Executive Summary:
Bangladesh and Thailand together host well over a million people displaced from Myanmar, and both countries now stand at a critical juncture. In Bangladesh, nearly a decade after the mass displacement of 2017, 1.2 million Rohingya refugees remain in protracted limbo — a crisis compounded by new arrivals since 2024 and by a humanitarian appeal that has shrunk significantly even as needs have grown. In Thailand, a landmark 2025 policy change now allows registered refugees in camps to work legally for the first time in decades — a moment of genuine promise, but one placed at risk by severe funding shortfalls and by protection gaps that leave tens of thousands without legal status. This report sets out what SSI, APRRN and Amnesty International Australia found on the ground in both countries, and what must happen next, including how Australia may assume different roles in strengthening refugee protection, opportunities and participation in Asia.
Across both countries, a common thread emerged: international attention has waned dramatically precisely as needs have deepened. Refugee women, camp leaders and community organisations described extraordinary resilience placed under mounting strain by diminishing resources and political will. Their testimony, together with the findings of UN agencies, humanitarian actors and government stakeholders, forms the evidence base for the advocacy priorities set out in this report. This report calls on the Australian Government and the international community to keep the Rohingya crisis politically visible, to protect and expand resettlement and complementary pathways, to close urgent humanitarian funding gaps, in particular at this time with the significant downsizing of UNHCR, and to partner with diverse community-led organisations sustaining dignity and hope for those in their care. These are not abstract policy asks — they are the difference, for hundreds of thousands of people, between prolonged uncertainty and constant human rights risks and a durable, dignified future. The report is organised around the two countries visited, each with a case study from the ground, followed by a consolidated set of priorities for decision-makers in Australia and the region.