Excluding the Rohingya Crisis from BIMSTEC’s Agenda Is a Dangerous Failure of Regional Responsibility
23 July 2026
The Rohingya Community in Norway (RCN) deeply regrets the decision not to include the Rohingya crisis on BIMSTEC’s agenda merely because it is considered a “political issue” and because member states have not reached consensus on addressing it. According to recent reporting, BIMSTEC Secretary-General Indra Mani Pandey stated that the organization’s agenda is determined collectively by its member states and that the Rohingya crisis has been excluded because it is regarded as political.
This position is both deeply disappointing and profoundly ironic. BIMSTEC seeks to strengthen trade and investment, improve transport and regional connectivity, promote cooperation in energy, agriculture, technology, public health, security, tourism and climate action, support sustainable economic growth, and improve the quality of life throughout the Bay of Bengal region. None of these goals can be achieved sustainably while one of the region’s gravest humanitarian and human-rights crises is deliberately left outside the organization’s agenda.
The Rohingya crisis is not confined within Myanmar’s borders. For years, Myanmar’s persecution and brutality against the Rohingya, Karen and other ethnic communities have produced displacement, instability, trafficking, dangerous maritime journeys and severe humanitarian pressures across the region. Bangladesh continues to carry an enormous responsibility by hosting more than one million Rohingya refugees, while other neighboring countries and the wider international community also bear the consequences.
The deteriorating situation in Arakan and other parts of Myanmar driven by the Myanmar military and compounded by violence and abuses involving the Arakan Army, continues to threaten civilians and deepen regional instability.
Today’s world is interconnected. A crisis in one country inevitably affects neighboring states and, eventually, the wider international community. Refugee movements, transnational crime, human trafficking, maritime insecurity, public-health risks, economic pressures and regional instability do not stop at national borders.
Declaring the Rohingya crisis a “political issue” does not make it disappear. Excluding it from discussion will only prolong and intensify the crisis, increase human suffering and allow its consequences to spread further across the region. The resulting humanitarian, economic and security costs will ultimately be borne by many countries.
RCN therefore urges BIMSTEC and all its member states to:
1. Place the Rohingya crisis formally on BIMSTEC’s agenda.
2. Adopt a proactive regional approach to political and internal crises that produce cross-border humanitarian, economic and security consequences.
3. Press Myanmar and Arakan Army (AA) to end persecution and violence against the Rohingya and other ethnic communities.
4. Support accountability for serious international crimes and human-rights violations committed by all responsible actors.
5. Work toward the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees with full citizenship, equal rights and international protection.
6. Provide stronger support to Bangladesh and other countries affected by the continuing displacement.
7. Include human security, refugee protection and conflict prevention within BIMSTEC’s broader plans for regional connectivity, prosperity and sustainable development.
Regional cooperation cannot be limited to trade, infrastructure and investment while millions of
people face persecution, statelessness and displacement within the same region. Economic progress and meaningful connectivity require peace, justice, stability and respect for human dignity.
RCN calls upon BIMSTEC to demonstrate genuine regional leadership. The organization must recognize that resolving the Rohingya crisis is not separate from its mandate it is essential to creating the peaceful, prosperous, secure and interconnected Bay of Bengal region that BIMSTEC claims to pursue.
Rohingya Community in Norway (RCN)
The Rohingya Community in Norway (RCN) deeply regrets the decision not to include the Rohingya crisis on BIMSTEC’s agenda merely because it is considered a “political issue” and because member states have not reached consensus on addressing it. According to recent reporting, BIMSTEC Secretary-General Indra Mani Pandey stated that the organization’s agenda is determined collectively by its member states and that the Rohingya crisis has been excluded because it is regarded as political.
This position is both deeply disappointing and profoundly ironic. BIMSTEC seeks to strengthen trade and investment, improve transport and regional connectivity, promote cooperation in energy, agriculture, technology, public health, security, tourism and climate action, support sustainable economic growth, and improve the quality of life throughout the Bay of Bengal region. None of these goals can be achieved sustainably while one of the region’s gravest humanitarian and human-rights crises is deliberately left outside the organization’s agenda.
The Rohingya crisis is not confined within Myanmar’s borders. For years, Myanmar’s persecution and brutality against the Rohingya, Karen and other ethnic communities have produced displacement, instability, trafficking, dangerous maritime journeys and severe humanitarian pressures across the region. Bangladesh continues to carry an enormous responsibility by hosting more than one million Rohingya refugees, while other neighboring countries and the wider international community also bear the consequences.
The deteriorating situation in Arakan and other parts of Myanmar driven by the Myanmar military and compounded by violence and abuses involving the Arakan Army, continues to threaten civilians and deepen regional instability.
Today’s world is interconnected. A crisis in one country inevitably affects neighboring states and, eventually, the wider international community. Refugee movements, transnational crime, human trafficking, maritime insecurity, public-health risks, economic pressures and regional instability do not stop at national borders.
Declaring the Rohingya crisis a “political issue” does not make it disappear. Excluding it from discussion will only prolong and intensify the crisis, increase human suffering and allow its consequences to spread further across the region. The resulting humanitarian, economic and security costs will ultimately be borne by many countries.
RCN therefore urges BIMSTEC and all its member states to:
1. Place the Rohingya crisis formally on BIMSTEC’s agenda.
2. Adopt a proactive regional approach to political and internal crises that produce cross-border humanitarian, economic and security consequences.
3. Press Myanmar and Arakan Army (AA) to end persecution and violence against the Rohingya and other ethnic communities.
4. Support accountability for serious international crimes and human-rights violations committed by all responsible actors.
5. Work toward the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees with full citizenship, equal rights and international protection.
6. Provide stronger support to Bangladesh and other countries affected by the continuing displacement.
7. Include human security, refugee protection and conflict prevention within BIMSTEC’s broader plans for regional connectivity, prosperity and sustainable development.
Regional cooperation cannot be limited to trade, infrastructure and investment while millions of
people face persecution, statelessness and displacement within the same region. Economic progress and meaningful connectivity require peace, justice, stability and respect for human dignity.
RCN calls upon BIMSTEC to demonstrate genuine regional leadership. The organization must recognize that resolving the Rohingya crisis is not separate from its mandate it is essential to creating the peaceful, prosperous, secure and interconnected Bay of Bengal region that BIMSTEC claims to pursue.
Rohingya Community in Norway (RCN)
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