Australian advocates in world’s largest refugee camp call for urgent action

Australian representatives from SSI and Amnesty International Australia joined the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APRRN) in Cox’s Bazar to warn that no single country or organisation can address the scale of what is unfolding, calling for regional collaboration, collective action and refugee-led solutions across the Asia-Pacific.

The visit comes on the eve of the UNHCR Global Trends report, which is expected to show a region at breaking point, where resettlement pathways are shrinking, funding is being cut and political resistance to refugee protection is growing.

For Rohingya refugees, among the world’s most protracted displaced populations, conditions are worsening and there is no clear path home. Since early 2024, 150,000 Rohingya people have arrived in Cox’s Bazar, straining already depleted resources and pushing overcrowded camps to their limits with more than 1.2 million residents.

SSI CEO Violet Roumeliotis said there is no quick-fix solution to a crisis of this scale, but the Australian Government has clear levers it can pull, demonstrating regional leadership by increasing the humanitarian intake, expanding complementary pathways and advancing responsibility-sharing.

“At a time when displacement is reaching record levels and international support is under pressure, countries like Australia have an opportunity to step up with regional actors and help shape a more coordinated and compassionate regional response.

“After ten years of partnership with APRRN, we’ve seen firsthand the importance of refugee networks as the social infrastructure increasingly holding refugee protection together, filling the gaps left by retreating institutions and creating the conditions for collective advocacy that no single organisation can achieve alone,” she said.

Hafsar Tameesuddin, a Rohingya refugee and APRRN’s Co-Secretary General, said displaced communities in the region are not waiting for international actors to solve the crises affecting their lives, but are already organising, advocating, and building the case for accountability themselves.

“I have long believed, and my recent visit reinforced, that refugee-led organisations are among the most needs-based, practical, and community-centred actors in humanitarian response. They understand their communities best and consistently deliver meaningful impact.

“APRRN has been facilitating and will continue to support the decentralisation of funding, localisation of decision-making, and redistribution of power towards refugee-led organisations. Lasting systems change will only be achieved through genuine partnerships that recognise them as equal partners,” she said.

Amnesty International Australia Refugee Rights Campaigner Zaki Hairari said what he saw in Cox’s Bazar was confronting and heartbreaking. There people are living in limbo, having fled genocide in Myanmar, yet the world is slowly forgetting them.

“I met children learning on concrete floors with no carpet, families living in overcrowded shelters, and young people whose only request was the chance to have a future. Their resilience is extraordinary, but resilience alone cannot replace action.

“The Rohingya people cannot remain trapped in refugee camps forever. The international community must increase humanitarian support, expand resettlement pathways, and invest in education and livelihoods. The Rohingya deserve more than a life of waiting, they deserve hope, dignity, and a future,” he said.