By The Daily Star | July 14, 2025

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.

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By SM Najmus Sakib | Published by Anadolu Agency | July 13, 2025

DHAKA, Bangladesh

A group of Rohingya leaders from Myanmar, refugee camps in Bangladesh, and the global diaspora have launched a new political body aimed at unifying and advancing the political struggle of the persecuted minority.

The Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), officially launched on Sunday, said it will represent the Rohingya people inside Myanmar and abroad, including those displaced by violence and living in refugee camps.

In a statement, the group said its mission is to fight for “rights, recognition, and political representation” and to provide a unified political voice for Rohingya worldwide.

The council includes 40 members on its Central Executive Committee and 60 members on the Central Committee. The group said its delegates represent nearly every township in Rakhine State and include a majority of leaders from refugee camps and the global Rohingya diaspora.

ARNC said it was formed in response to decades of systemic exclusion and persecution, culminating in what it called the 2017 genocide carried out by Myanmar’s military and aided by extremist groups.

More than 1.3 million Rohingya have taken refuge in Bangladesh since the 2017 crackdown. Despite repeated international efforts, no large-scale repatriation has occurred.

Read more here.