Emrah Çelik

The whole mess makes me question the approach as well. The camps in Cox's Bazar remain the largest in the world. Bangladesh tried to build more too, on the island of Bhasan Char. Did it work? It failed miserably. With funding drying up, refugees will ultimately bear the cost.

We had hoped for small policy openings. Thailand’s decision to offer limited work permits to refugees is one example. Instead, Bangladesh reaffirmed its hard stance, once again closing off livelihoods opportunities for Rohingya in the camps.

The pledges announced in New York, mostly seemingly directed towards Bangladesh and food security, were nowhere near sufficient. Bangladesh may host a pledging conference in Doha in December, but the forecast for Myanmar’s humanitarian response next year looks even bleaker.

Funding remains a major concern. Both the responses in Bangladesh and Myanmar went through painful prioritisation exercises earlier this year, cutting back essential services. Now, another round of reductions looms on the horizon as resources continue to shrink.

Affected communities continue to demand genuine inclusion. Not ad hoc consultations, not symbolic invitations. But systematic and institutionalised participation. They do not want to be "heard." They want to make the decisions that determine their future.

Unsurprisingly, the conference produced no concrete outcomes. How could it have? Most of the actors whose participation is essential to resolving the situation were absent. The discussions felt "out of context."

The level of interest was disappointingly low. While the timing, just after the 80GA, played a role, it also reflected how far the crisis has slipped down the international political agenda. 1.2m refugees and 3.6m IDPs remain out of sight and out of mind.

The High-Level Conference on the Situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar was held about two weeks ago. I just wanted to come back and express some of my observations on the conference while listening in from Dhaka. Continue to read below: