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Rohingya witness and experts: funding cuts and closed programs deepen crisis in Cox’s Bazar

House Foreign Affairs Committee, Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific & Subcommittee on South and Central Asia · November 20, 2025

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Summary

At a House Foreign Affairs hearing, Rohingya advocate Lucky Karim described collapsing services in Cox’s Bazar camps, urged Congress to pass the Burma Gap Act, and witnesses warned US aid reductions have closed clinics and learning centers, increased trafficking risk, and undermined donor confidence.

Lucky Karim, a Rohingya community member and executive director of Refugee Woman for Peace and Justice, told a joint House Foreign Affairs subcommittee that cuts to humanitarian assistance have worsened conditions in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camps, where she said more than 1,300,000 people live. "I was forced to flee my home at the age of 14 in August 2017 when the Burmese military waged a genocide attack against the Rohingya people," Karim said in oral testimony submitted at the hearing.

Karim and witnesses described a pattern of shrinking services: reductions in monthly aid cards (examples cited in testimony included drops from $12 to lower amounts), closure of health clinics and learning centers, and the elimination of programs that protected women and children. These changes, witnesses said, have increased trafficking and left refugees with few livelihood options. Ambassador Kelly Curry pointed to the broader donor reaction, saying reduced U.S. funding can prompt other donors to step back, further undermining assistance.

Witnesses and lawmakers discussed immediate and medium-term responses. Karim urged passage of the Burma Genocide Accountability and Protection Act (referred to in testimony as the Burma Gap Act), which includes provisions to support refugees, promote accountability for crimes against humanity, and authorize a U.S. special representative for Burma. Members also pressed the State Department and USAID to prioritize refugee resettlement pathways and to restore targeted programs that provided education and protection for girls and women.

Lawmakers raised specific options including: directing frozen Burmese assets into managed accounts to finance humanitarian programs; negotiating with Bangladesh to expand refugees’ rights to work and freedom of movement inside camps; and pushing for sustained, coordinated regional support. No formal action was taken during the hearing; members asked witnesses for follow-up materials and signaled interest in legislative fixes. The committee adjourned after inviting additional questions for the record.