The Founding of the United Council of Rohang UCR

By Rohingya Vision News Staff | Cox’s Bazar Refugee Camp | October 23, 2025

A sense of renewed hope and unity swept through the refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar on October 23, 2025, as the United Council of Rohang (UCR) was officially inaugurated during a historic Oath-Taking and Inception Ceremony. The event marked a defining moment in the Rohingya people’s long struggle for collective representation and civic leadership. For the first time in the community’s history of displacement, a civil society organization has been democratically formed through election and selection processes covering all 33 refugee camps, representing fourteen categories of leadership.

The establishment of the UCR is being hailed as a milestone in Rohingya self-organization and political maturity. Its very name carries layers of historical and symbolic significance. “Rohang,” the ancient name of Arakan, evokes the deep ancestral roots of the Rohingya people in their homeland, affirming a truth often denied in official narratives — that they are an indigenous community with a continuous historical presence in Arakan. The term “United” reflects the aspiration to bring together the dispersed Rohingya population across Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the global diaspora, while “Council” emphasizes a vision of consultative, accountable, and principled leadership rooted in service and unity.

According to the newly formed Executive Committee, the UCR’s central mission is to serve as an inclusive and representative body for all Rohingya people. Its short-term objectives focus on strengthening community unity, promoting awareness about rights and education, empowering youth and women, building partnerships with international organizations, and preserving the truth of their persecution through research and documentation. The long-term vision is anchored in achieving a dignified and voluntary return to Arakan — a return grounded in justice, accountability, and sustainable reintegration, ensuring that future generations can live with safety, equality, and self-determination.

To realize these aims, the UCR has established a comprehensive organizational framework comprising twenty-one thematic committees. These cover a wide range of fields including human rights and legal affairs, education and research, women and youth empowerment, social welfare and health, media and communications, finance and resource management, and security and crisis response. This institutional structure ensures that the Council’s work will be both coordinated and professional, allowing it to engage effectively with national and international actors on matters affecting the Rohingya community.

The Oath-Taking Ceremony itself was a moment of profound symbolism. Representatives from across the camps pledged their commitment to transparency, fairness, and collective service. Many community elders and youth alike viewed the ceremony as a historic step toward restoring integrity and public trust in Rohingya leadership after years of internal divisions and external manipulation. “This Council is not the voice of a few individuals,” one elder remarked. “It is the reflection of a collective will that has survived exile and suffering.” The event concluded with an atmosphere of hope and renewal, as participants reaffirmed their shared determination to pursue justice and peace for their people.

The United Council of Rohang has already expressed its readiness to collaborate with governments, international partners, and civil society organizations to advance justice, accountability, and human rights for the Rohingya people. It also seeks to strengthen cooperation with the Bangladeshi authorities and humanitarian actors to improve camp conditions, education, and community resilience. In a statement following the ceremony, the Council declared that its formation represents not only an organizational achievement but also a moral and historical responsibility — a duty to ensure that the Rohingya people themselves shape their own destiny. “We are not only refugees,” the statement read, “we are a nation in waiting. Our unity is our strength, and our homeland remains our destiny.”

The founding of the United Council of Rohang thus marks more than the birth of a new organization; it signifies the reawakening of a people’s collective will. In an era when global attention to the Rohingya crisis has waned and internal fragmentation has deepened, the emergence of UCR stands as a reminder that the Rohingya community continues to define its own future. As dusk settled over the crowded camps of Cox’s Bazar that evening, many reflected on what the day represented — not merely a ceremony, but a declaration of faith in unity, resilience, and the long journey back to Rohang, their rightful homeland.

Rohingya Vision News