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New report finds Rohingya crisis deepening as UN appeal shrinks by 26 per cent

Settlement Services International (SSI), Amnesty International Australia, Asia Pacific Refugee

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Australia is being urged to act urgently as shrinking international humanitarian support threatens essential protection and services for about 1.2 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, according to a new report.

The report, Between Borders: Refugee Realities in Thailand and Bangladesh, was launched in Australia today by Settlement Services International (SSI), Amnesty International Australia and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN). 

The report, which follows a joint field mission to Bangladesh and Thailand in June, documents the worsening conditions facing refugees displaced from Myanmar and outlines recommendations for the Australian Government to strengthen protection, humanitarian assistance, expand pathways to safety and facilitate refugee-led solutions.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis AM said the world’s attention was fading just as the needs of the Rohingya were growing, and that the findings showed Australia needed to take a stronger role in protecting refugees across the region.

“The crisis in Cox’s Bazar is deepening, but the world’s attention is moving on. Australia’s decisions on resettlement and funding reach well beyond our borders, and we have a responsibility to stay engaged with what is happening in the region.

“Australia must work with the international community to urgently close the funding gap, protect and expand resettlement pathways, and invest in education and livelihoods. The Rohingya people deserve more than a life of waiting,” she said.

Nearly a decade after hundreds of thousands fled violence in Myanmar in 2017, the report found resettlement or other lasting solutions remain as limited as ever. About 150,000 more Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh since early 2024, while the United Nations’ revised appeal for this year, US$710.5 million, is 26 per cent smaller than last year’s. 

The report is released as the International Court of Justice, considers a case brought by The Gambia alleging Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya breached the Genocide Convention. The court heard evidence in January, and its judgment is expected to be delivered this year. 

“It is high time for concerted international efforts towards upholding the human rights, dignity, and access to services for the millions of refugees, asylum-seekers and stateless persons in our region, who are growing in numbers because of the protracted crisis in Myanmar and Afghanistan. Millions continue to live in fear, uncertainty and unacceptable conditions and are largely excluded from actively contributing to the economies and societies in which they live”, said Hafsar Tameesuddin and Klaus Dik Nielsen, Co-Secretaries General of APRRN.

“Australia should leverage its relationships, influence and capacity to make a real difference in Bangladesh and Thailand, paving the way for reaching refugee-led communities, as global attention and much-needed funding is rapidly falling. It is particularly important right now with major restructuring and downsizing plans of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which will have devastating effects on people who already live in dire circumstances.”

The report calls on the Australian Government to help close urgent humanitarian funding gaps, maintain and expand refugee resettlement and complementary pathways, and prioritise education, healthcare and livelihoods.

It also urges greater investment in refugee-led organisations, whose work is essential to supporting communities and ensuring refugees have a say in decisions affecting their futures.

Amnesty International Australia Refugee Rights Campaigner, Zaki Haidari, said the international community must not turn its back on Rohingya refugees as humanitarian needs continue to grow.

“When I visited Cox's Bazar, I met children trying to get an education in overcrowded camps and families who have spent years waiting for a safe place to call home. Now, as their needs grow, the humanitarian support they depend on is shrinking.

“The Rohingya people have already endured years of persecution, displacement and uncertainty. They cannot be expected to live indefinitely in refugee camps without opportunities to rebuild their lives,” he said.

The report also looks at Thailand, where more than 42,000 working-age registered refugees in the border camps can now apply for legal work for the first time in decades. It says the change will only work with enough funding, language training, robust complaints processes and safeguards against discrimination and exploitation, and that people left out of work rights still need humanitarian support.

The three organisations are urging Australia to increase its contribution to close the funding gap in Thailand and work with regional partners to deliver lasting protection and opportunities for people displaced from Myanmar.

The report follows a joint field mission where representatives from the three organisations met with refugees, community leaders, United Nations agencies and humanitarian organisations to hear firsthand about the growing challenges facing the world's largest stateless refugee population.

Contact details:

Jordan Wise 
M: 0481 484 761 
E: [email protected]