July 14, 2025
DHAKA – Rohingya leaders from across the globe have officially launched a political body — Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC) — marking a major milestone in the struggle of Rohingyas for rights, recognition, and political representation.
The council emerged from nearly two years of strategic consultations involving leading Rohingya political figures, activists, community representatives, representatives from the camps and diaspora organisations.
“The ARNC stands as the most inclusive and unified platform ever formed to represent Rohingya communities, inside Myanmar, in the refugee camps and globally,” said ARNC in a media statement today.
U Tun Khin has been made chairperson of the ARNC.
There are other Rohingya political bodies, but this is the most unified and inclusive one, Nay San Lwin, a co-chair of the ARNC board of chairpersons, told The Daily Star.
“These quiet but determined efforts took place across several countries. The goal was to overcome decades of division and fragmentation and establish a unified political voice capable of advancing the collective aspirations of the Rohingya people. This vision has now become a reality,” the statement said.
The ARNC brings together a broad coalition of Rohingya stakeholders, including representatives from inside Myanmar, the majority of the leaders from refugee camps, and the majority of members of the global diaspora.
It consists of 40 Central Executive Committee (CEC) members and 60 Central Committee (CC) members, ensuring broad-based participation, coordination, and grassroots legitimacy. Delegates hail from nearly every township of Arakan, reinforcing the Council’s representative strength.
“The council is committed to continuously enlarging its executive bodies and expanding its outreach to ensure greater inclusion, cooperation and collaboration across the Rohingya community.”
ARNC says its formation responds to decades of systematic exclusion, persecution, and efforts to erase Rohingya identity. These injustices culminated in the genocide of 2017, perpetrated by the Burmese military regime and aided by extremist elements.
Following the atrocities, some 750,000 Rohingya took shelter in Bangladesh.
The statement said today, the Arakan Army (AA) has seized control of much of Arakan and continued these brutal practices, displacing and targeting Rohingya civilians through widespread violence, mass killings, and destruction.
Last year, the AA burned large parts of Buthidaung town, looted Rohingya homes, and destroyed dozens of villages in both Buthidaung and Maungdaw, the ARNC said.
Reports confirm that Rohingya civilians are being extorted, displaced, and stripped of all property. Nearly 150,000 have fled to Bangladesh, and the AA is estimated to have killed more than 2,500 Rohingya since seizing control.
Those who remain alive live in fear without food, safety and freedom, the ARNC said.
“What is unfolding in Arakan State under the Arakan Army is nothing short of a calculated and systematic genocide,” the ARNC said.
It is expected to serve as the unified political voice of the Rohingya, reclaim and protect the Rohingya’s indigenous identity and rightful citizenship in Arakan State, advocate for the just return of the Rohingya and also engage in dialogue on the future federal structure of Myanmar with all stakeholders.
ARNC would also represent the Rohingya in international forums such as the UN, OIC, ASEAN, European Union and others.
The Global Rohingya Coordination Council is set to initiate an inclusive outreach campaign to connect with those committed to Rohingya unity and justice.