• Burmese
Tuesday, July 15, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
28 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Give Us an Identity to Stop Myanmar Exodus, Urges Award-Winning Rohingya Lawyer

Thomson Reuters Foundation by Thomson Reuters Foundation
June 11, 2018
in News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0 0
A A
A soldier stands near the Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, near Rakhine State, Myanmar, during a trip by UN envoys to the region April 29, 2018. / Reuters

A soldier stands near the Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, near Rakhine State, Myanmar, during a trip by UN envoys to the region April 29, 2018. / Reuters

4.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

LONDON — Stateless Rohingya must be recognized as citizens of Myanmar and given identity documents so they can safely stay in the country instead of fleeing abroad like hundreds of thousands of members of their community, an award-winning lawyer said on Sunday.

Kyaw Hla Aung, a Rohingya lawyer from Myanmar who was named the winner of the Aurora humanitarian prize, has for decades fought for the rights of the world’s largest stateless minority.

Rohingya Muslims are denied citizenship in Buddhist-majority Myanmar where they numbered more than 1 million as of last year.

RelatedPosts

Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

Myanmar Junta Starves Last Rakhine Strongholds as AA Closes In

July 7, 2025
10.1k
Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

Tree-Planting Hides Logging Frenzy; Moving Mountains for Steel Production; and More

June 14, 2025
1.4k
Bangladesh Recalls Ambassador to Myanmar

Bangladesh Recalls Ambassador to Myanmar

May 29, 2025
2.9k

But about 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since August after insurgent attacks triggered a response by the army.

“We belong on this land. This government is denying our citizenship,” Aung told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview from Armenia, where the award ceremony was held.

“We are citizens of Myanmar, so why have we become stateless?” added Aung, who spent 12 years in prison due to his work. “We cannot keep going from our land to other countries.”

The Rohingya Project estimates there are 4 million Rohingya around the world, the majority living outside their ancestral land since Myanmar excluded them from the country’s recognized ethnic groups in 1982, effectively rendering them stateless.

The United Nations refugee agency says the Rohingya are the biggest minority among an estimated 10 million people who are stateless, a status that deprives them of an identity, rights, and jobs.

The latest exodus of Rohingya Muslims followed a crackdown last August by the military in the northwestern Rakhine state. Rohingya refugees reported killings, burnings, looting and rape, in response to militant attacks on security forces.

The UN and aid agencies have described Myanmar’s counteroffensive as ethnic cleansing, which the state denies.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees by 2020, followed up by an agreement with the UN last month aimed at eventually allowing those in Bangladesh to return safely and by choice.

Yet Aung said the lack of documents and citizenship for the Rohingya would hinder their ability to go home and resettle.

“How can these people produce their documents for the government? They are trying to do such things to call us stateless,” added Aung, who said he would give most of his $1.1 million prize money to aid groups helping Rohingya refugees.

The Aurora prize runner-ups were Indian campaigner Sunitha Krishnan, co-founder of the anti-trafficking charity Prajwala, and Héctor Tomás González Castillo, a Franciscan friar in Mexico who provides shelter for migrants headed to the United States.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: RakhineRefugeesRohingya
Thomson Reuters Foundation

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Agency

Similar Picks:

Battle of Paletwa Loss Turns Tide Against Myanmar Junta on Western Front
Analysis

Battle of Paletwa Loss Turns Tide Against Myanmar Junta on Western Front

by Moe Sett Nyein Chan
January 23, 2024
22k

The military’s demoralized Western Command is feeling the heat as the Arakan Army closes in on towns in northern Rakhine,...

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Youth Exodus Feared in Wake of Junta’s Conscription Law
Burma

Myanmar Youth Exodus Feared in Wake of Junta’s Conscription Law

by The Irrawaddy
February 15, 2024
15.7k

Activists warn of increased labor rights violations in Thailand and human trafficking as young people flee to avoid mandatory military...

Read moreDetails
Junta Watch: Sinking Feeling as Myanmar Navy Faces Onslaught in Rakhine; and More
Junta Watch

Junta Watch: Sinking Feeling as Myanmar Navy Faces Onslaught in Rakhine; and More

by The Irrawaddy
January 27, 2024
14.3k

Also this week, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s home to be sold, Karen mission fails, ultimate penalty for beaten generals,...

Read moreDetails
Yangon, Mandalay Deserted After Dark as Myanmar Junta Hunts for Conscripts
Burma

Yangon, Mandalay Deserted After Dark as Myanmar Junta Hunts for Conscripts

by Hein Htoo Zan
December 16, 2024
12.5k

Desperate regime ramps up forcible conscription as military defeat looms in Rakhine and Kachin states.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Arrests Ex-Navy Chief for Disobeying Orders
Burma

Myanmar Junta Arrests Ex-Navy Chief for Disobeying Orders

by The Irrawaddy
July 29, 2024
10.8k

Admiral Zwe Win Myint resigned after being ordered not to shell crony-owned hotels in Ngapali, and has now been detained,...

Read moreDetails
By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes
Analysis

By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes

by Khin Nadi
February 2, 2024
10.8k

The Irrawaddy unpacks the regime’s three-year track record of violence and rights abuses, as assessed by leading global organizations and...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad attends the International Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo, Japan, June 11, 2018. / Reuters

Malaysian PM Mahathir Says Growing Countries Need Different Trade Protections

US President Donald Trump steps off his plane as he arrives at Paya Lebar Air Base in Singapore, ahead of a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, June 10, 2018. / Reuters

N. Korean, US Officials Meet to Narrow Differences on Eve of Trump-Kim Summi

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

Trump’s Tariffs to Hit Myanmar’s Garment Manufacturers Hard

6 days ago
1.3k
China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

China’s Surveillance State Watches Everyone, Everywhere

7 days ago
1.1k

Most Read

  • Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    Myanmar Junta’s ‘Living Fence’ on Thai Border Falls to Karen Resistance

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Launches Space Agency With Russian Help

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • ‘Las Vegas in Laos’: the Riverside City Awash With Crime

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TNLA Invites Investment in Ruby and Mineral Towns Amid Myanmar Junta Onslaught

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Two Myanmar Migrants Still Languish in Thai Jail Over Min Aung Hlaing Protest

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.