APHR Urges ASEAN to Establish Humanitarian Fund to Prevent Mass Hunger Among Rohingyas

Dhaka, September 5, 2025: The ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has urgently called for the creation of an ASEAN Humanitarian Fund to provide life-saving support and avert mass hunger among the 1.5 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. The appeal follows a warning from the World Food Programme that food rations in Rohingya camps will run out after November 2025 unless $17 million per month is secured.

The call was made during a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity yesterday, following a three-member APHR delegation’s fact-finding mission to Rohingya camps and host communities in Cox’s Bazar from September 1 to 4. Charles Santiago, APHR co-chair and former Malaysian MP, emphasized, “The Rohingya crisis is an ASEAN issue. Inaction will lead to high costs, including human trafficking, arms and drug smuggling, and regional instability due to continued refugee influxes.”

Around 1.5 million Rohingyas, including 150,000 who fled Myanmar since 2023 due to renewed conflicts, are currently in Bangladesh. APHR proposed an ASEAN platform to facilitate high-level discussions and develop a unified action plan, stressing shared responsibility among member states. The organization criticized ASEAN for ignoring the crisis’s root causes, noting it has reached a critical stage. APHR member Raoul Manuel from the Philippines highlighted the need for accredited education and skills training for Rohingya youth, urging ASEAN to collaborate with Bangladesh to make this possible. Malaysian MP Wong Chen underscored ASEAN’s obligation, as Myanmar is a member state, to ensure sufficient food aid to prevent mass starvation in the camps. APHR also recommended a high-level meeting involving ASEAN, Bangladesh, and China, citing China’s influence over Myanmar’s State Administration Council and the Arakan Army. Santiago noted, “China has the political clout to bring them together for peacebuilding and reconciliation.” On the upcoming Myanmar election in December, Santiago said progressive human rights MPs reject it, as holding an election in a “war zone” where the government controls only 40% of the land is unfeasible. He stressed the need for Rohingyas to unite and develop a political identity to participate in future political processes, warning that otherwise, Bangladesh will bear the burden alone.