Following the Humanitarian Corridor, a new gateway to Myanmar’s Arakan state from Bangladesh is the talk of the town now. The speculation over the issue came forward on 28 April 2025 when Foreign Adviser Touhid Hossain said, “We ethically consented to give humanitarian corridor which was proposed by United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres during his last visit in the first half of the last month.” Actually, in November, UNDP revealed a report named “Rakhine: A Famine in the Making” where they showed that due to the running war situation, blockades and the whole economic process including the agricultural functions and construction sector have been stopped. Overall, the life and livelihood of Rakhine’s residents have deteriorated. It was estimated that between March and April 2025; 2 million Arakanese are going to face a famine. With this regard, the United Nations proposed a humanitarian corridor to provide assistance and reach the Rakhine state.
Against the backdrop of this issue, the Bangladesh Government is going to give a humanitarian corridor along with some stipulations that create repercussions among political parties and common citizens. Why should Bangladesh give a humanitarian corridor? A Humanitarian Corridor is a zone or route that’s essentially demilitarized for a designated period so that goods, aid, civilians and humanitarian workers can safely pass through the area. From Bangladesh’s perspective, there are some concrete reasons for allowing the humanitarian corridor to the United Nations to enter the Rakhine state of Myanmar. Such as, if a famine happens in Rakhine, a lot of refugees will come to Bangladesh like what happened in the year 2017. Again, Bangladesh assumes that this will be one of the key steps for the inauguration of the Rohingya repatriation process. Building a safe zone in the Rakhine state will accelerate the Rohingya refugee’s repatriation process before 2026’s Eid which was previously assured. Meanwhile, there was a huge cut in foreign aid for Rohingya refugees who are staying in Bangladesh. From this perspective, foreign aid will be increased which will create a chance of permanent solutions of Rohingya’s basic accommodations. Apart from that, the concentration of the international community and international media will be attracted by the process of Rohingya refugee repatriation.
Now the point is what will happen if Bangladesh gives a humanitarian corridor to the United Nations to assist Rakhine’s war-affected people. First of all, the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar is inflicted with human trafficking, illegal arms dealings and drug trafficking. So, if there is an open space, then the environment will be getting worse. Already, the Arakan Army entered Bangladesh’s territory and mixed with the local people of Bandarban, Rangamati and Khagrachari. If they get a safe and demilitarized zone, they will be a real threat to Bangladesh’s sovereignty which is certainly understandable. Again, it is quite unknown whether the Military Junta Government or the Arakan Army is in charge of the authority of the Rakhine state. So, without the consent of these two vital stakeholders, it is not acceptable to provide a humanitarian corridor. Because, without any stakeholder’s consent, it will be Bangladesh’s burden and Bangladesh will be going to face Myanmar’s internal clashes. As a result, the chance of Rohingya refugees repatriating will not be seen in the light of the sun. Because the Junta Government stated a proposal to repatriate 1,800,000 Rohingyas. On the other hand, the Arakan Army is also a key stakeholder in getting the repatriation process kicked off and getting back Rohingyas on their home soil. The Arakan Army has already conquered the Sitteo and Mongdu regions of Myanmar. It’s for sure, the aid will be hijacked by them.
Here the question is what can Bangladesh do before giving humanitarian corridor? Bangladesh needs to carefully analyze the circumstances and make wise decisions Which is good for them. Security analyzers say how the security of this humanitarian corridor will be addressed and what the security for the whole assistance process needs to be analyzed and upheld towards the common people of Bangladesh so that there is no more confusion. Again without this corridor, which other options are available need to be thought of and find a way to reach Rakhine for aid supply. Apart from that, Need to keep pressure on both the Junta government and the Arakan Army to soothe the war situation and proceed with the assistance process. Notably, In the last report of UNDP, they explore the possibility of India’s involvement regarding the humanitarian corridor. But discussion about India does not get as much hype as Bangladesh. India has a Kaladan Multimodal project sharing with the border of Myanmar. So, they need to attach to the issue. India opened their border before and held a border hat near the border of Myanmar where daily accessories have been sold to the Rakhine people. So, India will be another option to proceed with humanitarian assistance. Likewise, in the case of the Gaza crisis, the border of Lebanon and Egypt created a humanitarian corridor for the survival of Palestinians. For the Syria crisis, through the Turkish, Jordanian, Lebanese, and Iraqi borders the humanitarian assistance was provided to the war-affected people of Syria. So it will be ideal to engage both India and Bangladesh in giving humanitarian corridors to the United Nations and make those humanitarian corridors safe.
Apart from India, ASEAN and China’s attachment must be needed in this context. Finally, Bangladesh needs to have a complete understanding with both the Junta government and the Arakan Army.
Briefly, Regarding this crucial decision, Bangladesh has to be prudent. Otherwise, They have to face an overflow of refugee intrusion along with clashes between the Junta government and the Arakan Army which will be the real threat to their sovereignty, isn’t it?
About the Author
Md. Al-Amin is an educator. He completed his post-graduation from the Department of International Relations at Rajshahi University,Bangladesh. His research interests are Diplomacy, Foreign policy, Border conflicts, and Security issues.
