Category: Issue Brief

Issue Brief • October 5th, 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

Risks Posed by Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War in Arakan: Long-Term Impacts and Protection Challenges

English | Myanmar

The Ottawa Treaty, formally known as the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, entered into force on 1 March 1999. It is one of the principal international legal instruments aimed at prohibiting the use of anti-personnel mines and reducing the humanitarian consequences of landmine contamination. However, several major powers, including the United States, China, Russia, and India, are not parties to ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • September 24th, 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

Silent Victims of War and Transition: The Growing Vulnerability of the Elderly in Arakan

English | Myanmar

The renewed armed conflict in Rakhine State, which resumed in November 2023, has now spanned approximately two years and ten months. The Arakan Army (AA) has controlled around 15 townships across the Arakan military fronts, leaving only three townships, Sittwe, Kyaukphyu, and Manaung, under the control of the military junta, while the potential for a resolution to the conflict remains ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • September 10th, 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

Charting the Future of a New Generation of Arakanese Youth Against a Backdrop of Military, Political, and Socioeconomic Crises

English | Myanmar

Women face particularly severe circumstances, suffering devastating impacts on their employment, education, and general livelihoods. The fate of women, who travel abroad in search of employment, is also concerning. Some women have become the victims of human trafficking, while others have faced more severe forms of exploitation, including being sold. Due to these compounding hardships and challenges, the majority of youths have relocated to ULA-controlled ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • August 20th, 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

WOMEN'S SECURITY AND DIGNITY UNDER INTERIM GOVERNANCE AND JUDICIAL SYSTEMS IN ARAKAN

English | Myanmar

In areas under the control of the United League of Arakan (ULA) and the Arakan People’s Revolutionary Government, reports of rape, sexual violence, rape followed by murder, and sexual exploitation and abuse against women and girls have occasionally appeared in local media. These incidents have also drawn increasing criticism and concern from the public and observers. This study compiles developments and reported cases ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • August 12nd, 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

MUNAUNG ISLAND: AMID ISOLATION AND MOUNTING CONSTRAINTS

English | Myanmar

Munaung Township has remained one of the island areas still under the control of the military regime since November 2023, as the Arakan Army (AA) expanded its control over most townships in Rakhine State. It is also one of the few areas in Rakhine State where no armed clashes have taken place to date. However, the absence of fighting does not necessarily indicate that local communities enjoy security or socioeconomic stability. Due to Munaung’s geographical characteristics as an island ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • July 15th, 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

ARAKAN ARMY AND BATTLES OF SITTWE

English | Myanmar

The military contest over Sittwe Township carries far broader regional and international significance than a typical struggle to control a single town or territory. Sittwe serves as the capital of Rakhine State and stands as the Myanmar Military's final remaining control in the entire northern region. Consequently, if the Myanmar Military loses Sittwe, northern Rakhine State would become entirely free of junta presence. Furthermore, as a state capital, its fall would mark a historic milestone in Myanmar's civil war ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • June 30th, 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

ARAKAN ARMY AND BATTLES OF KYAUKPHYU

English | Myanmar

The battles for Kyaukphyu reflect a prolonged and intensifying military stalemate between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Military Council. Despite heavy casualties sustained by both sides over more than a year of fighting, neither side has achieved a decisive victory. The Military Council has managed to hold onto strategic installations through the concentrated use of airstrikes, naval bombardments, and drone technology. However, relentless counter-attacks by the AA have successfully prevented the military regime from establishing absolute control ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • June 19th, 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

CAUGHT BETWEEN DESPERATION AND DANGER: WHY ROHINGYA REFUGEES IN BANGLADESH CONTINUE TO RISK PERILOUS SEA JOURNEYS

English | Myanmar

By this upcoming August, it will have been exactly nine years since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees were forced to flee to Bangladesh due to the brutal military operations launched by the Myanmar armed forces in 2017. Unlike previous exoduses in 1978 and the 1990s, the current crisis is unprecedented in both its massive scale and its prolonged ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • April 30th 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

RESURGENCE OF ARMED CONFLICTS AND THE SITUATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN ARAKAN

English | Myanmar

The implementation of higher education in an active war zone inherently faces significant challenges. Arakan/Rakhine State, which has historically suffered from low educational standards due to systemic oppression and poverty under successive central governments, continues to face severe challenges under the current conflict. Within the ULA/AA-controlled territories, the stability of university operations remains precarious, threatened by persistent security risks and a severe lack of specialised ...Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • March 31st 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHALLENGES OF PEOPLE IN ARAKAN RELATED TO COMMUNICATION BLACKOUTS

English | Myanmar

In the 21st century, telecommunication services such as phone and internet are essential daily necessities for every individual. However, due to armed conflicts, the residents in Arakan still face challenges in fully accessing these services. Traditionally, restoring phone and internet usage depends directly on the ceasefire and political peace between the military commission government and the Arakan Army. On one hand, conventional communication networks remain under the control of the central government ....Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • March 20th 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

RAKHINE POLITICAL PARTIES AMID MYANMAR’S POLITICAL CRISIS

English | Myanmar

Under Myanmar’s legislative structure, the Parliament consists of three chambers: the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House), the Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House), and the State/Region Hluttaw. For the 2025 elections, the implementation of a Proportional Representation (PR) system and FirstPast-The-Post (FPTP) combined model resulted in a modest number of elected representatives from Rakhine-based parties, specifically the AFP and RNP. In contrast, local ethnic minority parties, such as the Khami and Mro parties, failed to secure a single seat ....Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Issue Brief • March 3rd 2026 • Center for Arakan Studies

HEALTH CHALLENGES FACED BY THE PEOPLE IN ARAKAN

English | Myanmar

In townships controlled by the SSPC, health-related challenges are not only due to transportation restrictions but are also linked to a lack of political prioritization and weaknesses in governance and management. On the other hand, in areas under the control of the Arakan Army, the challenges are primarily caused by external transportation blockades, security vulnerabilities due to ongoing conflict, shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and healthcare personnel, as well as difficulties in domestic travel. However, there may also be some gaps in administrative .....Read more

Center for Arakan Studies

Monthly Report • April 7th 2023

Monthly Report | March 2023

While the junta’s forces and Arakan Army (AA) are now in an informal truce, the news of the registration of the political parties in Rakhine have become more prominent in March.

Center for Arakan Studies

Monthly Report • March 6th 2023

Monthly Report | Febuary 2023

In February 2023, both tensions and relaxation could be seen in politics in Rakhine State. Tensions between the Arakan Army, and junta forces happened due after the junta forces' reinforcement such as military types of equipment, patrol and,...

Center for Arakan Studies

Special Report • March 6th 2023

Arakan Review: Return To War

Just 20 months after a de facto ceasefire between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), a series of armed clashes resumed in three locations in northern Rakhine,...

Center for Arakan Studies

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