25 August 2025