HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON THE SITUATION OF ROHINGYA MUSLIMS AND OTHER MINORITIES IN MYANMAR
Statement by H.E Ambassador James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
30 September 2025
Thank you, Madam President.
Australia is deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian and security situation in Myanmar, where millions of people have been forced from their homes and many millions more need help.
In a world of many crises, we must not forget this conflict or the plight of the Rohingya people.
Bangladesh has generously hosted Rohingyas for years. Reduced donor funding is making an already dire situation worse, increasing tensions that fuel violence and crime and forcing more people to risk dangerous sea voyages to find refuge.
We urge all member states to support the response to this crisis, and increase their funding to ensure that the humanitarian needs of Rohingyas are met. In this regard, we acknowledge the announcements made earlier today by the United Kingdom and the United States.
Australia has committed $370 million in humanitarian assistance over the next three years to the people of Myanmar, displaced Rohingyas, and their host communities in Bangladesh. This brings our commitment to the most complex crisis in our region to $1.26 billion since 2017, making it Australia’s largest ongoing humanitarian response.
We call on the international community and multilateral agencies to sustain lifesaving assistance to Myanmar and Bangladesh. We must also support Rohingya self-reliance. Helping Rohingyas to build livelihoods and develop skills to support economic advancement will be key to this.
We must also address the root causes of displacement. Australia wants to see Rohingyas return to Myanmar in a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable way. But Rohingyas in Myanmar suffer ongoing, targeted violence, including appallingly high levels of sexual violence which particularly affects Rohingya women and girls. The Myanmar military regime and other armed groups continue to restrict humanitarian access, preventing assistance getting to where it is needed most. The regime also denies the rightful citizenship of the Rohingya, effectively rendering them stateless. Until this changes, Rohingyas cannot return home.
Along with other partners, Australia has repeatedly registered our serious concern about the political and humanitarian situation in Myanmar. We condemn the Myanmar regime’s widespread human rights abuses and atrocities. Australia calls for an immediate cessation of violence, the release of those unjustly detained, and safe and unhindered humanitarian access. We reiterate our strong support for ASEAN's efforts to resolve the crisis, including through the Five Point Consensus and the work of the ASEAN Special Envoy and UN Special Envoy.
In the current circumstances, Australia is concerned that the regime’s announced elections can be neither free nor fair. Elections held without the regime engaging in genuine and inclusive political dialogue with all stakeholders risk greater instability. We urge a peaceful transition of power in Myanmar to an inclusive civilian democratic government that reflects the will of the people.
Australia wants to see a peaceful and stable Myanmar, where human rights are respected and everyone, including Rohingyas and other minorities, can realise their ambitions for a better future. I urge you all to join us in helping the people of Myanmar make this vision a reality.
I thank you.