25 August 2026
On the tenth observance of Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day, the Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA) solemnly remembers the thousands of Rohingya who were killed during the Myanmar military’s genocidal campaign.
Nine years ago, Rohingya villages across northern Arakan were surrounded and attacked. Children were killed, women were subjected to horrific sexual violence, elderly people were burned inside their homes and entire families disappeared. Villages that had existed for generations were reduced to ashes.
More than a million Rohingya were forced to flee to Bangladesh, carrying injured children, elderly parents and painful memories of relatives they could not save. Many crossed the Naf River under gunfire. Others walked for days through forests and mountains without food, water or medical care.
Today, we remember those who never reached safety.
We remember the mothers who lost their children, the children who lost their parents and the survivors who still do not know where their loved ones are buried. We remember the homes, mosques, schools and villages that were deliberately destroyed. We remember a people driven from their homeland simply because they were Rohingya.
For survivors, 25 August is not only a date. It is the day their lives were divided into before and after, the day they lost their families, their homes and their sense of safety.
“We ask the world to remember our dead as human beings, not as numbers. They were our parents, our children, our brothers and our sisters. They had names, families and dreams. We survived so that their stories would not disappear.”
The genocide was led by the Myanmar military, with the involvement of extremist local Rakhine actors in several areas. Yet those responsible have still not faced full justice.
The danger has also not ended. Rohingya remaining in Arakan continue to face persecution and serious abuses. The Arakan Army, now controlling most of the region, stands accused of killings, abductions, displacement, forced recruitment, forced labour and confiscation of Rohingya property.
Remembrance therefore cannot be separated from prevention. If the world remembers the victims of 2017 while ignoring Rohingya civilians in danger today, the promise of Never Again becomes empty.
ARNA calls upon governments, the United Nations and international institutions to honour the victims through action:
- Preserve survivor testimony and evidence of past and continuing crimes.
- Support accountability through the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and other judicial mechanisms.
- Protect Rohingya civilians who remain in Arakan.
- Sustain humanitarian assistance, education and healthcare for refugees.
- Guarantee the Rohingya’s right to return to their homeland with full citizenship, security and dignity.
- Include Rohingya representatives in every decision concerning their future.
On this day, ARNA also recognizes the extraordinary courage of the survivors. Despite unimaginable loss, they have preserved their identity, faith, culture and hope. Their survival is an act of resistance against those who sought to erase them.
We ask people everywhere to speak the victims’ names, share their stories and stand beside the survivors. The dead must be remembered, the survivors must be protected, and the perpetrators must be held accountable.
The Rohingya will remember. The world must remember with us.
For further information:
Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA)
Email: secretariat@thearna.org
Website: www.thearna.org