JOINT STATEMENT: Mass Drowning of Rohingya Refugees: A Tragedy Fueled by Arakan Army Brutality and Global Indifference

Rohingya Organisations May 29, 2025

Locals evacuate Rohingya refugees from a boat that came ashore on the north coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island in June 2020. The UNHCR says the journey across the Andaman Sea last year was deadlier than ever before [Rahmad/Antara Foto via Reuters]

JOINT STATEMENT

Date: May 29, 2025

Mass Drowning of Rohingya Refugees: A Tragedy Fueled by Arakan Army Brutality and Global Indifference

We, the undersigned organizations, express our deep sorrow and strong condemnation of the ongoing humanitarian crisis orchestrated by Arakan Army (AA) in Burma’s Arakan State and the Bay of Bengal.

In early May 2025, two boats carrying Rohingya refugees sank in separate incidents, leaving at least 427 people—men, women, and children—feared dead, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). These back-to-back disasters are the worst loss of Rohingya lives at sea this year, and they expose the deadly consequences of regional inaction and global neglect.

The first vessel, carrying 267 desperate passengers, sank on 9 May. Only 66 survived. Just a day later, on 10 May, a second boat with 247 individuals capsized, leaving only 21 survivors. A third boat, with 188 people aboard, was intercepted by authorities on 14 May as it attempted to flee Burma by sea.

Most of those on board were Rohingya who had already been displaced from their homes in Rakhine State. They were fleeing a growing campaign of widespread violence by the Arakan Army, amounting to a continuation of the ethnic cleansing first started by the Burmese military. Fearing for their lives, they risked the dangerous sea journey in hopes of finding safety. Instead of protection, the few who survived were arrested and detained by authorities in Mawlamyine and Yangon, adding to their trauma.

The drowning of Rohingya fleeing persecution and hunger has become a constant reality which the international community cannot ignore. The fact that it is happening during the monsoon season is a sign of just how desperate the situation for Rohingya has become. In Arakan Army-controlled areas, Rohingya face severe persecution. Meanwhile, those confined to displacement camps in Burmese military-controlled zones are starving, children are suffering from acute malnutrition, and many families are completely without food.

These tragedies are part of a wider pattern of violence. Since taking control of parts of the Mayu Frontier and other areas in Rakhine State, the Arakan Army has:

· Burned thousands of Rohingya homes and villages
· Internally displaced more than 200,000 people
· Forced over 118,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh in recent months, with thousands more attempting to reach other neighbouring countries
· Caused many more deaths during attempted escapes by sea and river

This violence is not random. It is systematic and deliberate, which every pattern of a campaign aimed at removing the Rohingya people from their land. These attacks are grave violations of international law, constituting crimes against humanity and showing clear signs of genocide.

The Arakan Army has turned these atrocities into lucrative business, displacing Rohingya and then extorting them through human trafficking, charging them to escape the very persecution it inflicts while leaving all their belongings for them.

The UNHCR warns that nearly 1 in 5 Rohingya attempting sea crossings in 2025 have died or gone missing. The Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea are now among the world’s deadliest routes for refugees—not due to natural forces, but to deliberate human cruelty and global neglect.

The following steps are urgently needed to address this crisis:

1. An independent international investigation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights into these boat disasters and the Arakan Army’s role in causing them.

2. Justice and accountability for Arakan Army leaders and all others responsible, for violations of international law. Further investigations by the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar must be conducted with a view to collecting evidence for future prosecutions of Arakan Army leaders and soldiers.

3. Pressure the Arakan Army for the release of Rohingya political prisoners. All countries and the United Nations should pressure the Arakan Army to release the thousands of Rohingya civilians arbitrarily detained simply because they are Rohingya.

4. A new ASEAN task force cracking down on traffickers and rescuing Rohingya. ASEAN countries have failed to address the root causes of this crisis but can at least cooperate to protect and rescue Rohingya at sea fleeing persecution.

5. Sanction the Arakan Army and its leaders. Western countries which have sanctioned the Burmese military for human rights violations need to explain why they have not also sanctioned the Arakan Army, which is committing the same human rights violations against Rohingya.

6. Increase aid to Rohingya. The international community has failed to prevent genocide, failed to hold those responsible for genocide to account, and isn’t even providing enough money for basic survival for Rohingya in Burma or in refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The world must no longer look away these tragedies. The Rohingya are drowning both in the sea and in the injustice. This must end immediately!

Signatories: