Arakan News Agency
The Convening Committee in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, announced on Thursday the formation of the first official civil society organization representing the Rohingya people across all refugee camps, under the name United Council of Rohang (UCR) — a historic step aimed at unifying and transparently representing the Rohingya community.
Committee convener Furquan Mirza stated that this step demonstrates the Rohingya community’s ability to organize itself peacefully, transparently, and responsibly, emphasizing that the council symbolizes a commitment to accountability, unity, and the pursuit of a dignified future for the Rohingya people.
The formation process identified 3,693 voters from 14 different categories across all 33 camps, including imams, school teachers, women representatives, youth, elders, businessmen, and members of the Rohingya diaspora.
Voters were divided into eight geographic zones, and awareness sessions were conducted to ensure understanding of the election process, which was based on dialogue and consensus, with ballots used when necessary.
The process resulted in the formation of a 500-member Congress of Counselors representing all categories of the Rohingya community, from which 28 executive members and five presidents were elected. The presidency will rotate among the five every six months over a three-year term before the next congress convenes.
The committee affirmed that the formation process was guided by principles of transparency, neutrality, and merit, with members of the Convening Committee and their immediate relatives excluded from candidacy to ensure full impartiality.
This marks the first time in Rohingya history that an official civil society organization has been formed to collectively represent the community, establishing a legitimate and unified platform to advocate for Rohingya rights both within and beyond the camps.
Bangladesh currently hosts around 1.3 million Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar camps, recognized by the United Nations as the largest refugee settlement in the world. The refugees have lived under dire humanitarian conditions since fleeing Myanmar in 2017 amid the “genocidal campaign” launched by the Myanmar military, with renewed waves of displacement to Bangladesh since the outbreak of fighting in Arakan State between the Myanmar army and the Arakan Buddhist militias (Arakan Army) in November 2023.
