Amid decades of persecution, statelessness, and international inaction, the Rohingya community has announced the formation of a new political platform aimed at unifying and amplifying their voice globally. The platform, titled Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), was formally launched on Sunday, 13 July, with the goal of ensuring the rights, recognition, and political representation of the Rohingya people, both within Myanmar and across the diaspora.
The ARNC leadership stated that the platform was born out of decades of systemic discrimination and state-sponsored violence, culminating in the 2017 military-led genocide that forced over 700,000 Rohingyas to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Today, Bangladesh hosts over 1.3 million Rohingya refugees, with no viable repatriation plan in sight.
Comprised of a 40-member central executive committee and a 60-member central council, ARNC brings together representatives from nearly all major towns in Rakhine State, as well as Rohingya leaders from refugee camps in Bangladesh and communities abroad. The council emphasized its mission to politically organize Rohingyas across the globe and serve as a united voice in international forums.
In its founding declaration, the ARNC alleged that the ongoing crisis in Rakhine has taken a new turn with renewed violence perpetrated by the ethnic armed group Arakan Army (AA). According to the council, the AA is now carrying out targeted attacks on Rohingya civilians, resulting in mass killings, displacement, and the destruction of homes. The ARNC claims that more than 2,500 Rohingyas have been killed by the Arakan Army in recent months, while an additional 150,000 have been forced to flee—many taking dangerous land and sea routes to seek refuge.
Describing the current wave of violence as a “planned and structural genocide,” the ARNC called upon the international community for immediate and effective intervention. “The silence of the world is no longer neutral—it is becoming complicit,” the council warned.
With mounting humanitarian and security concerns, the ARNC’s emergence signals a renewed effort from the Rohingya people to reclaim agency over their future and demand justice for the atrocities committed against them.
