Discrimination against the Rohingya
See also Main Library > Refugees > Burmese Refugees in Bangladesh and Main Library >Administration and administrative areas > Arakan (Rakhine) State - http://www.burmalibrary.org/show.php?cat=1241&lo=d&sl=0 - which carries OBL's main documentation on the current crisis of the Rohingya, with links to UN, governmental, NGO and other sources.
Individual Documents
Sub-title:
Junta says 100 Rohingya died from Cyclone Mocha, but others have counted more than 400.
Description:
"Myanmar’s junta says that 100 Rohingya died from last weekend’s Cyclone Mocha – and that news outlets that say it’s higher will be sued.
The shadow National Unity Government, made up of former parliamentarians and opponents of the military, which took control of the country in a 2021 coup, puts the number at 455 – more than four times higher.
Reports by media that more than 400 were killed “were baseless and have frightened the public,” a junta statement Friday said. “We will take action against those media using existing laws.”
The storm that hit the coast of Rakhine state and parts of Bangladesh last weekend, flooded villages and battered camps where displaced Rohingya have lived for years.
Authorities evacuated the Rakhine population before the storm and accommodated 63,302 of the 125,789 Rohingyas from 17 refugee camps who needed to be evacuated, the junta statement said.
Those who died in the storm were people who didn’t comply with the authority’s evacuation procedure and remained in their homes on their own accord, the military said.
Radio Free Asia reported earlier this week that many people couldn’t evacuate because emergency shelter centers quickly became overcrowded.
Some 130,000 Rohingya have lived for more than a decade in internally displaced persons camps in and around Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine.
The deaths of so many villagers from the storm was a result of their poor living standards in restricted camps near the seashore, Rohingya activists told RFA. Many villagers weren’t properly informed of the coming cyclone, they said.
Two Rohingya villagers told RFA that it has been difficult to collect every dead body that was washed into the sea after the storm struck the coast.
The junta said Friday that 18 army officers would be assigned to each township to oversee rehabilitation work for the 18 townships in Rakhine and Chin state that were affected by the storm.
In those areas, transportation infrastructure and some telephone networks have been out of service, and there are still areas where food, medicine and shelters haven't arrived.
NUG’s statement on Wednesday said more than 42,000 acres of agricultural land in four states and regions were destroyed by the storm..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-19
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Natural Disasters - General, Cyclones - regional
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Returnees to Myanmar Would Face Junta’s Crimes of Apartheid, Persecution
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"(Bangkok) – Bangladesh and Myanmar are organizing returns of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar’s Rakhine State without consulting the community or addressing the grave risks to their lives and liberty, Human Rights Watch said today.
On May 5, 2023, Bangladesh officials, in coordination with Myanmar junta authorities, took 20 Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State to visit resettlement camps as part of renewed efforts to repatriate about 1,100 Rohingya in a pilot project. Donor governments and United Nations experts should call for a halt to any Rohingya repatriation until conditions are in place for safe and sustainable returns.
“Bangladesh authorities shouldn’t forget the reasons why Rohingya became refugees in the first place, and recognize that none of those factors have changed,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Bangladesh is frustrated with its burden as host, but sending refugees back to the control of a ruthless Myanmar junta will just be setting the stage for the next devastating exodus.”
About 600,000 Rohingya remain in Rakhine State, confined to squalid camps and villages that leave them exceptionally vulnerable to extreme weather events such as Cyclone Mocha, compounded by the junta’s severe restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Human Rights Watch spoke with five Rohingya refugees who were part of the go-and-see visit. They said that the detention-like conditions and lack of full citizenship rights were not conducive to a safe return. “We aren’t at all satisfied seeing the Rakhine situation,” a Rohingya refugee said. “It’s another trap by Myanmar to take us back and then continue the abuses like they have been doing to us for decades.”
Rohingya refugees have consistently said they want to go home, but only when their security, access to land and livelihoods, freedom of movement, and citizenship rights can be ensured.
The Rohingya delegation visited the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp and Kyein Chaung resettlement camp in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw township. The camps were built by Myanmar authorities on Rohingya land that Myanmar security forces burned and bulldozed in 2017 and 2018. The transit camp is surrounded by barbed-wire perimeter fencing and security outposts, similar to the confinement in the Rohingya detention camps in Sittwe and other townships in central Rakhine State.
“I could see my village,” a Rohingya refugee said of the visit. “The Hla Poe Kaung transit camp land used to be my home. My house was destroyed, my school is now a health center. Three whole Rohingya villages used to be where the transit camp is now. Myanmar authorities are trying to confine us in camps like in Sittwe.”
Myanmar authorities have held about 140,000 Rohingya arbitrarily and indefinitely in camps for more than 10 years. Recent measures to ostensibly close the camps appear designed to make the Rohingya’s segregation and confinement permanent. The camps, which have been in constant disrepair due to Myanmar authorities’ restrictions, were severely damaged by Cyclone Mocha on May 14.
“We asked the Myanmar authorities why our villages were turned into displacement camps,” one Rohingya refugee said. “They said they didn’t have any other options. They didn’t answer our questions about whether we would ever be given back our land. If these camps are temporary, then why haven’t the Rohingya living in the central Rakhine camps been able to return to their original villages?”
Conditions in Rakhine State have not been conducive to voluntary, safe, or dignified returns of Rohingya refugees since 2017, when more than 730,000 Rohingya fled the Myanmar military’s crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. The prospect of safe returns has decreased since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, carried out by the same generals who orchestrated the 2017 mass atrocities.
Myanmar junta officials provided the visiting Rohingya with booklets titled, “Facts on the Arrangement of the Myanmar Government for Reception and Resettlement of Displaced Persons on their Return under the Pilot Project,” dated April 2023. The booklet, written in Burmese, English, and Bangla, states that returnees will be housed at the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp for up to two months, then relocated to one of two resettlement camps with prefabricated houses or a land plot in one of 15 “designated villages,” where they can build a home through a cash-for-work program.
The booklet states that security personnel will be deployed “to ensure the rule of law and security in the areas where the returnees reside or pass through.” Myanmar authorities have long invoked “security concerns” as the rationale for violating the rights of Rohingya to travel outside of their camps and villages in Rakhine State.
The junta claims in the booklet that the UN Development Programme, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be involved in the pilot project. The UNHCR said in a recent statement that “visits are an important part of voluntary refugee returns, providing a chance for people to observe conditions in their home country first-hand ahead of return and contributing to the making of an informed decision on return.” However, the agency reported in March that it is not involved in the pilot repatriation discussions and that “conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are currently not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees.”
The junta’s systematic abuses against the Rohingya amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. Since the 2021 coup, security forces have arrested thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children for “unauthorized travel.” The junta has imposed new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages, increasing water scarcity and food shortages.
A major concern among Rohingya on the trip was the booklet’s reference to National Verification Cards (NVCs), documentation that does not grant Myanmar citizenship. Rohingya have widely rejected the NVC process, seeing it as marking them as foreigners in their own country. NVC-holders have not been granted meaningful freedom of movement, while threats and coercion to force Rohingya to accept the card have been hallmarks of the process.
“Why do we have to apply for NVCs when we’re born there and have proof of being from Myanmar,” a Rohingya refugee on the visit said. “Rohingya who have NVCs are still not granted freedoms like the other ethnicities. They are linking every right like freedom of movement, access to livelihoods, education, health care, with accepting the NVC. But that would make us aliens in our own land. They should grant us full citizenship and accept us as Rohingya.”
Rohingya are effectively denied citizenship under Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, leaving them stateless.
In March, a delegation of Myanmar junta officials visited the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh, which house about one million Rohingya refugees, to interview Rohingya for “verification” for the “pilot repatriation” process. Rohingya told Human Rights Watch that they were deceived or coerced by Bangladesh administrators into meeting with the delegation. Another visit by junta officials reportedly scheduled for mid-May was postponed due to Cyclone Mocha.
In April, China held tripartite talks in Kunming with Bangladesh government and Myanmar junta officials on restarting repatriation ahead of the monsoon season.
Some refugees said Bangladesh authorities coerced them to join the go-and-see visit and told them to speak positively to the media about the conditions in Rakhine State. Bangladesh intelligence officers have harassed at least two refugees who publicly criticized the Maungdaw camps. Security forces have increased surveillance of Rohingya on the pilot repatriation list, with officers informing them to prepare for returns.
Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told BenarNews that they plan to start repatriations in May, but will not force any refugees to return.
Junta officials have also been visiting Rakhine State in preparation for their submission to the International Court of Justice in the Genocide Convention case brought by Gambia, initially due April 24. In March, the junta requested a 10-month extension, claiming, among other reasons, that it “needed more time in order to take statements from witnesses who were presently living in camps in Bangladesh or would soon be repatriated to Myanmar.” The court extended the deadline only one month, to May 24. The timing of the pilot repatriation project appears to be part of the junta’s broader efforts to feign progress in its treatment of the Rohingya to the court, Human Rights Watch said.
Since 2017, the Bangladesh government has respected the international principle of nonrefoulement, the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. But Bangladesh authorities have also been intensifying restrictions on livelihoods, movement, and education, creating a coercive environment designed to force people to consider premature returns.
“Bangladesh should continue to uphold its policy of not forcing Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar under current conditions,” Bauchner said. “Donor governments should help ease this difficult situation by supporting Bangladesh to create opportunities for Rohingya to learn and work so that they’re better prepared to go home when that day comes.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-18
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Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity
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"When Myanmar’s Rakhine, Bangladesh edging closer day by day, trying to resolve Rohingya crisis through a ‘Rohingya return pilot project’, there is an another news of hope for the people of Myanmar and Bangladesh specially Rohingyas. The Bangladesh Consulate in Sitwest, Rakhine, Myanmar organized an exchange and prayer meeting with senior Buddhist monks and Buddhist religious leaders of various pagodas on Thursday (May 4). At that time, the students of Sittwe University’s Rakhine and Muslim Students’ Union along with members of the consulate and their families were present at the event. Along with discussions on Buddhist theology and Buddha’s words, prayers were offered for the country’s people and communal harmony and peace in the region.
Mission chief Zakir Ahmed gave chivara to senior Buddhist monks. All present were entertained with lunch. According to the Bangladesh Consulate, the Bangladesh Consulate is in close contact with important religious leaders in order to maintain peace and communal harmony in Rakhine. In continuation of this, this discussion and prayer meeting was organized with very influential Buddhist monks and Buddhist religious leaders.
However, discriminatory policies of Myanmar’s government since the late 1970s have compelled hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya to flee their homes in the predominantly Buddhist country. Most have crossed by land into Bangladesh, while others have taken to the sea to reach Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Beginning in 2017, renewed violence, including reported rape, murder, and arson, triggered an exodus of Rohingya, as Myanmar’s security forces claimed they were carrying out a campaign to reinstate stability in the country’s western region. We saw the mass Rohingya exodus to Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine in 2017. The prolonged refugee crisis was started then. The reason for Rohingya’s exclusion is the so-called political Buddhism in Myanmar. Political Buddhism is when excluding Buddhism, the Burmese ethnicity and aggressive nationalism are used to exclude and persecute minority groups perceived as non-Burman. political Buddhism was an important element to Rohingya’s exclusion in Myanmar. But Rohingya’s persecution can somewhat be explained by the influence of political Buddhism, however that was not the complete story.
For many, popular images of Buddhism have often included those of monks in saffron-colored robes, meditating peacefully on windswept mountains, revering all forms of life while seeking higher states of enlightenment.
Often spurred on by Buddhist monks, local mobs and government forces have reportedly burned hundreds of Rohingya villages to the ground in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, slaughtering many of their Muslim inhabitants as hundreds of thousands have fled to neighboring Bangladesh.
Many of the country’s Buddhists are afraid their own faith is in jeopardy, viewing the Rohingya Muslims as a threat. The military, as well as many monks, have used this fear to stoke a “Buddhist nationalism” that combines religious and civic identities.
In the context of such clichés, it has been jarring, many say, to see very different images coming out of Myanmar. Many monks, barefoot and clothed in the traditional robes of Burmese Buddhist monasteries, have been at the forefront of the violent repression of the Rohingya Muslim minority, which the United Nations has characterized as ethnic cleansing.
However, it is a very good initiative taken by Bangladesh and Myanmar in a sense that it is a trust building measurements between Bangladesh and Myanmar utilizing public diplomacy. The religious element will be crucial in resolving the conflict in Myanmar. We don’t have to get into the political issues but focus on bringing back peace. The influential Buddhist community in Myanmar can take the initiative to settle political issues and restore democracy, solve Rohingya refugee crisis. They can help dispel hatred of Burmese people towards Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar through social media activities, religious ceremony, public ceremony etc. When the Rohingyas could enter Rakhine state under the recently taken Rohingya return pilot project, a glimpse of hope that the precarious situation for Rohingya could be resolved emerged. Obviously, a tremendous amount of work remains integrating Rohingya into the Burmese society. Clearly, the infected conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar will not end if the divisive climate of political Buddhism persists. The Buddhist community must play role in this regard.
It is true that even Myanmar Junta has deep and stable respect for the Buddhist monks in Myanmar. Using this opportunity, Buddhist monks must play role in promoting communal peace in Myanmar for ensuring greater interreligious peace and harmony. Rakhine’s Buddhist society can play an effective role in this regard. The relations of Buddhists between Myanmar and Bangladesh are well established. Burmese Buddhist can do it very easily. Buddhism is more related to establishment of Peace and non-violence. Buddhists can play a significant role in this regard. They can exercise the path shown by the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha. Buddhist will be recognized as the Avatar of human rights if the Buddhist community plays a role in solving the Rohingya crisis. It will ensure the regional, to some extent world, peace and communal harmony.
The jarring images coming out of Myanmar, too, seem ironic, since Buddhist monks have been one of the primary forces of democratic change. In 2007, many helped lead what is now known as the “Saffron Revolution,” a movement of mostly nonviolent protests against Myanmar’s long-standing military dictatorship.
Nearly a decade later, their efforts helped Aung San Suu Kyi, the dissident who spent years under house arrest and who won the Nobel Prize in 1991, to become the country’s first democratically-elected leader in 2016.
The Rohingya crisis is a complex issue involving a range of political, economic, and social factors. While Buddhism is the dominant religion in Myanmar, it is important to note that the Rohingya crisis is not a religious conflict, but rather a humanitarian crisis.
But it is true that Buddhists form a majority in Myanmar and that they are supposed to practice self-restraint against killing any lives if they truly follow the philosophy of Buddhism.
However, Buddhism can play a significant role in finding a solution to the crisis by promoting peace, compassion, and understanding. One of the core teachings of Buddhism is the concept of non-harm and compassion towards all sentient beings, including those who may be perceived as enemies or different.
Buddhist leaders and organizations can use their influence to promote dialogue and reconciliation between different communities, and to advocate for the rights of the Rohingya people. Buddhist teachings can also be used to promote mindfulness and awareness of the suffering of others, which can help to foster a more empathetic and compassionate response to the crisis.
In addition, Buddhist organizations can provide support to Rohingya refugees, including food, shelter, and healthcare. They can also work to promote education and economic opportunities for refugees and displaced persons, which can help to build resilience and self-sufficiency.
Overall, while Buddhism alone cannot solve the Rohingya crisis, it can play a positive role in promoting peace, compassion, and understanding, and in providing support and aid to those who have been affected by the crisis. If the Rohingyas is repatriated finally in Rakhine under the pilot project, the Buddhist monks must play their responsible due role..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-11
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"The Rohingya are the most persecuted minority group in the world. Such persecution has forced Rohingyas into Bangladesh for many years, with significant spikes following violent attacks in 1978, 1992, and again in 2016. More than 700,000 Rohingya were forced to flee from Myanmar following a brutal military crackdown in 2017. Currently, Bangladesh has been hosting nearly 1.2 million Rohingya refugees for six years. At this point, there are more Rohingyas in Bangladesh than in Myanmar.
Due to this massive refugee crisis, the socio-economic and security situation of Bangladesh is worsening and there seems to be no other way except a repatriation, which has been a hanging case for the last six years. The issue remained at a deadlock and to bring momentum, Bangladesh needed an initiative from Myanmar. A breakthrough finally happened on May 05, when a team of 20 Rohingya accompanied by seven Bangladesh government officials visited two of 15 villages in Rakhine State, at the invitation of the Myanmar government.
Bangladesh welcomes the pilot project
The Rohingya team left for Myanmar on Friday via the transboundary Naf River to visit a settlement in Rakhine State. The visit was considered a part of a “confidence-building measure” for repatriation to encourage Rohingyas for a self-willing return. This is the first time any Rohingya delegation visited Rakhine to assess the situation there as the Rohingyas have not volunteered to return home despite two attempts, arguing that the situation was not conducive.
Earlier, Bangladesh and Myanmar signed an agreement to repatriate this huge number of Rohingyas to Myanmar in 2017 and 2019. These attempts failed to repatriate the Rohingyas because the Rohingya refused to return to their homeland for fear of fresh persecution and lack of a congenial environment for repatriation. Bangladesh has raised the issue at every international forum, with the support of many countries. But Myanmar had been indifferent to international laws and norms. Finally, it is taking this symbolic step, most possibly to “lighten the responsibility” in its next submission to the International Court of Justice in May regarding the Rohingya genocide.
The foreign ministry of Bangladesh welcomed this effort and appreciated Myanmar’s willingness. The development comes amid a series of events that took place for Rohingya justice and repatriation. The UN refugee agency said it was aware of Friday’s trip, which was taking place “under a bilateral arrangement between Bangladesh and Myanmar”. Some experts and rights activists have observed that the UN’s involvement in the visit would be more conducive for the parties involved in the pilot project to initiate the repatriation. However, Refugee returns must be voluntary, in safety and dignity and no refugee should be forced to do so. And this pilot project is following those steps sincerely.
Facilities offered by Myanmar
Upon their arrival, Myanmar authorities briefed the team about the possible benefits they would likely get in the villages. After the Rohingyas return, each family will be given a house in the model village, land for agriculture, fertilizer, and seeds. The government will provide Rohingyas ‘with national verification cards (NVC)’ and within half a year would be able to travel outside Maungdaw Township. Hospitals, mosques, and playgrounds are being housed in the model villages, which were not present in Rohingya settlements in the past. The model village of Mangdu is much better than the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh in every possible way.
For those who will stay in the model village, each family will be allocated one acre of land for cultivation. Those families who wish to build their own homes can do so and the regime will pay for them. There will be no barbed wire fence around the villages. A Maungdaw official informed the team that Rohingya children will be allowed to study and go to Sittwe University. Most Rohingyas who are now living in Maungdaw, are working, and moving freely in Maungdaw city, the returnee will enjoy the same.
Response from the Rohingya
It is undeniable that this visit by the Rohingya team marks a new beginning of the Rohingya repatriation. Rohingya repatriation will largely depend on the voluntariness of the Rohingyas, and their confidence in security and equal rights as citizens of Myanmar. The purpose of the visit was to inspect infrastructure built in Rakhine’s Maungdaw Township with grants from the governments of Japan, India, and China for the “repatriation and resettlement of refugees”. Regarding that, no member of the delegation team had any complaints.
Rohingya refugees, who have spent nearly six years living in overcrowded and squalid camps in Cox’s Bazar, have been hopeful of the scheme since it became public knowledge in March. Though their queries about security or recognition of their right to citizenship in Myanmar has not been answered. But the bilateral talks have just begun, so there is always room for bargaining as Rohingyas have international support. Soon a team from Myanmar would visit the Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar to try and convince them to be repatriated.
Bangladesh and international concerned communities are optimistic about Rohingya repatriation this time. There was a need for a ‘pilot repatriation project’ to send back refugees where both countries have historical experience and references to repatriate Rohingyas. Through this initiative and China’s mediation, both countries can resolve the long-pending Rohingya crisis. As every refugee has an inalienable right to return to their place of origin and such returns must also be voluntary, this confidence-building measure will play a crucial role to encourage Rohingyas to return their home..."
Source/publisher:
Eurasia Review
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"On 5 May, 20 Rohingya refugees, accompanied by Bangladesh officials, travelled from camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to Maungdaw township in Myanmar, to view facilities built by Myanmar authorities and assess preparations ahead of a pilot repatriation reportedly planned for later this month.
After the visit, Bangladesh officials shared overall positive impressions, while refugees expressed unwillingness to return to camp-like conditions in Myanmar and reiterated their demand to be granted citizenship rights ahead of any return. Myanmar continues to deny the Rohingya people citizenship, rendering them stateless and curtailing access to basic rights such as freedom of movement and education.
Almost 1 million Rohingya refugees live in camps in Cox’s Bazar, the majority of whom fled Rakhine State following a brutal campaign by Myanmar’s security forces in 2017..."
Source/publisher:
European Commission's Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-06
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Executive Summary:
Since the 1 February 2021 coup, Rohingya communities in Rakhine State have endured tightening movement restrictions, a lack of job opportunities, rising living costs, and even greater precariousness in terms of their legal status. The nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have not fared much better, facing such a sharp deterioration in conditions that some told this analytical unit they suspect authorities to be deliberately destroying any prospect for a dignified life in order to force Rohingya to leave Bangladesh by whatever means possible. Rohingya people in both countries — especially youth — resort to high risk, illegal travel to third countries like Malaysia, where they reportedly believe that increased access to education and opportunities will result in a more secure and fulfilling future. Respondents in Bangladesh and northern Rakhine State still report significant numbers of individuals in their communities undertaking dangerous journeys abroad; however, it is difficult to verify whether the number of Rohingya doing so has increased, because exhaustive data on successful arrivals at intended destinations is not available.
While large-scale Rohingya movement away from Myanmar and Bangladesh and on to Malaysia and elsewhere has been ongoing for at least the last 10 years, several significant shifts have taken place recently. Checkpoints have proliferated across Myanmar as the State Administration Council (SAC) struggles to secure control over the country, increasing the risk that Rohingya people will be caught if they violate movement restrictions by travelling beyond their state or township boundaries. Indeed, there are regularly 20–30 arrests per week.[1] Despite this, crackdowns on maritime trafficking and disastrous, high-profile pushback incidents involving boats carrying desperate Rohingya people[2] have led overland routes to become more prevalent relative to the sea routes favoured in the past. Those facilitating these journeys are reported to include, at a minimum, members of the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military–affiliated Border Guard Police (BGP). Women and girls are the most likely members of the Rohingya community to undertake the journey abroad by any route, and they are also at the highest risk of experiencing a range of abuses en route and upon arrival, including rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Moreover, research by this analytical unit has found that, due to their dire circumstances in Bangladesh and Myanmar, many — if not most — Rohingya people likely lack the agency, options, and information to make a fully volitional, informed choice with respect to high-risk migration to Malaysia or beyond. With conditions likely to deteriorate further in the near term across Rohingya communities in both Bangladesh and Myanmar, the pressure and push factors that render Rohingya individuals prime targets for exploitative migration schemes will only continue to intensify over time. Acutely vulnerable on both sides of the border, Rohingya people will be at critical risk of further victimisation by transnational criminal networks for the foreseeable future.
Upon examination of the facts and circumstances pertaining to Rohingya movement as conveyed to this analytical unit in over 160 interviews in 2022, it appears that the experience of many — perhaps most — Rohingya individuals seeking to reach Malaysia and other countries fits one basic fact pattern. First, these individuals are coerced or otherwise deceived into making the journey; second, they are clandestinely harboured and transported along perilous routes over a period of several months; third, they are subjected to exploitation upon arrival to their destination, in line with the apparent intentions of those facilitating their movement.[3] These steps appear to fulfil each of the three elements of the crime of trafficking in persons as defined and proscribed under international law.[4] In instances where various actors facilitate Rohingya persons’ unlawful crossing of one or more international borders simply in exchange for financial or material benefit — in other words, where movement is facilitated for purposes other than exploitation — the fact pattern would fulfil the criteria of migrant smuggling, rather than trafficking.[5]
In prosecuting any crime that is defined, in part, by a specific intent on the part of the perpetrator, that intent element is often the most difficult to establish. Trafficking is no different; as regards ongoing Rohingya movement, establishing the intent of the actors facilitating that movement — in order to determine whether it is facilitated for the purpose of exploitation — is a challenge.[6] A definitive account of the facts and circumstances surrounding each journey is unavailable; although this analytical unit has conducted over 160 interviews with Rohingya community members with varying degrees of knowledge and direct experience of exploitative migration schemes, this analytical unit has not undertaken a broader investigation to identify the specific intent of those facilitating Rohingya movement or to establish their potential criminal liability. Such an investigation lies beyond the scope of this research and beyond the expertise of this analytical unit. However, consistent statements shared with this analytical unit by Rohingya community members suggest intention to exploit travellers is, in many if not most cases, contributing to the trend in Rohingya outflows from Myanmar and Bangladesh. Based on these statements, it would seem the movement of Rohingya individuals from these countries to Malaysia and elsewhere is best generally categorised as ‘trafficking’ rather than ‘smuggling.’[7]
Wherever trafficking is suspected to occur, identifying the criminal activity as ‘trafficking’ rather than ‘smuggling’ can help enable the recognition and protection of the rights of victims. In part, this is because the most widely ratified international protocol that defines and prohibits human trafficking outlines a broad range of support to be provided to victims,[8] while the protocol outlawing migrant smuggling merely affords victims protection from prosecution.[9] Regardless of which criminal definition is most pertinent in the case of those facilitating Rohingya people’s movement, interviews indicate that Rohingya individuals transferred to Malaysia and elsewhere experience a range of serious abuse over the course of their journeys. International human rights law stipulates that all victims of such abuse be provided with appropriate assistance, protection, and remedies.[10] Rohingya individuals who have been subjected to abusive migration schemes should thus be afforded a far higher level of support than they are now receiving.
This paper aims to contribute to a clearer understanding of the experiences of Rohingya individuals who have attempted perilous international journeys, as well as the pressures facing Rohingya individuals remaining in Myanmar and Bangladesh, in order to help to inform a stronger, better coordinated, and more comprehensive response to the crisis of exploitative migration schemes targeting Rohingya people..."
Source/publisher:
Center for Operational Analysis and Research, Danish Refugee Council, Durable Solutions Platform
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"[Nandini Shinde is a Catalyst for Change Fellow at Migration and Asylum Project, an initiative of the Ara Trust, where she works as a legal representative for refugees in their refugee status determination. She has a background in international criminal and humanitarian law.
Radhika Goyal is a Policy Associate with Accountability Counsel where she advocates for international financial institutions to be more accountable to the communities they impact. She has previously worked with forcibly displaced populations.]
Six years into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, where 700,000 Rohingya refugees fled Myanmar for safety, the Rohingya refugee crisis has become a ‘protracted situation’ according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) given definition. Various efforts have been made by the international community in the past years to settle the issue, including recent efforts at repatriation despite the lack of safe conditions in Myanmar. But without a sustainable solution in sight, the Rohingya community continues to live in uncertainty as refugees in countries around the world, particularly in South and Southeast Asian States including Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, Indonesia, India and Thailand.
A uniting factor in this region is the non-ratification of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees, resulting in ad-hoc policies that govern refugee status and protection. Countries in the region have adopted different responses towards the Rohingya refugee crisis. The States’ varied response has also resulted in a lack of uniformity in the strategy adopted by country specific UN agencies working on this issue; while Bangladesh co-leads the Joint Response Plan, which coordinates aid by multiple agencies including UNHCR, IOM and UNFPA, Thailand does not allow UNHCR to even conduct the refugee status determination process. Depending on the country of asylum, Rohingyas face a variety of protection concerns related to livelihood, education, health, legal and other related challenges.
This article sheds light on key challenges faced by Rohingyas in the region. It proposes a regional response mechanism to address protection concerns in individual host States and plan for realistic durable solutions. Further, host States are urged to call for the launch of a global Support Platform in the upcoming Global Refugee Forum in December 2023, to promote international responsibility sharing and boost regional coordination.
Rohingya Experiences in the South and Southeast Asian Region
Access to Asylum and Legal Status
Despite the international recognition of the grave crimes committed against the Rohingya community in Myanmar, there is no surety of access to asylum upon entry in many of the States in the region. Moreover, States have established ad hoc and temporary mechanisms to regulate the legal status of refugees. Today, Bangladesh conducts a joint registration exercise with international organizations, yet fails to recognize Rohingyas as refugees and instead categorises them as Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMNs). Rohingyas in Malaysia are considered to be “illegal immigrants” upon entry and live under the threat of detention, though UNHCR does provide them refugee cards on contact. Other States like Thailand have either summarily detained refugees or adopted a concerning pushback policy, redirecting refugees towards other host States.
It is imperative that States in the region provide asylum to the Rohingyas, regularize their legal status as refugees and consequently extend protection to their rights. Though these States are not bound by the Refugee Conventions to protect refugee rights (as they are not parties to them), international human rights law and customary law oblige all States to uphold human rights that are essential to the survival, dignity and well-being of all people in their jurisdiction.
Advocacy measures in these States by civil society or even UN agencies have so far been unable to create meaningful change in their refugee response. In this context, a regional response mechanism, with global support, can build international pressure and encourage State-to-State dialogues, that promote equitable responsibility sharing based on State capacity to host refugees. Global support can also alleviate the financial burden on the developing host States, while also equipping them with the necessary tools to safeguard the status of Rohingyas.
Protection of Basic Human Rights in Host States
States in the region have hesitated to officially recognize Rohingyas as refugees to avoid the consequent responsibilities of upholding their basic human rights and facilitate access to socio-economic services including livelihood, shelter, education and health care. This hesitation is justified in part, given the economic struggles of the States in this region, particularly their inability to meet basic needs of their own nationals. Rohingyas end up living in deplorable conditions, often in restrictive refugee camps or in urban settlements, without access to education and livelihood opportunities, and entirely dependent on aid.
It would not be reasonable to demand that host States provide access to socio-economic rights without addressing their technical and financial limitations. The region urgently needs support from third party countries, international organizations, international NGOs and other relevant stakeholders. Currently, there exists country specific mechanisms such as the Joint Response Plan that coordinates efforts, including funding, of the relevant stakeholders to provide humanitarian aid in Bangladesh, which hosts a majority of Rohingya refugees. Similar support is required to assist other States also hosting a substantial Rohingya population.
Regional Trafficking Routes
Even as host States have eschewed a regional perspective of the Rohingya crisis, a growing network of human traffickers have built regional routes. Various reports highlight a large number of intersecting trafficking routes, not only from Myanmar to host States, but also among host States. Traffickers exploit the vulnerabilities as well as the dissimilar treatment of Rohingyas in host States by offering false hopes of positive treatment in another State, leading them to undertake treacherous onward journeys. As a result, the trafficking of Rohingyas, under false promises of marriage or employment opportunities or better standard of living, is rampant. Addressing cross-border trafficking necessitates regional coordination as it allows States to monitor trafficking channels and key operators. Moreover, uniformly upholding basic human rights standards will reduce the need for Rohingyas to take on onward movement.
Durable Solutions
There is a call for repatriation from both the Host States and the Rohingya community. Recent developments around repatriation include a pilot project between Bangladesh and Myanmar to repatriate around 1000 Rohingyas. But voluntary, sustainable, safe, and dignified repatriation remains a pipe dream. Repatriation as a legitimate durable solution requires accountability from Myanmar, meaningful participation of Rohingyas and, lastly, a guarantee of safety in Myanmar.
An international and regional coordinated response will alleviate pressures on host States and have the highest chances of preventing a similar crisis in the future. Until then, Rohingyas are only presented with the option of integration in host States and resettlement in third countries. In reality though, integration or resettlement of almost one million Rohingyas suffers additional challenges presented by lack of resources or that of political will. Both require third party countries and other relevant stakeholders to share responsibility. Third party resettlement further should not be limited to Rohingyas from a specific State, and must include holistic and equitable considerations of the economic and demographic capacities of all host States.
A Call for Cooperation
A majority of Rohingyas are hosted by low and middle-income countries that have their own economic and development challenges. Given this reality, it is unfair to hold any developing nations in the South Asian and the Southeast Asian region entirely accountable for refugee protection. UNHCR’s Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) acknowledges this disparity and notes that countries hosting refugees make an “immense contribution from their own limited resources” [See Paragraph 14, Chapter III]. On this basis, the GCR advocates principles of equitable responsibility sharing among third party countries, international organizations, and other relevant stakeholders. It also prioritizes building the overall capacity of States and host communities to cope with large scale refugee situations.
GCR provides a potential avenue to mobilize support and cooperation for Rohingya refugees in the South Asian and Southeast Asian region. Its core objectives of easing pressure on host States, enhancing refugee self-reliance, expanding access to third country solutions and supporting conditions for return with safety and dignity perfectly align with current and future needs of the Rohingya population.
In particular, under the GCR, host countrie/s can request the activation of “Support Platforms” to address protracted refugee situations where host States require additional support from the international community. Support can be in the form of financial and material aid, or even technical expertise for strengthening humanitarian responses. These Platforms also allow for a high degree of ownership and flexibility for host States to identify specific needs and curate comprehensive action plans in response. Examples include Support Platforms created to address the forced displacement in Central America and Mexico, and to address the Afghan refugee crisis.
Host States in the South Asian and the Southeast Asian region should request the creation of a similar Support Platform to coordinate a regional response for the Rohingya refugee crisis. The Support Platform will allow coordination among various stakeholders and serve as a focal point platform to advance partnerships among States, international organizations, financial institutions, civil societies, and academics. Concerns like trafficking and durable solutions, that necessitate a regional approach and the involvement of humanitarian agencies, will directly benefit from such a multi-stakeholder and partnership approach.
It will allow the States in the region to streamline funding towards humanitarian aid, and to equitably distribute the funding according to national and local needs. Based on the current needs of both host States and the Rohingya refugees, funding is needed to address protection, education, livelihood, health, amongst many other concerns, to eventually promote self-reliance amongst Rohingya refugees. Simultaneously, host States will also get the opportunity to strengthen their capacity to mitigate the impact of the refugee crisis on the host community. Easing the burden on host States in the region could also halt the ongoing premature discussions on repatriation. The Global Refugee Forum (GRF), organised under the GCR framework, provides States, international and regional organisations, financial institutions, civil society and other stakeholders, an opportunity to enable responsibility sharing and contribute financial support, technical expertise and policy changes. In GRF 2019, for example, relevant States, including Iran and Pakistan, launched a Support Platform to mobilise aid for the Afghan refugee situation. The upcoming GRF in December 2023 similarly is an opportune moment to activate a Support Platform for the Rohingya refugee crisis. It could be crucial to garner the required global and regional coordination to ensure that Rohingyas refugees do not lose yet another half a decade to statelessness and uncertainty..."
Source/publisher:
Opinio Juris
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-27
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Myanmar: Military targets civilians in Sagaing region and southern Shan state
Incidents of violence targeting civilians by state forces increased in March compared to the previous month. In Sagaing region, a column composed of Light Infantry Division 99 troops, which has come to be known as the ‘Ogre Column,’ carried out a number of civilian killings as it made its way across the region. Several civilians were reportedly killed following a raid on Tar Taing village in Sagaing township early in the month. A few weeks after the violence in Tar Taing, on 19 March, coup leader Min Aung Hlaing visited the Northwestern Regional Command base in Monywa.1 The military’s campaign of violence in the region falls under the Northwestern Regional Command.2 Meanwhile, as fighting between the military and resistance forces intensified in Kayah and southern Shan states, resistance groups reported that the military had killed dozens of people in Nan Neint village in southern Shan state.3
Afghanistan: Political violence involving the Islamic State increases
The Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan was reportedly involved in at least twelve political violence events in March, marking a fourfold increase compared to the previous month. Over the past months, IS has targeted Taliban officials amid ongoing Taliban operations against the group. On 27 March, a IS suicide bomber reportedly killed six employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This marked the second attack on the ministry in 2023. Earlier in the month, the Balkh governor was killed in an IS suicide bombing. In addition to IS targeting Taliban officials, on 11 March, IS also targeted journalists in a bomb attack on a ceremony honoring journalists in Mazar-e-Sharif city in Balkh province. IS claimed they carried out the attack against journalists for their involvement in the “war and instigation against IS.”4
Pakistan: PTI-led demonstrations spike as Imran Khan faces corruption case
Supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chairman and former Prime Minister Imran Khan took to the streets across Pakistan in March against attempts to arrest Khan over non-compliance with a court summons in a corruption case. Outside Khan’s residence in Lahore, hundreds of his supporters threw stones and petrol bombs at police to thwart his arrest.5 On 18 March, Khan arrived in Islamabad for a court hearing amid clashes between PTI activists and police outside the judicial complex. In his absence, police entered and searched his residence in Lahore, clashing with PTI activists present at the site.6 Pakistan police have arrested hundreds of PTI activists for violence during the demonstrations.7 Khan has dismissed the corruption allegations as being politically motivated and has reiterated concerns about his personal safety following an assassination attempt last year. The latest developments come amid ongoing demonstrations by the PTI demanding early national elections, which are currently scheduled for later this year.8
Bangladesh: Rohingya refugees subject to increasing violence
Rohingya refugees continue to be the target of increasing violence in Bangladesh. While this violence is underreported, several refugees were killed by unidentified assailants in at least eight distinct attacks in Cox’s Bazar in March. The attacks come amid ongoing tensions between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization, rival armed Rohingya groups active in the camps. Earlier in the month, the two groups clashed. A subsequent fire in one of the refugee camps, which left thousands homeless, was thought to stem from this conflict.9
Philippines: Negros Oriental governor killed amid ongoing targeting of local administrators
On 4 March, nine people were reportedly killed when unidentified assailants targeted Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo, killing him along with a barangay chairman, barangay councilor, and six other civilians. The attack took place at the governor’s home in Barangay San Isidro in Pamplona, Negros Oriental. The killing came a month after the Supreme Court declared Degamo the winner of the governorship over his rival, Pryde Henry Teves, who was initially declared the winner.10 The Department of Justice is investigating Teves’s brother, a congressman, for allegedly orchestrating the attack. Following the governor’s killing, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for a crackdown on illegal firearms and private armies. Since the beginning of the year, ACLED has recorded dozens of attacks on local administrators in the Philippines..."
Source/publisher:
Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-06
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Human Rights and international relations, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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The International Criminal Court will always be seen as a selective tool unless states agree to decide cases on need.
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"The International Criminal Court has sent a strong message to Russia’s government and beyond that war crimes should – and sometimes can – be prosecuted by issuing two arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova. The warrants underscore the significant geopolitical support for Ukraine, backed up by international funding commitments towards both the conflict and accountability initiatives.
Notably, however, this support is devastatingly lacking for the Rohingya people of Myanmar, almost six years after systematic “clearance operations” left scores dead and drove hundreds of thousands from the country into neighbouring Bangladesh. The warrants against Russia raise fresh questions about the selectivity of global justice processes, which ICC member states including Australia can respond to.
The situation of the Rohingya has been under preliminary examination and investigation at the ICC since 2018 (alongside a separate case at the International Court of Justice concerning whether the military violence amounted to genocide).
The ICC Prosecutor was quick to issue a clear warning against committing crimes in Ukraine. No similarly strong ICC public statements have been forthcoming concerning Myanmar.
By contrast, after Russia’s expanded invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the ICC Prosecutor announced an ICC investigation into alleged crimes in Ukraine in March, a month after the attack. It may seem like a long time to have only now issued arrest warrants, but appears at least three years faster than the ICC proceedings about Bangladesh and Myanmar, for which none has been announced. (What remains unknown is whether “secret” sealed warrants are outstanding concerning Myanmar.)
The ICC Prosecutor was also quick to issue a clear warning against committing crimes in Ukraine. No similarly strong ICC public statements have been forthcoming concerning Myanmar. Nor has there been the same level of public support for prosecutions from other states. This is a concern, particularly since there is a view that prosecutions, arrest warrants, and statements from the ICC Prosecutor could have a deterring and preventive impact, especially during an active conflict.
Warrants are only granted where the Prosecutor can show that there are “reasonable grounds” (i.e., sufficient evidence) to believe the person has committed the alleged crime, and that arrest is “necessary” to, among other things, prevent obstruction of proceedings, including investigation, or prevent continuation of a particular crime.
At least from the outside, this should be the case for Myanmar. There is substantial information on the crimes alleged; the dedicated UN Fact-Finding Mission concluded in an August 2018 report that the Myanmar military “committed what amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity” and an Independent Investigative Mechanism continues to capture and collect potential evidence on international crimes. Some of the same Myanmar military leadership likely under investigation at the ICC have been linked to further allegations of ongoing international crimes across the country since the 2021 coup.
The ICC does not have its own police force, but state parties to the court are legally obligated to cooperate if a suspect enters their jurisdiction. The ICC also relies on states to fund its operations. Limited funding means that difficult decisions regarding prioritisation must be made – for example, for crimes allegedly committed by US forces in Afghanistan – partly “in light of the resources available”.
At the time of writing, 43 state parties (nearly one-third of all signatories to the Rome Statute, the treaty basis for the court), and mostly albeit not exclusively from the “Global North”, had referred the Ukraine situation to the court. On the day the arrest warrants were issued, the ICC announced an agreement to establish an office in Ukraine. Much-needed funding contributions to the court increased dramatically following the opening of investigations and now again in the wake of the arrest warrants.
There has been no such coordinated push on Myanmar, despite the gravity of the crimes alleged and the ongoing allegations of atrocities following the 2021 coup. An ICC office has not opened in Bangladesh, leaving Rohingya communities even further removed from the distant Europe-based ICC.
It is true that funds are not formally “earmarked” for Ukraine, however it would be reasonable if state support played a role in the court’s speed. This is because – although not explicitly listed in the office of the prosecutor’s policy paper on the “interests of justice” and referenced only briefly in its paper on case selection – the likelihood of “success” and use of available resources are relevant to any case prioritisation. Supportive states increase both the likelihood of an arrest warrant being “actioned” and the resources available to the court.
It is understandable that ICC personnel may consider it challenging to arrest alleged perpetrators in Myanmar, who are subject to significant travel and financial sanctions and appear unlikely to travel to ICC member states soon. That said, neither are Putin and Lvova-Belova.
Clearly, the geopolitical situation is different for Ukraine. Ukraine also appears to be strongly cooperating with the ICC. The ICC has faced barriers, including with resourcing and Covid-19 when it comes to visiting Bangladesh. Still, without greater state support for accountability in situations such as Myanmar and elsewhere, questions of the court’s potential selectivity will persist.
The cooperation much of the world is demonstrating on Ukraine is what it takes to pursue international justice. Victims everywhere – the Rohingya and others – deserve the same.
The views expressed represent the opinions of the authors and not those of any institutions or organisations with which they may be affiliated..."
Source/publisher:
The Interpreter
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-06
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Criminal Court (Myanmar), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Sub-title:
Repatriation to Myanmar Under Military Junta Threatens Lives, Freedoms
Description:
"(Bangkok) – Bangladesh authorities should suspend plans to send Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, where their lives and liberty would be at grave risk, Human Rights Watch said today.
Rohingya told Human Rights Watch that they were lied to, deceived, or otherwise coerced by Bangladesh administrators into meeting with a recent delegation of Myanmar junta officials as part of a “pilot repatriation” effort to return about 1,000 refugees. Some were told the meetings concerned possible resettlement to a third country.
“Voluntary, safe, and dignified returns of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar are not possible while the military junta is carrying out massacres around the country and apartheid in Rakhine State,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Bangladesh authorities should stop deceiving these refugees to get them to engage with junta officials when it’s clear that Rohingya will only be able to return safely when rights-respecting rule is established.”
Conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State have not been conducive to voluntary, safe, or dignified returns of Rohingya refugees since 2017, when more than 730,000 Rohingya fled the Myanmar military’s crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. The prospect of durable returns has grown ever more distant since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, carried out by the same generals who orchestrated the 2017 mass atrocities.
Bangladesh has appropriately not compelled these refugees to return and should continue that policy with the support of international donors, Human Rights Watch said.
A delegation of 17 Myanmar junta officials visited the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh, which house about one million Rohingya refugees, from March 15-22, 2023. The officials interviewed 449 Rohingya from 149 families in the Teknaf camps for “verification” for the pilot repatriation process, media reported. A junta official told Agence France-Presse that the pilot program could start as early as mid-April.
Human Rights Watch spoke with 15 Rohingya about their verification interviews. Not one said that they had been informed in advance that they would be meeting with junta officials about being returned to Myanmar. All 15 said they had been interviewed several times by Bangladesh authorities over the past two years, but had never been told that their names were listed for possible return.
“I wasn’t informed that I would be interviewed by the Myanmar delegation,” said a Rohingya man interviewed by junta officials on March 15 along with 10 family members. “I was called beforehand by the camp-in-charge [CiC, a Bangladesh official], who told me to be present on the interview date at my shelter. When I asked why, he said I would be interviewed for the opportunity to go abroad for resettlement. I never realized it was a Myanmar delegation I was going to meet, or that it was about repatriation.”
He said that the CiC had threatened him: “He said that if we weren’t present for the interview, we’d be forced by the police to appear. So, I doubted that it was about resettlement options, and worried it was about repatriation instead.”
A majhi (Rohingya community leader) who was interviewed by the delegation on March 21 said that he was also not informed about the reason for the interview or those that preceded it, and was similarly threatened by Bangladeshi officials with police intervention when he resisted.
“Even as majhis, we were not told why we were being called several times by the CiC office to give family information,” he said. “They gave us false hope that a group was coming to meet us for an opportunity to resettle. From my block, my family and another family’s names appeared on the list. When we found out that it was the Myanmar delegation we had to meet, we tried to oppose it, but the authorities here threatened us. Some families from other camps fled their shelters fearing they’d be forced to return.”
Two prior repatriation attempts undertaken in November 2018 and August 2019 failed, with Rohingya refugees unwilling to return due to the ongoing persecution and abuse in Myanmar. In January 2022, the Bangladesh government and Myanmar junta renewed discussions around repatriation, announcing joint plans to “expeditiously complete the verification process.” While Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul has declared that “early repatriation” is a top priority, he told BenarNews in March 2023 that Bangladesh would not force refugees to return to Myanmar.
Bangladesh officials reported that the 449 Rohingya were interviewed to verify their identities and places of origin, joining a list of over 700 refugees already confirmed for the pilot repatriation.
A Rohingya woman interviewed on March 15 with her newborn baby and six other family members said, “They were asking for family information and where we lived when we were in Rakhine. They filled up about four to five pages of documents. We weren’t shown what was written on them. Then they took our thumbprints.” Rohingya interviewed on the first day were required to provide thumbprints, which was reportedly stopped after community leaders raised concerns with the Bangladesh authorities.
About 600,000 Rohingya remain in Rakhine State under the junta’s oppressive rule, facing systematic abuses that amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. The junta has imposed new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages, increasing water scarcity and food shortages, along with disease and malnutrition. Since the 2021 coup, security forces have arrested thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children for “unauthorized travel.”
The refugees said that the junta officials asked them about their relatives in Rakhine State. “My family members who are still in Rakhine live in fear of persecution by the military or insurgent groups,” a Rohingya man interviewed by the delegation on March 16 said. “Now, if they end up in trouble because of me, who will protect them?”
Rohingya refugees have consistently said that they want to go home, but only when their security, access to land and livelihoods, freedom of movement, and citizenship rights can be ensured.
The refugees said the delegation refused to answer any questions about whether their land would be returned or if they would be granted citizenship and other rights and freedoms. “If they really wanted to take us back, they wouldn’t hesitate to answer any of our questions and ensure our rights,” said another camp majhi interviewed by the delegation. “They only want to take us back to Rakhine because they’re under pressure. We know they won’t let us go back to our land, they’ll put us in that camp settlement forever. We’ll only go back when they publicly commit to giving us the same rights as citizens in Myanmar and getting our land and properties back.”
In early March, junta officials took several diplomats to Rakhine State’s Maungdaw township to visit the Nga Khu Ya reception center and Hla Poe Kaung transit camp. The camps, built on Rohingya land in 2018 to process and house returnees, are surrounded by barbed-wire perimeter fences and security outposts.
Junta officials have also been visiting Rakhine in preparation for their submission to the International Court of Justice, due by April 24, in the Genocide Convention case brought by Gambia. Activists and refugees allege that the pilot repatriation project is part of broader junta efforts to feign progress in its treatment of the Rohingya to the court.
The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, provided unmarked UN boats to transport the junta delegation to Cox’s Bazar. In response to criticism, UNHCR said that while it is not involved in the pilot repatriation discussions, it “supports efforts that could lead to the verification of all refugees and pave the way for eventual return,” which in this case included “providing logistical support to members of the Myanmar delegation to cross into Bangladesh for the technical verification process.” UNHCR did assert that “conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are currently not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees.”
Fully informed and voluntary returns depend, among other key factors, on providing refugees with objective and accurate information about conditions in areas of origin. UNHCR should not be providing logistical support to officials operating under the same military leaders who oversaw the grave crimes the Rohingya fled, in service of a repatriation plan that contravenes international standards, Human Rights Watch said.
Since 2017, the Bangladesh government has respected the international principle of nonrefoulement, the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. But Bangladesh authorities have also been intensifying restrictions on livelihoods, movement, and education that compound refugees’ vulnerability and dependence on aid and appear designed to coerce refugees into considering returning to Myanmar. Bangladesh should formalize and expand education and employment opportunities to bolster Rohingya’s self-reliance for their eventual return or resettlement.
“For future returns to be truly voluntary, the Bangladesh authorities need to allow Rohingya to live freely, without enforcing pressures pushing them to go back,” Ganguly said. “Donors should increase support for a more sustainable life for Rohingya today, which will help them develop the skills and independence needed for the day when safe returns are possible.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-31
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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In 2018, Bob Rae, special envoy to Myanmar, recommended Canada welcome Rohingya refugees. Yet, Ukraine has become more of a priority.
Description:
"In 2017, an estimated 770,000 Rohingya were driven from their homeland, escaping from the Myanmar military campaign of mass killing, rape and systematic arson. People fled across the border to Bangladesh and now inhabit the world’s largest refugee camp, enduring militancy, poverty, and intolerable and dangerous conditions. While these refugees have been allowed to remain, their Bangladeshi hosts increasingly view them as “a big burden.”
Yet Rohingya genocide survivors have little chance of returning to Myanmar, where the military that slaughtered their people consolidated its power with a coup in February 2021. Almost six years after their exodus from their homeland, Rohingya refugees exist in a “suspended state” between global indifference and local hostility. In such dire circumstances, Canada should do more to assist one million Rohingya genocide survivors trapped in a cruel limbo.
This is not just geopolitics; this is my life. I remember vividly the day I was resettled from a camp in Bangladesh to Canada in August 2021. Landing at Toronto Pearson International Airport, I felt welcomed in a country for the first time. A woman at the immigration desk greeted me with a soothing smile and a genuine “Welcome to Canada.” In my country of birth, there were no such pleasantries. As a Rohingya, officials deemed me an “illegal immigrant” from the outset, despite the centuries of Rohingya existence in Myanmar.
Rohingya refugees are an untapped source for Canada’s workforce
A key moment to help the Rohingya for the long term
In Canada, I quickly connected with a community of around 1,000 Rohingya who have made this country their new home since 2016. I met men and women who are making valuable contributions to Canada by working in factories and volunteering for civic organizations. Their children are attending local schools and universities.
These people, and now my family and I, are living the dream of one million Rohingya still confined against their will either in the ongoing genocide in Myanmar or who have escaped to the harsh life in Bangladesh’s refugee camps. Perhaps the phrase “breathing the air of freedom” may sound like a cliché, but it rings true for a genocide survivor like me.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Canada opened the door for more than 132,000 Ukrainian nationals without hesitation, creating new pathways for those fleeing an uncertain future. While this humanitarian act is laudable, it’s difficult to not worry about those genocide survivors in Bangladesh who are still suffering. Canada needs to embrace a similar open-door policy for them.
I cannot shake what I endured and witnessed during the four years I was a refugee in Bangladesh. There are Rohingya families living in cramped tarpaulin shelters trying to survive on World Food Program rations, which a funding shortfall has recently reduced further.
Human Rights Watch has documented extortion, detention and other human rights violations against Rohingya refugees by Bangladeshi police in those camps, and the Bangladeshi government coercively relocated tens of thousands of them to a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal. A massive fire on March 5, 2023, burnt thousands of Rohingya shelters, making thousands of them homeless within a refugee camp in Bangladesh.
The camps are simply not safe, leading thousands to escape Bangladesh by boat. Hundreds have now died or are missing at the Andaman Sea. Given such a situation, the refugees’ best hope lies in resettlement in countries where brute force, exploitation and hopelessness are not the norm.
Canada has acknowledged Myanmar’s genocide of Rohingya people. In April 2018, Bob Rae, who served as special envoy to Myanmar, recommended in his final report that “a fundamental principle of Canada’s approach to the Rohingya crisis should be that we listen to the voice of the Rohingya themselves. This principle should guide our actions and inform our advocacy.”
The Rohingya community in Canada is hoping that the federal government will open the country’s arms and doors to the survivors of genocide, both those living in Myanmar and those currently enduring deplorable conditions in refugee camps elsewhere.
Canada’s response to Rohingya crisis falls short
Canada can help with the Rohingyas’ legal needs
The incredible response to the war in Ukraine shows how wide Canada can open its doors to refugees. But it is hard not to think of the Rohingya genocide survivors who have not received the same human rights protections. This is not to take away from the generosity shown to Ukrainians, but rather to assert the importance of those who continue to face harrowing conditions elsewhere.
There are concrete steps that Canada can take for those one million Rohingya genocide survivors including establishing a Rohingya Working Group within the Government of Canada as recommended in Rae’s final report and immediately extending a commitment to resettle up to 10,000 of them from Bangladesh. Adversity is indiscriminate; it does not distinguish between Ukrainians or Rohingya. Neither should Canada..."
Source/publisher:
Policy Options
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-31
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Newly released figures have revealed that the British government has cut aid to around one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh by a staggering 82%. The majority of these refugees are children.
Burma Campaign UK is calling on Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to urgently reverse the cuts and provide life-saving aid to Rohingya children.
British aid to Rohingya refugees has been reduced from £112.36 million in 2019-2020 to just £20.26 million in 2022-2023.
The UK government has not pledged any funding for the 2023 Rohingya Joint Response Plan. The US, Japan, Germany, the EU and Luxembourg has.
The World Food Program announced in February that they were cutting the food provisions to all refugees in the camps by 17%. More cuts are expected to follow if cuts in aid are not reversed.
According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tom Andrews, 45% of all Rohingya families in the camps are living with insufficient diets, 51% of Rohingya children and 41% of pregnant and breastfeeding women are anemic, and 40% of children are suffering from stunted growth because of lack of nutrition.
“To make such deep cuts in support to hundreds of thousands of children who are completely dependent on aid is indefensible”, said Karin Valtersson, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “Once children are stunted from malnutrition it is irreversible, they will suffer from health problems the rest of their lives. James Cleverly has done the right thing in imposing sanctions to cut off revenue to the military but now he is cutting off life-saving aid to the victims of the Burmese military as well.”
The decreased funding for Rohingya refugees was set out in an answer to a written Parliamentary Question by Preet Kaur Gill MP. The government also announced £5.26 million in additional funding during Foreign Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan’s visit to Cox’s Bazar in March 2023.
In another answer to a Written Parliamentary Question, asked by the Bishop of Southwark, Lord Ahmad, Foreign Office Minister, confirmed that only £8,8 million had been spent on food aid during 2022.
Around one million people live in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the vast majority of whom arrived during the genocidal military offensives by the Burmese military in 2016 and 2017. The attempted military coup in Burma on 1 February 2021 has made the return of Rohingya refugees to Burma an even more distant prospect.
Because of the increasingly desperate situation for Rohingya, both in Bangladesh and Burma, thousands tried to flee by boat last year. At least 348 died or went missing at sea. Further aid cuts will push more Rohingya to risk these dangerous journeys.
The new UN appeal for funding for the coming year, known as the 2023 Rohingya Joint Response Plan, requires $876 million. In previous years, the British government has announced levels of funding during their statement to the Joint Response Plan, but this year’s statement, on 7 March, included no financial pledges.
“The British government ignored warnings about the impending genocide of the Rohingya and took no action to try to prevent it. Now they are failing the Rohingya again by making savages cuts in the aid they receive,” said Karin Valtersson.
Burma Campaign UK is asking supporters to write to the Foreign Secretary, calling on him to reverse cuts to aid and not to abandon Rohingya refugees..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"The National Unity Government (NUG) extends its deepest sympathy and solidarity to the Rohingya families affected by the massive fire on Sunday, March 6, 2023, at Camp 11 in Cox's Bazar. We will be coordinating with UNHCR, international partners, and local Rohingya organizations to extend assistance to the affected families.
While we respond to short-term needs in times of the Rohingya refugees, the NUG recognized the need for a long-term solution to end their suffering and facilitate their safe and sustainable return to their homeland in Myanmar. However, the only way to realize a long-term political solution is to eliminate military dictatorship, restore stability and democratic civilian rule in Myanmar. The NUG reiterates its commitment to implementing its Policy Position on the Rohingya in Rakhine State, published on June 3, 2021, as an integral part of our roadmap to building an inclusive and people-centered federal democratic union..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Myanmar - NUG
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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National Unity Government (NUG), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် ၂၀၂၃ ခုနှစ် မတ်လ ၆ ရက်၊ တနင်္ဂနွေနေ့က Cox’s Bazar တွင် ဖြစ်ပွားခဲ့သော မီးလောင်ကျွမ်းမှုကြောင့် ထိခိုက်ခံစားခဲ့ကြရသည့် ရိုဟင်ဂျာအိမ်ထောင်စုများအတွက် အနက်ရှိုင်းဆုံးစာနာမှုနှင့် စည်းလုံးညီညွတ်မှုတို့ကို ဖော်ပြအပ်ပါသည်။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့အနေဖြင့် UNHCR၊ နိုင်ငံတကာမိတ်ဖက်များ၊ ဒေသခံရိုဟင်ဂျာအဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့်အတူ ထိခိုက်ခံစားခဲ့ရသော အိမ်ထောင်စုများအတွက် အကူအညီများပေးနိုင်ရေး ညှိနှိုင်းဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဖြစ်သည်။
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအနေဖြင့် ရိုဟင်ဂျာဒုက္ခသည်များအတွက် ရေတိုလိုအပ်ချက်များကို ဖြည့်ဆည်းနိုင်ရေးကြိုးပမ်းဆောင်ရွက်နေစဉ်တွင် ၎င်းတို့၏ ဆင်းရဲဒုက္ခများကို အဆုံးသတ်နိုင်ရန်နှင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ ၎င်းတို့၏ နေရပ်များသို့ ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံ၍ ရေရှည်တည်တံ့သောနည်းလမ်းဖြင့် ပြန်လည်နေထိုင်နိုင်ရေးအား ကူညီဆောင်ရွက်ပေးနိုင်ရန်တို့အတွက် ရေရှည်ဖြေရှင်းနည်းတစ်ခုကို လိုအပ်ကြောင်း အသိအမှတ်ပြု လက်ခံပါသည်။ သို့သော်လည်း ရေရှည်နိုင်ငံရေးအဖြေရရှိနိုင်မည့် တစ်ခုတည်းသောနည်းလမ်းမှာ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတွင် စစ်အာဏာရှင်ချုပ်ငြိမ်းပပျောက်ရေး၊ တည်ငြိမ် အေးချမ်းမှုနှင့် ဒီမိုကရေစီအရပ်ဘက်အုပ်ချုပ်မှု ပြန်လည်ရရှိရေးပင် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရအနေဖြင့် အားလုံးပါဝင်သည့် ပြည်သူကိုဗဟိုပြုသော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီ ပြည်ထောင်စု တည်ဆောက်ရေးလမ်းပြမြေပုံ၏ အဓိကအစိတ်အပိုင်းတစ်ရပ်အဖြစ် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် ဇွန်လ ၃ ရက်နေ့တွင် ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့သည့် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများနှင့်ပတ်သက်သည့် မူဝါဒ ရပ်တည်ချက်ကို အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ဆောင်သွားမည်ဖြစ်ကြောင်း ထပ်လောင်း၍ ကတိပြုအပ် ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Myanmar - NUG
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"COX'S BAZAR, 5 March – Responding to the news that a massive fire swept across three Rohingya refugee camps Sunday afternoon in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, destroying several Save the Children facilities, Onno van Manen, Save the Children's Country Director in Bangladesh, said:
"Just days after the World Food Programme announced it has been forced to cut food aid due to funding shortages, this devastating blaze is another tragedy to hit the Rohingya people who have endured unspeakable hardship for years.
"Today's massive fire will have robbed many families of their safety and what little belongings they have left. This tragedy stands as another ghastly reminder that children stuck in the camps in Cox's Bazar face a bleak future. After nearly six years, they continue to grapple with inadequate education, concerning levels of malnutrition, stunting, child marriage and child labour. Despite relentless efforts of the humanitarian community, a refugee camp is no place for a child to grow up.
"As the international community gathers in Geneva this week, they must not shirk their responsibility to do more to protect Rohingya refugees. They must fully fund the humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis, which is woefully underfunded. Food has already been reduced, maintenance and repairs have been neglected and without adequate funding, it is likely a catastrophe will unfold impacting refugees, the host community, Bangladesh and the region."
Note to editors: Save the Children's teams are currently assessing the situation and ready to respond with emergency shelter, education, health and other essential services in coordination with other humanitarian organisations..."
Source/publisher:
Save the Children (London)
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-05
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Children's rights: resources and organisations
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"On February 1st marked two years since the Military Junta known as Tatmadaw took over the power in Myanmar orchestrating a coup which removed the incumbent National League for Democracy ( NLD) government. Ever since the coup, massive protest erupted in parts of the country. The economy shrank by nearly 20 percent wiping out modest poverty reduction made over the past decade. In addition, millions of people are facing hunger and thousands of people feeling the nation to bordering countries, rendering the country on the verge of becoming a failed state. Amidst the chaos, the chances of finding a peaceful resolution to Rohingya Crisis is alarmingly getting slimmer.
The exiled lawmakers and activists of NLD government toppled by the State Administration Council- the Junta officially called as, established a parallel government known as the National Unity Government (NUG). In September of that year, the NUG declared war on the junta and formed an armed division known as the People’s Defence Force. This ushered a brutal struggle between the army and civilian sect. The Junta has put up resistance at multiple fronts rendering it anguished to uphold its power.
Military Regime and streams of hostilities
If we examine the trail of Myanmar’s political history, it has always been ruled by a military junta ever since its independence from the British colonial rule in 1948. Asia analyst Ayesha Siddiqa, a senior fellow in the Department of Military Studies at King’s College London, says that shortly after independence, the country began a civil war between ethnic groups with a Burmese majority. At that time, the military entered politics in the name of security and in the absence of strong political institutions.
“From the beginning, the Burmese army got involved in politics because there were divisions in the society. Disputes over the distribution of resources and the lack of strong political institutions. That’s how they became increasingly powerful in politics, and began to control it,” she said.
General Ne Win led a military coup in 1962 and in 1974 instituted a new constitution based on an isolationist foreign policy and a socialist economic program that nationalized Burma’s major enterprises. This led to a deteriorating economic situation, black-market economy and wide spread corruption. This led to a massive protest in 1988 which ended in brutal military crackdown. In addition to economic turmoil, Myanmar’s government faced admonishments for lack of inclusion and representation of ethnic minorities. Namely the confrontation between the majority Bamar and non-Bamar population is behind the root of Rohingya Crisis.
Stripping the Rohingya’s of their rights
The formulation of the 1974 constitution stripped the rights of minorities and favoured the majority Bamar population. The first large scale Rohingya displacement began in 1978 when 200,000 people fled to Bangladesh, however, Myanmar later took them back in the face of western pressure. Finally, the 1982 citizenship law put the last nail in the coffin of Rohingya community’s any hope of gaining rights. The citizenship law proclaimed that people who were settled before the Anglo-Burmese War of 1824 were legally Burmese citizens. Although, there is strong evidence which supports that Rohingyas have been living in Mynmar prior to the war. The significant point about the present-day Rakhine is that Arakan had once been an independent state that had been taken over by the Konbaung rulers in 1785.
Attempts have been taken to change the demographic of the Arakan population with that of the Bamar populace, and subsequent settlement have been successful. Presently, the Arakan Army consisting of Bamar and local ethnic groups are embroiled in an armed conflict with the Junta demanding autonomy.
The politics of Arakan
Since the advent of the coup, the Junta had shot live ammunition and massacred villages believed to be supporters of the opposition. At least 1,500 people have been killed by the military, estimated by the Thailand-based nonprofit Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). By late 2021, the junta has arrested more than eight thousand people, including journalists, medical workers, and NLD politicians. By January 2022, clashes between the People’s Defence Force and the military spread across the country, reported by analysts.
The Junta is increasingly getting wedged from having to put up with multiple fronts of resistance. This has been evident as the Junta agreed on a ceasefire with the Arakan Army. Founded in Kachin State in 2009, Arakan Army has witnessed a rapid rise. It has currently 30,000 active fighters, the largest among other militia groups.
Previously, AA was against the rights of the Rohingya’s, in recent times its mother organization United League for Arakan (ULA) and its spokespeople have called for a peaceful repatriation of Rohingya Crisis. AA can benefit from incorporating the armed militia sect of Rohingya and increase its members.
Future of Rohingya repatriation
Bangladesh government has had to face tough times diplomatically in the face of Junta’s unhinged tactics to preserving its power. However, close association with the rebel groups can also backfire as it is still the Tatmadaw which holds the last say in foreign policy. Between the politics of Arakan and non-cooperation from the military regime, major international players must intervene to ensure a conducive environment for Rohingya repatriation.
The presence of major geopolitical actors in the region play a significant role in peaceful solution of Rohingya Crisis. From a realist perspective, China and India have their own self-interest in relation with Mynmar, hence, Bangladesh must carefully juggle with the major powers’ interest as well as maintain cooperative relations with Mynmar in order to assure conducive environment for Rohingya repatriation. Recently the BURMA Act adopted by the United States has put sanctions and restrictions to the Junta regime. If Rohingya repatriation is to be realized, Bangladesh must work in multiple fronts with the regime and shadow government as well as the great powers to ensure it ensures a smooth sailing to the burning crisis..."
Source/publisher:
Modern Diplomacy
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-27
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"A settlement of around 3,000 Rohingya refugees on the zero-line of the Myanmar-Bangladesh border was burnt last month amid the firing between the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) and the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Members of about 558 families lost their temporary shelters and fled inside Bangladesh. Bangladesh government has taken initiative to relocate these stranded people, of whom two-thirds are already registered under different camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf, while the rest are unregistered. As a part of the relocation process, at least 180 Rohingyas from 35 families were taken to a transit camp in Ukhiya’s Kutupalong.
Tension continued to escalate in the Rohingya camps. Various armed organizations are involved in building reigns of terror around the Rohingya camps. Clashes between different groups, killings, rapes and abductions are regular incidents, which have created fear among the people throughout the camp. Amid rising tensions across the border, Myanmar has stepped up the repatriation of their nationals to their homeland in Arakan.
In the meantime, local media reported that on February 5, Junta leaders, including International Cooperation Minister U Ko Ko Hlaing, Border Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Tun Tun Naung, Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr Thet Thet Khaing and Immigration and Population Minister U Myint Kyaing, visited Maungdaw on the Bangladesh border and instructed the authorities to prepare transit camps for repatriation. Since the military’s taking over power in 2020, this is the biggest step forward for Rohingya repatriation..."
Source/publisher:
"Daily Times"
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"The largest refugee exodus from Rakhine occurred over five years ago, in August 2017. Ever since, international policies for the Rohingya have insisted on voluntary repatriation to Myanmar as the solution for what was then one million and is now 1.1 million refugees living in and around Cox’s Bazaar.
In 2017-2018, Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh became home to the biggest refugee camps in the world. Much ink was then spilled over how much blame should be apportioned to the Tatmadaw and how much to Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD government. Since then, there has been the COVID epidemic and the February 1, 2021 coup in Myanmar, and the issue has faded from the international press. And very quietly, at least 100,000 new refugees were added to the camp population due to a surging birth rate.
But in global terms, what was once the most important refugee crisis in the world was exceeded by the millions leaving Syria, Venezuela, and Ukraine, and who have been accepted albeit begrudgingly into societies of the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America. And still, the policy of the international community for the Rohingya is that all must repatriate to Myanmar as soon as possible.
A repatriation policy, even before the 2021 coup, was foolish. Mass repatriation would have further victimized the Rohingya and destabilized Rakhine, even before the Tatmadaw sent the NLD government into prison, exile, and revolt after February 1, 2021. The reaction to a mass repatriation would destabilize the border region in a way that risks direct confrontation between the Burmese and Bangladesh militaries. So it is a good thing that the refugees have not yet returned.
Nevertheless, the international community continues with its argument for mass voluntary repatriation to Myanmar, pointing out, accurately, that Myanmar’s military governments perpetrated the expulsions in the first place, so justice demands that they restore Rohingya rights. This is true in a legalistic sense, but given the political situation in Rakhine in particular, it is foolish. The Rohingya situation still contains the seeds for further humanitarian catastrophe.....Dangers in Cox’s Bazaar....To continue claiming that the Cox’s Bazaar refugee camps are the biggest in the world seems quaint in the context of refugee exoduses from Ukraine, Venezuela, and Syria. Oddly enough, these three crises, which involve vastly more refugees than the Rohingya situation, are dealt with better by the international community.
In large part this is because Europe accepts the Ukrainian refugees as a regional problem; Latin America accepts the Venezuelans as a regional problem; and the Middle East and Europe (especially Turkey) accept the Syrian exodus as a regional problem. This means that many refugees get relief supplies from the international community, labor markets support others, and integration programs where refugees seek work until they can return voluntarily to their home country are common. This strains the capacity of countries like Turkey, Germany, and Colombia to protect refugees.
In contrast, the Rohingya crisis is seen as a Bangladeshi and Myanmar problem, which permits other South Asian and ASEAN countries to look away and the UNHCR to maintain it is still “Working towards and preparing for the sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees… to Myanmar.”
But working toward such a goal is dangerous and ill-advised. Cox’s Bazaar remains vulnerable to typhoons, as well as the predictable dangers found in refugee camps everywhere. In Cox’s Bazaar, the dangers are of young men becoming radicalized in the isolated refugee camp environment by Islamicists who appeal to legitimate grievances.
For young women, there are babies, lots of them! As in most crises where refugees are from rural areas, babies are being born at a rate that means the 1 million camp population will become 2 million in about 2040, just 17 years from now. And finally is the fact that Cox’s Bazaar lies in the Bay of Bengal, where the world’s most destructive typhoons strike, as Bangladesh and Myanmar are well aware; massively destructive typhoons are central to the histories of both countries.....Refugee radicalization....Radicalization in refugee camp situations is common and predictable. The massive refugee camp that is the Gaza Strip of Palestine is an excellent example. This camp has been a source of political instability since it was established in 1948. Radicalized Rwandan refugee camps in central Africa triggered attacks on Congo by the Rwandan government in the 1990s, starting a regional war that has killed millions. In Thailand, refugee camps along the Cambodian border were used as bases by Cambodian factions from 1978 to the 1990s. The point is that young men coming of age in abject isolated refugee camps are vulnerable to militia recruiters feeding on injustices embedded in any refugee situation. That this is already happening in the Cox’s Bazaar camps should be of little surprise to the international community, Bangladesh, or Myanmar.
The reality is that the longer a refugee camp lasts, the more likely that groups of its aimless young boys will join militia movements and criminal gangs. This typically begins a year or two after arrival, as it has with the Rohingya. The process will accelerate when, 15-20 years after the camps are established, the many boys born during the period after resettlement come of age to carry guns.
The militaries of both Bangladesh and Myanmar are well aware of the security threat presented by the massive refugee camps near a sensitive border. The international community should be aware of the potential for escalation and conflict, including between the two nations, although the international community seems oblivious. Militia recruitment is less likely when refugee populations are away from borders, dispersed, and young men are offered the chances of schooling and jobs in a manufacturing or service economy.....Refugee baby booms and busts.....The reason the Rohingya will have a lot of soldiers in 15-20 years is that they are a rural farming population locked up in refugee camps, who still have high birth rates. What is more, the flight in 2017-2018 likely meant that the most vulnerable, including the elderly and the very young, died enroute or remained behind, and never arrived in Cox’s Bazaar. But the refugee mothers did arrive, and like most refugee populations, immediately began having more children. Bangladesh’s Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal reported there are now about 35,000 births in the camps per year. This rate is expected to accelerate, no matter how aggressive the birth control programs are. This was the experience with Rwandan refugees who were provided with aggressive birth control programs in 1994-1996 that did not work. It was also the case with refugees from Laos and Cambodia who left for Thailand and the United States in the 1980s and 1990s.
Refugee women who lose babies and pregnancies through the stresses of flight and resettlement deeply desire children. That situation, plus the fact that the weak, sick, and elderly died and remained behind, means that if nothing is done in Cox’s Bazaar, the population growth rate will likely reach 3% per year, as it has in other refugee populations. In the case of the Rohingya, this means births will exceed deaths by about 30,000 per year, and the population will double in size every 23 years or so.
Demography for a refugee population like the Rohingya can indeed be destiny. It is easy to project how many school places, how many factory laborers, and how many soldiers will be available for militia recruitment in the next 10, 20, or 30 years. Basic math also tells us that when the population growth rate reaches 3% per year, there will be another million refugees in Cox’s Bazaar in just 23 years, even if there is no further catastrophe.....The obvious solution.....There is an obvious short-term solution to the Rohingya situation and the threat from typhoons, military confrontation, baby booms, and dependency in the Cox’s Bazaar camps. That solution is for the global community, and particularly countries in Asia, to resettle the Rohingya from Cox’s Bazaar into the cities of the broader region.
Since the Rohingya exodus in 2017, two far larger refugee crises have been dealt with in this fashion. The 7 million “refugees and migrants” who left Venezuela are now in Colombia, and other Latin American countries. Eight million or more have fled mostly Ukraine to countries in Europe and Central Asia since 2021. And 6-7 million Syrian refugees have been absorbed by countries like Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Germany. Turkey is now unusually vulnerable since it has taken the greatest number; tragically, 1.7 million of them are in the 10 provinces affected by the massive earthquake that struck earlier this month.
The irony for Asia today is that baby booms like the Rohingya population explosion are becoming a phenomenon of the past. The Rohingya’s rural Asian counterparts are shrinking rapidly with mass urbanization. In Asia’s cities, birth rates are exceedingly low, and countries like Thailand, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea have high demand for unskilled labor. To compensate, they find ways for rural peoples from places like Myanmar to enter their country (legally and illegally), to fill labor shortages in the factory and service sectors. Somehow, though, the Rohingya refugee camps still exist, keeping a potential source of much-needed service and factory workers away from the workplace.....The problem of Myanmar politics.....Myanmar politics are of course what caused the Rohingya exodus, not Bangladesh politics, or the Rohingya themselves. Obviously, fairness dictates that the Rohingya have a right to return to Myanmar, and their land restored. This is true in a moral sense. But what is morally perfect does not always equate to responsible politics. Insisting on a perfect moral solution can lead to foreseeable problems, such as militia threatening regional peace, soaring birth rates, and annual risk from the Bay of Bengal’s typhoons.
The right of return is still there for people who wait out the chaos in their own country after resettling abroad, even for decades. Some Southeast Asians waited a generation before returning to Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia from the United States in recent years. Indeed, Bangladesh is among countries that know the refugee problem best – millions of Bangladeshis fled to India during and after the revolution in 1971. The current prime minister was herself a refugee in India for a few years in the 1980s. The refugees returned because the Bangladesh Revolution ended quickly. The Rohingya, Venezuelans, Ukrainians, and others may not be so lucky, though. The world should handle the Rohingya according to the situation they are in, not the morally perfect one wished for. For the Rohingya crisis, this means sharing the burden across the region, just as is now happening in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Tony Waters is the author of Bureaucratizing the Good Samaritan (2001) and has written about refugee issues since the 1980s, and for The Irrawaddy since 2018. He taught sociology at California State University, Chico, and Peace Studies at Payap University in Thailand before moving to his current post at Leuphana University in Germany. His latest book is a translation from Thai, The Man from Bangkok: San Francisco Culture in the 1960s by Rong Wongsavun..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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"Abstract: Frequently called the most persecuted minority in the world, the Rohingyas have suffered systematic violence and oppression in Myanmar since the 1970s. Today, the vast majority of the nearly three million Rohingyas are in exile, escaping state-sponsored human rights violations and persecution in the Rakhine state of Myanmar—a place they call “home”. Neighbouring Bangladesh, which currently hosts over a million displaced Rohingya, has been a ‘sanctuary’ for at least the last four decades. A sizable community has also emerged successively in other South-East Asian countries and pockets of Australia, Europe and North America. In this context, bringing together issues at the crossroads of (im)mobilities, online connectivity and the quest for identity, this study examines the role of social media platforms in forming and shaping new types of diaspora activism among the exiled Rohingyas. Drawing on yearlong online ethnographic findings, it unpacks how digital platforms constitute a space for togetherness, where diasporic Rohingya identities are constructed, contested and mediated. Analysing recurring themes and patterns of engagement on these web-based platforms, the paper looks at how diasporic civic and political e-activisms are transforming the very contours of Rohingya identity formation and their pursuit of recognition. Finally, focusing on such a creative constellation of socio-cultural and political issues in virtual space, we demonstrate how Rohingyas practice a politics of resistance and recognition when confronting the policy pretensions of Myanmar’s government.
Introduction
“In the first place, we do not like to be called ‘refugees.’“—Hannah Arendt.
In her classic essay “We Refugees”, Hannah Arendt describes the endless cognitive anxiety amongst the Jews of Europe as they fled the continent and made a new life in exile (Arendt, 2017). She depicts how difficult it is to relate to the psychological effects of political non-existence unless one has traversed the liminal space of a refugee. The contemporaneous of forced displacement, statelessness and the relentless search for a ‘safe place’ and an ‘identity’ across the globe reminds us how recurring and prescient Hannah Arendt’s century-old observation remains. Set within such interconnected trajectories of violence, statelessness and an endless search for identity, this paper puts a spotlight on Myanmar’s displaced Rohingyas—a scattered community in the process of becoming a nascent diaspora as a result of their protracted displacement. Since 2017, after their mass exodus from the Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh, exiled Rohingya communities have started highlighting their plight while asserting a distinct ethnic identity (Ansar & Khaled, 2022; Abraham & Jaehn, 2020). Considering their increasing involvement in social, cultural and political issues on social media platforms, this article explores how the Rohingya diaspora has coalesced in digital spaces to build a transnational identity and how their digital activism has evolved to include a political dimension over time.
Frequently termed ‘the world’s most persecuted minority’, the Rohingyas have been subjected to persistent human rights violations, including ethnic cleansing, statelessness and possibly even genocide (Khaled, 2021; Ansar, 2020; Ibrahim, 2018; Alam, 2018). By introducing punitive policies, Rohingyas have been categorically denied a range of fundamental rights by the Myanmar government, including the freedom of movement, rights to education, primary health facilities, having family, marriage and employment (Ansar & Khaled, 2021; Uddin, 2020). Ethnic cleansing and persecution of Rohingyas in Myanmar and denial of their citizenship (therefore, effectively rendering them stateless) has been the political strategy of the successive military regimes. Today, the vast majority of the nearly three million Rohingyas is displaced, mostly in neighbouring Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and Thailand, as well as in in pockets across Europe, Australia and North America.
The predicament of the Rohingyas essentially remain unresolved in exile. The ambiguity around Rohingya’ s legal status pertaining to their perceived statelessness, irregular migration and lack of comprehensive protection policies in the host countries add to their struggle to survive and sustain. Most Rohingya-hosting Asian countries deny their rights as refugees stipulated in the 1951 Refugee Convention. Their confinement in makeshift settlements and sprawling camps, ambiguous and/or undocumented legal status and host countries’ arbitrary practices create certain mobility constraints, which Aziz (2022, p. 1) refers to as “immobility turn” or limited mobility within “situations of unequal power”. Furthermore, mobility is linked to legality and capacity in modern nation-states, which Rohingyas lack in Myanmar due to draconian military laws banning social gatherings and community mobilisation (Ansar & Khaled, 2022, p. 281). In exile, this “arrested refugee mobilities” (Hoffstaedter, 2019) that the Rohingya community continues to endure produces both horizontal (i.e., spatial/geographic) immobility and vertical (social) immobility, which cyclically compound each other (Jernigan, 2019). Nevertheless, amid such challenges, a diaspora network has grown, especially since 2017, with considerable online imprints. We define the growing digital footprint of the Rohingya community as the emergence of a ‘Rohingya Digital Diaspora’. Highlighting their increasing online participation, our findings reveal how such engagement reinvigorates a collective identity, mobilises civic resistance and builds a virtual ‘community of hope’ by providing material and emotional support.
Reflecting on these evolving Rohingya online engagements, this study makes a threefold contribution to digital diaspora studies. First, we examined how the (re)production of Rohingya identities on social media demonstrates their hybrid, multi-layered and fluid nature. Second, considering the constrained offline space and (im)mobility dynamics, we looked into how access to social media can yield an opportunity for ethnic and religious minorities such as Rohingyas for transnational lobbying, advocacy and agenda-framing towards building a strategic and positive consensus around their cause. Third, while celebrating “digital optimism”, a nuanced reflection on the offline inequalities, such as those manifested by age, gender, internet access, economic status and spatiality, needs to be adequately contextualised.
The debate on Rohingya identity: the unfolding of belonging, exclusion and exile
The nation-state centric identity has always been marked by a high degree of hybridity and ambiguity in post-colonial societies. In South and Southeast Asia, “questions surrounding nationality, citizenship, religion and identity are recurrent themes between the countries once united but separate nation-states now” (Sengupta, 2020, p. 114). Similarly, ethnic and religious identity and space are constantly being contested, refined and reorganised in the political landscape of Myanmar. This is particularly prominent in the bordering Rakhine state, where the formation of Rohingya identity has been heavily influenced by such fluidity (Ansar, 2020, p. 4).
Several issues appear to be decisive when we explore the documentation and broad historical analysis of how questions of Rohingya identity and conflict in the Rakhine state have arrived at this stage. These include: the stripping of the Rohingya citizenship and their statelessness (Uddin, 2020; Holliday, 2014); the role of Rohingyas during the colonial period (Alam, 2018; Ibrahim, 2018); military dictatorship and the emergence of Taing-Yin-tha meaning “national races” (Cheesman, 2017); and religion and the perceived threat from Islam (Ansar, 2020; Kyaw, 2015; Wade, 2017). These are just some of the profound issues to unpack in order to understand the making of the current crisis.
Broadly, three lines of arguments can be identified when exploring the Rohingya identity. First, some scholars claim a historic Rohingya presence in Myanmar (Uddin, 2020; Shafie, 2019; Ibrahim, 2018). Secondly, there are scholars who tend to discredit such narratives that argue Rohingya is a post-colonial political identity promoted by the Muslim political elites in Arakan as a tool to promote their fight for political autonomy after the Second World War (Leider, 2018; Tonkin, 2014). The third line of argument instead takes a critical approach between the two opposing narratives. Going beyond the polarising opinions, it argues that the fundamental question of the process of identity formation and the complex status of the ethnic and religious minorities in post-colonial nation-state formation should be in the spotlight (Ansar, 2020; Sengupta, 2020; Alam, 2018).
One of the watershed moments in modern-day Myanmar’s identity politics is the emergence of Taing-Yin-tha, or “the indigenous races”, under the 1982 citizenship law introduced by the military dictatorship in Myanmar. The concept of Taing-Yin-tha emerged as a decisive political language that provides the guideline of which facts are accepted and rejected in determining membership in Myanmar’s political community. In contemporary Myanmar, Taing-Yin-tha has become an exemplary term of state: a contrivance for political inclusion and exclusion, political eligibility and domination (Cheesman, 2017, p. 462). The Rohingya were not included among the 135 official indigenous races. Consequently, some 2.5 million Rohingyas are excluded from Taing-Yin-tha, making them one of the world’s largest stateless populations. They remain the only community in independent Myanmar whose citizenship is “still unresolved and contested by the government and people”(Kyaw, 2015, p. 50). Going further, Uddin (2020, p.4) argues that Myanmar’s dealing with the Rohingyas is not just a manifestation of their non-citizenship; it is precisely a practice meant to “reduce the Rohingyas to a status lesser than that of human beings”, and thereby push them into a ‘subhuman life’.
From diaspora to digital diaspora: revisiting a complex transformation
Diaspora is a concept subject to various definitions and interpretations (Ponzanesi, 2020). It is defined “as a set of relationships between the homeland, which functions as a centre of gravity, and a periphery of nodes—communities, groups and individuals—who relate to the territory of origin as a centre of gravity but live in different parts of the world” (Ben-David, 2012, p. 461). Earlier studies mainly considered the dispersed population as diaspora, i.e., the Jewish, Greek and Armenian communities in exile. Today, this term shares meanings “with a larger semantic domain that includes words like an immigrant, expatriate, refugee, guest worker, exile community, overseas community, ethnic community” (Tölölyan, 1991, p. 04). While a distinction between various forms of diasporas is plausible, community belongingness, a sense of loss, nostalgia and transnationality are universal features embedded in almost all diaspora communities.
The influence of information and communication technology in the past decade has not only transformed the ways and scales of interactions among diaspora members but also led to a substantial transformation in the modern understanding of diaspora (Marat, 2015; Lobbé, 2021; Bernal, 2020). From structured networks of migrant websites to more personalised WhatsApp and Facebook groups, the wide variety of digital layers is taking the notion of diasporic organisations to a new height (Dekker et al., 2018; Dumitriu, 2012). In this changing milieu, hybrid and multifaceted migrant identities are constructed and negotiated through various discursive means (Georgalou, 2021). The advancements and proliferation of such online communication technologies encouraged a new form of virtual diasporic connections and networks that is gaining prominence as the digital diaspora. This connection reminds the members of “where their roots are, their original home, their sense of belonging, their community” (Ponzanesi, 2020, p. 983).
Emerging scholarship has started to accentuate the evolving nexus between technological advancement, the proliferation of social media and the ability of diaspora populations to create networks and become part of transnational diaspora networks (Alonso & Oiarzabal, 2010; Kapur, 2010; Alunni, 2019). In digital migration studies, research has made a significant contribution to understanding refugees’ engagement with social media and other digital tools to stay in contact with transnational families during their migration, as well as during their process of settlement in the host countries (Alencar et al., 2018; Kaufmann, 2018; Leurs & Smets, 2018). Recent studies on digital diasporas also bring together complex intersections of technology, culture, political economy and agency (Bernal, 2020). For instance, in contrast to the earlier opinion of celebrating digital media as liberating and empowering for marginalised groups (Titifanue et al., 2018), more critical analysis now raises questions regarding the outcome of digital empowerment and whether such tools can bring about changes in the political and social discourse (Taylor & Meissner, 2020; Latonero & Kift, 2018; Papacharissi, 2015).
Scholars also attempted to reveal how big corporations and states use digital platforms to extend their centralised power and use it for surveillance purposes when necessary (Bircan & Korkmaz, 2021; Zuboff, 2019). Furthermore, social media posts and activities are being systematically monitored to validate or disprove the LGBTIQ identity of many refugees requesting asylum in European countries. Targeted social media campaigns and recruitment of paid agents to monitor the Facebook activities of migrants have also become one of the strategies for governments to control and counter immigration (Andreassen, 2021; Brekke & Thorbjørnsrud, 2020). Scholars have also started to highlight the potentially pernicious role of digital tools in stimulating ‘digital nationalism’ by dividing public debate through the establishment of filter ‘bubbles’ and ‘echo chambers’ in which individuals with homogenous political thinking promote ethnocentric ideas and content that align with their views and opinions. (Mihelj & Jiménez-Martínez, 2021; Cardenal et al., 2019; Dubois & Blank, 2017).
There is also growing criticism of the dominant strand of literature on digital migration studies that are heavily focused on the Global North, particularly Europe. Such criticism has become more widespread following the so-called refugee crisis in Europe in 2015, which demands a decentralised approach to diaspora and forced migration studies and input from the perspective of the Global South (Leurs & Smets, 2018). For instance, despite the scale and extent of the Rohingya crisis in Southeast Asia, literature that offers a nuanced understanding of their digital resistance and resilience remains inadequate. To date, we have come across only a few studies that partly address the digital engagement of Rohingya refugees (e.g., Aziz, 2022; Ansar & Khaled, 2022; Abraham & Jaehn, 2020). Taking a gender lens, Ansar & Khaled (2022) presents how social media has widened the scale and scope of Rohingya women activists’ civic participation in exile. In his latest work on Rohingya digital engagements, Aziz shows how digital platforms compensate for the community’s social and spatial immobility through “digitally mediated transnational care” (Aziz, 2022, p. 01). In another recent contribution, he also presents how “the affordances of social media platforms” have facilitated Rohingyas negotiating their protracted experiences of suffering (Aziz, 2022a, p. 4082). With a mix of online and offline platforms, Abraham and Jaehn’s study (2020) shows how “diasporic Rohingya actions go beyond readily understandable demands for justice, accountability, redress” and consciously, or otherwise, take steps to reaffirm collective Rohingya identity (p. 1056). Adding onto these unfolding dynamics, this article brings an organic reflection on this ‘digital diaspora in the making’ and their forms of engagement in online platforms and its manifold implications.
Theoretical and methodological framework
The paper’s theoretical foundations are based on the premise that scattered and oppressed ethnoreligious minorities or endangered groups, frequently organised in diasporas, use the internet to “re-create identities, share opportunities, spread their culture, influence homeland and host-land policy, or create debate about common-interest issues using electronic devices” (Alonso & Oiarzabal, 2010, p. 11). In an “unevenly interconnected world”, digital platforms provide spaces and offer alternatives to tap resources and capacity building, creating links and connectivity for dispersed communities (Ponzanesi, 2020, p. 978). This virtual space acts as “crucial protagonists” (Marino, 2015, p. 01) to manifest “diasporic identity, political activism and sentiment towards homeland” (Marat, 2015, p. 01). Besides, the “low barriers to entry and exit, and non-hierarchical and non-coercive” nature of the internet provides diasporas with a complete package of ‘benefits’ to pursue their socio-political and cultural endeavour on digital platforms (Brinkerhoff, 2009, pp. 47–48). Apart from creating a transnational network of solidarity, it allows the “expression of diverse and contested views” of the community members (Titifanue et al., 2018, p. 02).
Given the access to digital platforms by the exiled Rohingyas and the scale and extent of their virtual engagement, we have employed digital ethnography (Pink, 2013) as a method for observing their activities in virtual space. It is argued that such internet-based observations “can creatively deploy forms of engagement to look at how these sites are socially constructed and, at the same time, are social conduits” with ‘online traces’ such as retweets, hyperlinks and hashtags (Hine, 2009, p. 11). The rapidity with which people across several platforms keep up to date and their willingness to argue and voice opposing perspectives when appropriate via these interconnected networks is even more remarkable (Postill & Pink, 2012). These diverse and fast-changing characteristics have also led to more nuanced and innovative methods of using online ethnography (Pink et al., 2016). We use a ‘discourse-centred’ (Androutsopoulos, 2009) online ethnography and employ a ‘screen-based’ discourse analysis that concentrates on “systemic longitudinal and repeated observations of online-discourse” (Georgalou, 2021, p. 4).
In doing online ethnography, it is also pertinent to acknowledge the limitations of virtual platforms on the findings. For instance, Dicks et al. (2005, p.128) caution that the internet should never be read as a ‘neutral’ observation space, as it always remains a fieldwork setting and, as such, a researcher’s data selection and analyses are always biased by agendas, personal histories and social norms. Besides, the drawback of these research options is that membership of these communities is inherently restricted to the digital ‘haves’ (or at least those with digital social capital) rather than the ‘have nots’, and ethnic/gender digital divides strongly persist (Murthy, 2008). Therefore, like any other data source, social networking websites should be treated in a nuanced or layered fashion and contextualised properly (Murthy, 2008, p. 846).
Informed consent appears to be a crucial aspect of researching online communities. Whether and to what extent informed consent is required remains a contested topic (Willis, 2017, p. 3). According to Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) ethical guidelines, public forums can be considered more public than conversations in a closed chatroom (Ess and AoIR, 2002: pp. 5, 7). Hence, ‘the greater the acknowledged publicity of the venue, the less obligation there may be to protect individual privacy, confidentiality, right to informed consent, etc.’ (Ess and AoIR, 2002, p. 5). Whiteman (2012, p. 9) also suggests it is preferable to take a contextualised approach to each online situation instead of adhering to generalised, context-free principles. Considering the above observations, the researchers sought ethical guidance from their respective institutions and received prior ethical approval before conducting their research. Furthermore, given the sensitivities of the topic, individual posts, images and tweets shared in this article are blurred to maintain confidentiality and any information that discloses the individual identity has been carefully revisited and avoided when referring to the data and images.
For data collection, we followed two major social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter. We analysed relevant Facebook and Twitter accounts and determined the top ten accounts based on the number of followers, the frequency of postings and the volume of comments. The Facebook pages and Twitter accounts were identified using eight search terms: ‘Rohingya refugee’, ‘Rohingya genocide’, ‘Rohingya women’, ‘exiled Rohingya’, ‘Rohingya activist’, ‘Arakan Rohingya’, ‘United Nations and Rohingya’ and ‘Rohingya in Bangladesh’. The qualitative corpus comprised posts and tweets that were open to the public. The study covers the period from August 2019 to August 2021. One of the authors has near-native fluency in the Rohingya language and initially attempted to explore Facebook pages and Twitter accounts on the Rohingya language despite the absence of Rohingya script, which remains an oral dialect (Aziz, 2022a, p. 4073). It did not yield significant success, prompting searching for relevant online platforms and social media tools using English.Footnote1 For instance, UNHCR in Malaysia has a dedicated website on “The Rohingya language”, which is written in Latin alphabets.Footnote2 Therefore, language and its digital representation bring another important dimension when exploring the Rohingya community’s social media engagement. The use of English in contemporary diaspora presents an ‘interesting cleavage’, as a native language is often considered a salient marker of collective identity (Kumar, 2018). We avoid the discussion at length here as it goes beyond the scope of our study; nonetheless, it is a crucial aspect to shed light on in future research on the Rohingyas. Nevertheless, we do acknowledge there are other platforms, including more private platforms like WhatsApp (Aziz, 2022a). We did not pursue these, as our purpose was to retrieve online and easily accessible data to any random visitor to those webpages.
For analysis, the transcripts of Facebook discussions and tweets were manually inserted into a dataset. This dataset was then transferred and analysed using Max Q.D.A. software to categorise the thematic contents, frequency of words, hashtags and recurring themes. Through this categorisation and coding, key themes emerged. These themes were then merged and clustered thematically, as detailed in the following section.
From exile to online: emergence of a digital Rohingya diaspora
Multiple trajectories, including the construction of a collective Rohingya identity, political and social mobilisation and solidarity with fellow Rohingyas through providing information and long-distance emotional and material support, have emerged as the recurring features of their digital engagements. The internet has effectively bridged geographical barriers amongst Rohingyas with similar concerns by functioning as a ‘mobilising structure’ (Kumar, 2018, p. 11). The proliferation of virtual engagements creates conditions where individuals come together on shared hopes, purposes and objectives, which Tsagarousianou (2007) defined as ‘co-presence’ and Marino (2015) refers to as ‘space making’.
To detail out these manifold engagements, we conduct a two-pronged analysis of the Rohingya diaspora’s digital participation. First, we begin with a focus on the scale of engagement, bringing attention to their growing participation in digital space. Second, we take a more in-depth look at the domains of engagement, highlighting the key aspects that predominate in the interaction that takes place online.
Scale of engagement
Owing to rapid development and relatively easier access to technologies, more Rohingyas are embracing digital platforms to interact with one another and the greater international communities. For example, only three of the ten most followed Facebook pages were created before 2017. Table 1 presents an overview of the ten most popular (in terms of membership) Rohingya Facebook groups active in different parts of the world, where membership reaches as high as 223,000 as of August 2021 (see Table 1).Footnote3..."
Source/publisher:
Nature.com
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-15
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations
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A recent Sinophone Borderlands public opinion survey sheds light on Bangladeshi views of the Rohingya, roughly a million of whom have been forced to seek refuge in Bangladesh.
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"February 15, 2023, marks the 2000th day since the start of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.
Although the historical background of the Rohingya crisis is much longer and more complicated, going back to World War II and including previous massacres/exoduses in 1978, 1991-92, 2012, and 2016, it was only in August 2017 that the news hit the global headlines and the story became well-known.
In August 2017, the Kofi Annan Commission (established by Myanmar’s civilian National League of Democracy government to settle the Rohingya problem) prepared its report, a failed compromise. One day later, Myanmar military posts were attacked by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a guerrilla group operating in the Rakhine region. In their collective response, the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s army, resorted to the worst retaliation possible.
The Tatmadaw started a brutal campaign against the Rohingya. In the months that followed, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh as the Tatmadaw committed ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, with “genocidal intent.”
For Bangladesh, the crisis meant a new and unprecedented strain. The country has received Rohingya refugees since 1978, but the scale in 2017 was incomparable to previous exoduses. The official Bangladeshi position toward the Rohingya crisis has combined the acceptance of the refugees with the hope that the influx of people would only be temporary.
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On the one hand, Bangladesh openly welcomed the repressed group, presenting itself as a “good global citizen.” On the other hand, Dhaka later declared that the Rohingya must return to their origin country as soon as possible, and that it is Myanmar’s obligation to repatriate them while the international community and the United Nations must persuade Naypyidaw to do so. Since this never happened, Bangladesh and its citizens have to live with the consequences of the prolonged stay.
As the religious, cultural, and humanitarian imperative to help oppressed brethren meets the socioeconomic tensions produced by forced immigration on such a scale, it is of vital importance to hear the voices of the Bangladeshi people. As part of the Sinophone Borderlands public opinion survey in Bangladesh in June-August 2022, more than 1,300 Bangladeshi respondents were asked an open-ended question about their perception of the Rohingya people. Respondents were drawn from all regions of Bangladesh and included a representative sample of age groups and genders. The timing of the survey coincided with the fifth anniversary of the brutal Tatmadaw offensive that sent Rohingya refugees fleeing across the border from Myanmar into Bangladesh.
The survey question asked what first came to people’s minds when thinking of the Rohingya. The most common answers, as the word cloud above reveals, were “Muslim,” “tortured,” “helpless,” and “Myanmar.” This gives us a good idea of how Bangladeshis perceive the Rohingya people: as persecuted, helpless, Muslim people originally from Myanmar.
The reason for the Rohingya being in Bangladesh is very clear to Bangladeshis, who provided responses such as “came from Myanmar,” ”tortured by Myanmar army,” or “brutality of Myanmar.” Also, the fact that the Rohingya people are predominantly Muslims is well-known and often highlighted in the responses (“tortured Muslims” or “persecuted Muslims,” for example).
While the Rohingya are seen by many Bangladeshis as persecuted and expelled victims of the Myanmar army and people feel they should help them (see responses such as “expelled,” “victims,” “homeless,” “persecuted,” “neglected,” and “we should help”), there are also voices that see the Rohingya people as a threat (“destroying the Bangladeshi economy” or “harming Bangladesh”) and advocate for sending them back to Myanmar (“go back to Myanmar”). Issues such as drug dealing and a food crisis came up several times. Also, some label the Rohingya as foreigners who don’t belong to Bangladesh.
That said, most Bangladeshis highlight the struggle for survival of the Rohingya people and express sadness over their situation and sympathy toward them.
To conclude, the results of the survey show that among Bangladeshis, empathy toward the Rohingya, the repressed Muslim brothers and sisters, so far trumps tensions and challenges produced by their enforced, prolonged stay. Yet, the longer the Rohingya crisis is unresolved, the more probable a shift toward negative perceptions becomes..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Ethnic Cleansing, International Criminal Court (Myanmar)
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"Despite having some ongoing crises worldwide, a piece of good news for the world is that Myanmar expresses its interest in taking back/repatriating some Rohingyas (estimated 700 Rohingya primarily) in Rakhine. Although the estimated number of refugees regarding Rohingya repatriation in Rakhine is very low, the significance of the issue seems to be very important. Myanmar military starts to understand that Rohingyas are the people of the Rakhine (Myanmar). It is appreciable that Myanmar understands the reality in the long run. But Myanmar should have goodwill and commitment to repatriate the Rohingyas. It would be pragmatic when Myanmar would ensure the implementation of its goodwill. Bangladesh is continuously emphasizing the efforts to facilitate early repatriation of the displaced people of Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
However, it is a matter of hope to note that there is a sign of progress in negotiations over the repatriation of the Rohingya ethnic minority of Myanmar from Bangladesh who were subjected to expulsions from Myanmar in 2017. Earlier, Bangladesh signed a bilateral agreement with Myanmar on 30 October 2017 and on 30 October 2018 respectively. But the world didn’t see the implementation of the agreement.
Although there are more than 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. 0.7 million new ones have come, 0.4 million from before. Bangladesh has shown its humanity by sheltering these huge numbers of Rohingyas. Neighboring Myanmar, on the other hand, has always played a controversial role at home and abroad. Which is beyond diplomatic etiquette. According to various reports published in Bangladeshi newspapers recently, the junta government of Myanmar has sent a letter expressing its interest in taking back the Rohingyas.
Myanmar’s junta says it is working to bring back Rohingya refugees who fled Rakhine State for Bangladesh following the military’s supposed counter-insurgency operations in 2017.
Junta leaders, including International Cooperation Minister U Ko Ko Hlaing, Border Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Tun Tun Naung, Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Minister Dr. Thet Thet Khaing and Immigration and Population Minister U Myint Kyaing, visited Maungdaw on the Bangladesh border on Sunday and instructed the authorities to prepare transit camps for repatriation.
One Maungdaw resident said: “I heard they asked departments to make transit camps ready, that they would take back refugees from Bangladesh, that they would make preparations whether [Rohingya] come back or not.”
Some Muslim and Hindu leaders from Maungdaw were summoned to Sittwe to meet junta ministers. Ko Khin Maung from a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh said whether the Rohingya will return to Maungdaw depends on the junta’s honesty and the refugees have little trust in the repatriation program.
“We do want to return. We are experiencing hardships, after staying for a long time in refugee camps. But the question is if we will be allowed to go back to our homes. It is not OK for us if we will just be held at the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp. The repatriation program will not be successful if the regime is dishonest,” he said.
Rohingya rights activist U Nay San Lwin, co-founder of the Germany-based Free Rohingya Coalition, said the Rohingya would not return unless their rights are guaranteed.
“The news of junta ministers making inspection tours at the border to take back refugees is no longer news to us. We are used to hearing such news. And refugees are not excited anymore. The military moves slightly when there are growing pressures from the international community and China. Nothing more than that,” U Nay San Lwin said.
Recently, the regime sent back over 900 Rohingya detained in Yangon and elsewhere in Myanmar to Maungdaw. They will reportedly be accommodated at transit camps but The Irrawaddy could not independently verify this.
The regime’s repatriation moves, according to some Rohingya activists, are an attempt to salvage its international reputation and help its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Myanmar faces genocide charges.
A brutal military crackdown in the wake of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks on police outposts in Rakhine in 2017 forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee across the Bangladesh border. In response The Gambia in November 2019 brought a case at the ICJ, accusing Myanmar of committing genocide against the Rohingya.
On November 23, 2017, Bangladesh and the now-ousted National League for Democracy government signed a repatriation agreement but there has been no progress.
Bangladesh hopes to repatriate 750000 Rohingyas in various phases. And this repatriation is supposed to be done voluntarily and by ensuring a safe environment. The United Nations will also be involved in this process. The process of Rohingya repatriation has been stalled for a long time due to elections, military coups, and the Covid-19 pandemic in Myanmar.
More than 700000 Rohingyas were forced to migrate to Bangladesh after the start of the military operation in Rakhine on August 25, 2017. Despite international pressure, the Myanmar government made an agreement with Bangladesh to take back the Rohingyas, but the repatriation has not started even today. On the contrary, Myanmar has repeatedly obstructed the repatriation process by resorting to various tactics. The international community has also not taken a strong stand on the Rohingya issue. On the contrary, they ended their ‘liability’ with boastful words. The Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina has always shown humanity on the Rohingya issue. Myanmar’s current interest should not be manipulated in the end. In this case, Bangladesh must remain vigilant as always.
If we want fruitful and durable repatriation of Rohingyas in Rakhine, now the international community must compel Myanmar to abide by some international customary law regarding the repatriation of the Rohingya. Myanmar government must fulfill such criteria:
1) Rohingya repatriation must be safe, continual, dignified, and sustainable based that is something Myanmar must guarantee.
2) They should amend the ‘1982 citizenship law. They must consider Rohingyas as a legal ethnic group in Myanmar.
3) Safe zone for Rohingyas must be ensured.
4) They must fulfill the requirements or proposals of the Kofi Annan Commission (The Advisory Commission on Rakhine State), Bangladesh Prime Minister’s proposals at the 74th, 75th, 76th UN General Assembly.
5) However, analysts advise Bangladesh to be cautious if Myanmar now wants to take back 700 people. They must keep their words. Myanmar must confirm it will take back all stranded Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
6) They must be committed that the process would be a continual process. All Rohingya would be repatriated gradually.
7) Bangladesh needs to increase diplomatic contacts Bangladesh needs to take a holistic stance on the Rohingya issue in various forums regarding the proposed Rohingya repatriation. Third parties such as UNHCR, Aasen even third countries can be included in the process.
8) Myanmar must act as a friendly neighbour with Bangladesh. It isn’t possible for Myanmar and Bangladesh to interchange the neighbours. Basically, Myanmar and Bangladesh must engage with neighbourly spirit. Myanmar and Bangladesh must strengthen their ties to resolve the long-pending Rohingya crisis. Whole South Asia and Southeast Asia could benefit from resolving this regional humanitarian crisis.
9) Myanmar must have goodwill to engage positively with Bangladesh. The world wants to see a fruitful and sustainable solution to the Rohingya crisis. Rohingya crisis solution would be essential for the safe and dignified repatriation of Rohingya people to Myanmar from Bangladesh.
However, Myanmar’s proposed Rohingya repatriation process must be smoothly implemented, continual, sustainable..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-13
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Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Description:
"It's been happening for a decade. Every year as South Asia's monsoon season ends in late October and the dry season begins, rickety boats overloaded with ethnic Rohingya leave Bangladesh and Myanmar. They head into the Bay of Bengal, en route to Malaysia, for the promise of work and greater freedoms. Many of these boats never reach their destination, and over the last few months - as in previous years - hundreds have drowned at sea.
This week, ministers from across the Asia region are convening in Adelaide for the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime, an intergovernmental forum co-chaired by Indonesia and Australia. The dire situation facing Rohingya at sea should be at the top of the meeting's agenda.
This year's sailing season has been one of the deadliest yet. The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, says that of more than 3,500 Rohingya who attempted sea crossings in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal in 2022, nearly 350 died or are missing at sea. "Confirmed reports are, however, only the tip of the iceberg," UNHCR noted. "Given most bodies are never found and many missing persons never reported."
Family members of Rohingya recently stranded at sea told Human Rights Watch that their relatives encountered Thai and Malaysian naval authorities who refused to help them.
Dil Mohammad's sister-in-law left the camps in Bangladesh in late November.
The smugglers or traffickers "moved them around to different places for 25 days before the main boat started its journey toward Malaysia," he said. "[They] gave them food as long as we kept sending them money."
The boat engine broke down off the coast of Thailand and they were stranded at sea. "My sister-in-law said they weren't given food or drinking water for six days. She could barely talk, her voice was fading. My niece stopped talking and stopped crying, too."
Nurul Amin's sister left the Bangladesh camps in November to join her husband in Malaysia. When the boat broke down, he said, children began dying. He said a Thai navy vessel approached the stranded boat in December. "Four Rohingya jumped into the sea thinking the navy boat would rescue them," Nurul said. "They were never found. The navy boat didn't rescue anyone."
Several rescued boats carrying hundreds of Rohingya have disembarked in Aceh, Indonesia, after weeks at sea without food or water, with dozens dead. Others remain at sea. One boat with about 180 Rohingya has been missing since December, with all on board presumed dead.
Many of the Rohingya embark on these high-risk journeys to escape growing restrictions and hopelessness in refugee camps in Bangladesh and unending oppression and violence in Myanmar's western Rakhine State. They flee out of desperation and vulnerability, knowing they face weeks or months on unseaworthy boats, subject to abuse by smugglers and traffickers, at risk of starving or drowning at sea, only to confront the threat of forced labor, exploitation, or immigration detention. They pay US$700 to $2,000 for the journey.
UNHCR estimates that as many as 170,000 Rohingya embarked on smugglers' boats from 2012 to 2015. Following the peak of the crisis in May 2015, the Bali Process reviewed the regional response and members acknowledged that "unilateral, unplanned and unprepared responses led to deaths, inadequate/delayed access to basic services, refusal of landing/entry."
The resulting 2016 Bali Declaration set out a comprehensive approach to irregular migration in the region, centred on protecting the needs of refugees and migrants. A consultation mechanism and task force were set up to improve the emergency response to refugee flows, including "detection, search and rescue, disembarkation and shelter management."
But the emergency response mechanism has never been activated.
At the Ministerial Conference this week, officials should make good on their commitments from six years ago. Responsibility for the security of the Rohingya rests primarily with Myanmar, but extends to the countries where they seek refuge and the broader international community, which can provide resources and support.
Burden sharing and collective responsibility, as called for in the Bali Declaration, demands action, not just words: responding to refugee boats in distress, coordinating search-and-rescue operations, taking boats ashore to the nearest safe port, and providing humanitarian aid. Turning away boats at sea violates international law and abandons a community that has faced abuse and neglect everywhere they turn.
Governments endorsing the Bali Process should pledge to assist the Rohingya with work and residency permits and exert coordinated and unified pressure on the Myanmar junta to end the abuses that compel Rohingya to flee.
Meanwhile, the dry season, and the departure of boats, continues through May. Bangladesh's tightening of security has led smugglers and traffickers to move people overland into Myanmar before setting sail.
"Sometimes, the people on the boats get arrested," a Rohingya man said. "Sometimes the boats sink and they die in the sea. But people still take the risk, because they say they can't stay at home detained in the camp, and they don't think they will ever be free."..."
Source/publisher:
The Canberra Times (Canberra) via Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Description:
"Women and girls have always been amongst the worst victims of all forms of violence. Their continuing plight in Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh is highlighted in this stark blog by Kathy Win, based on her fieldwork in Cox’s Bazaar and Rakhine State.
Rohingya women and girls are amongst the most affected victims of the genocide in Myanmar, and face even greater hardship and vulnerabilities in refugee camps in Bangladesh. The Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh are home to around 943,529 refugees who fled genocidal violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2017.
Most Rohingya women and girls in the camps are either survivors of, or witnesses to, gender-based violence in Myanmar. In Cox’s Bazaar, they face multiple challenges such as insecurity, violence, and extremely limited freedom of movement. Their lives and freedoms are heavily constrained by the control that their communities have over their social lives, especially regarding marriage and education. In such a scenario, and alongside the lack of decent work, poor living conditions, insecurity and inadequate education opportunities, child marriages and polygamy have increased markedly. Sadly, such vulnerable women and girls are targeted by human traffickers and smugglers to leave the camps for neighbouring countries, especially Malaysia and Thailand. Desperate to escape, they think that marrying a Rohingya man from a neighbouring country is the only option to escape their persecutions.
Drivers of Forced Migration
Women often experience threats and harassment if they are educated, or speak for women’s rights in the camps. Security issues and cultural obstacles (it is common for parents to stop adolescent daughters from going to school) mean that girls have very limited access to schooling, and women have low levels of literacy and Burmese language skills. In Bangladesh, authorities have restricted humanitarian agencies from the construction of a functioning education system at Cox’s Bazaar, instead providing irregular informal education with very limited resources. Authorities justify this stance by insisting that the Rohingya refugees will return home to Myanmar one day.
To fill the gap in the meantime, the Rohingya find alternative ways of providing their children with education — such as private tuition and Rohingya volunteers-led learning centres. But in December 2021, the Bangladesh authorities decided to shut down Rohingya-led learning centres and home-based schools in the camps, giving the excuse that such camp-based schools were illegal and did not have official permission to operate. Although women are seeking to mitigate restrictions on accessing education by operating small home-based classes at their shelters, most of them often face threats from criminal gangs who are against education for adolescent girls.
A 26-year-old Rohingya volunteer teacher experienced these issues first hand when she taught in Cox’s Bazaar:
We were really concerned about security and safety as they [ARSA — the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army] became more active in the camps. We heard violence and killings almost every day due to power competition between rival gangs. They threaten women who want to seek divorce and who are active in supporting women’s rights. In 2019 and 2020, I taught the Burmese curriculum to women aged between 10 and 40 who wanted to learn the Myanmar language. It is very important for us to understand, to read, speak and write for our repatriation and to integrate with the Rakhine and Burmese community. ARSA supporters threatened and threw stones while I was teaching. Later I had to shut down the class because women and girls who came to my evening classes were no longer safe.
Threats from the Militia
All the 34 extremely congested camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazila of Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh have become hubs of organised crime of Rohingya militant groups like the ARSA and other criminal gangs. These groups control everything from drug trafficking to extortion, and ensure the lack of properly compliant mechanisms in camps. Since 2019, ARSA has been trying to strengthen its influence and control in the camps, and competition among rival gangs has resulted in deadly violence and killing that often targets women and girls or those who try to defend them. In September 2021, ARSA shockingly assassinated the prominent Rohingya leader Mohid Ullah who spoke out against the activities of ARSA including rape, torture, drug trafficking and kidnappings inside the camp.
Over the past five years, Rohingya refugees from Cox’s Bazaar have faced terrible conditions in overcrowded camps. Arson attacks, killings, and kidnapping have become commonplace. Women are intimidated into quitting jobs (mostly with NGOs) by groups saying women working outside homes is against Islamic principles. According to a refugee in Balukali camp, ARSA also issued a series of fatwas (religious decrees) to control and restrict women and girls from accessing work outside their homes, and demanding that they obey their husbands, and wear burqas. According to Human Rights Watch, in April 2019 ARSA forced 150 women to quit their teaching jobs in learning centres run by one NGO in the one of the camps.
Gender-based Violence
The majority of Rohingya women and girls have experienced Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and sexual abuse from their husbands, family members, neighbours as well as members of criminal gangs. The violence includes rape, forced marriage, physical/mental abuse and threats. Data collected by the International Rescue Committee in 19 camps across Cox’s Bazaar revealed that 81 per cent of GBV in the Rohingya camps is perpetrated by intimate partners, while 56 per cent of incidents are of physical violence. Rohingya women from Kutupalong refugee camp said that religious leaders who are close to ARSA leaders inside the camp often preach not to allow women to work outside, blame fathers who allowed their daughters to study or work with NGOs and threaten women who file for divorce. Conservative groups of youth and men now police women in their decision-making, enforcing the wearing of burqas at all times and questioning women’s presence in public and work spaces, further reducing the mobility of women and girls.
Rohingya women have also experienced sexual and physical violence outside their camps/shelters and or on the road to camp clinics if they went out alone. Although NGO-led protection centres are available to complain about such issues, women lack confidence to share their experiences at the centres, unable to leave their shelters alone and often face administrative delay at these protection centres. Due to lack of protection of women and girls, many Rohingya women suffer psychological problems like depression, anxiety, stress and fear. Local NGOs provide psycho-social counselling inside the camp but most women are afraid to access them because their husbands do not allow them or are concerned that they might face attacks by the criminal gangs on the way. The most affected are single women and widows.
I have been beaten two times by Rohingya men with umbrellas while I am going to my workplace. Most of the time I feel afraid to go outside alone. Domestic violence also not a new issue here. Rohingya men assume that they need to show themselves to be manly by controlling their wife and beating them if the wife fails to fulfil the domestic task or fails to fulfil their will. The protection mechanism is not functioning well.
A 25-year-old NGO volunteer also said:
Last year, ARSA members destroyed a counselling centre near my camp. They said women are going to the centre to meet with foreigners and it is breaking Islamic principles as women are not allowed to meet and talk to strangers.
Some Rohingya women-led groups provide awareness on GBV, domestic violence and trafficking but most of them have limited resources and often face threats from ARSA and other criminal gangs.
The Rohingya say that worsening security and lack of protection in Cox’s Bazaar are key reasons why thousands of refugees have decided to relocate to Bhasan Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal prone to natural weather disasters, or have fled to neighbouring countries (India, Thailand and Malaysia) by taking perilous sea journeys via a network of brokers.
Women especially do not want to live in camps as they face a lot of challenges to survive. They have no protection from family, community and host community. The majority of women have only two choices for survival: to marry for protection or to escape the camps.
The Rohingya are denied citizenship in Myanmar under the 1982 Citizenship Law, and the government considers them ‘illegal’ immigrants from Bangladesh, leaving them unable to choose safe and regular migration routes. Since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, tens of thousands of Rohingya, especially women, girls and children have been arrested by the Myanmar military not only in Rakhine state but also in other parts of Myanmar. Local authorities arrest Rohingya on charges of travelling without legal documents and sentence those arrestees to prison for up to 5 years. In addition, families often face extortion and threats from brokers, women face food and water shortages, ill-health, physical violence and rape by security forces, ethnic armed groups and brokers during the journeys, as well as injury and death.
Rohingya women and girls are the most affected victims of the genocide in Myanmar, and they face even greater hardship and vulnerabilities in refugees camps in Bangladesh.
To address the challenges of Rohingya women and girls, host governments and humanitarian agencies must:
Allocate funds for services and legal remedies such as sufficient and accessible psycho-social support and medical treatment and legal protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual harassment;
Raise awareness of domestic violence, sexual harassment, risks of human smuggling and trafficking to both Rohingya women and men;
Create safe environments for access to education, and create decent work opportunbities for Rohingya women;
Put pressure on Myanmar military junta to stop the arrests of Rohingya victims of human trafficking;
Provide technical support and capacities for Rohingya women’s rights activists to enhance refugees-led protection mechanisms.
*
The views expressed here are those of the author and not of the ‘South Asia @ LSE’ blog, the LSE South Asia Centre or the London School of Economics and Political Science.
This blogpost may not be reposted by anyone without prior written consent of LSE South Asia Centre; please e-mail [email protected] for permission..."
Source/publisher:
London School of Economics and Political Science
Date of entry/update:
2023-02-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
What are the prospects of a dignified repatriation for the Rohingya?
Description:
"The year 2022 was a “year of confluence” for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, where many positive developments happened in favour of their repatriation. Alternatively, there were some negative developments as well where new impediments emerged to hinder the repatriation process.
Though Bangladesh has successfully included the Rohingya crisis in the international discussion and displayed significant developments to initiate repatriation, pathetically, more than five years have passed since the Rohingya influx in Bangladesh, but the repatriation of the 1.2 million Myanmar nationals has not seen light.
However, the year 2022 marked a significant progress in the repatriation process, as the Rohingya themselves tried to draw the attention of the international community to express their desire to return to their home. On June 19, 2022, the Rohingya staying in various camps in Bangladesh organized a “Go Home campaign” and put forward their demands and expressed their interest to return to their homeland. In August, during the 5th anniversary of their exodus into Bangladesh, they reiterated the urgency of repatriation to their homeland.
Moreover, the campaign is continued under the banner “Go Home Campaign 2023” demanding safe repatriation to their country on December 31 on the eve of the New Year. At this time, the Rohingya demonstrated with posters and placards saying “Enough is enough, let's go home, 2023 should be Rohingya home year.”
Bangladesh government's decision to relocate Rohingya to Bhasan Char, to reduce the pressure on the overpopulated Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar, was a discreet and timely move in 2022. After reaching a batch of 963 Rohingya in the 14th phase on October 17, so far around 30,079 Rohingya reached Bhashan Char.
Despite initial hesitations, the US and Japan, the UN, and Canada joined the Bhasan Char project in August 2022. A ray of hope for the Rohingya refugees was lit, when the hearing of Gambia's case at the ICJ ended on February 28 last year. Significantly, on July 22, the court dismissed Myanmar's objections to jurisdiction over the case, and ordered Myanmar to respond to the complaint by April 24 of this year.
The NUG, led by Aung Sung Su Kyi's NLD, responded positively that it would cooperate with the trial, and the pro-democratic party aims to establish relations with the local population in the Rakhine region to ensure the safe repatriation of the Rohingya.
The year is also significant for many remarkable bilateral and multilateral initiatives, which are instrumental to propel the process of repatriation a step further. Bilaterally, on June 14, the 5th joint working group meeting between Bangladesh and Myanmar on the repatriation of the Rohingya was held, where the speedy return of the Rohingya to Myanmar was discussed. In her address to the 27th International Nikkei Conference, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina urged Asian countries to work closely for the safe repatriation of the Rohingya.
Among the global powers, no other country than the US has made significant strides to solicit the crisis. On March 21, The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar as genocide and crimes against humanity. In September, the US announced more than $170 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Rohingya inside and outside Burma, as well as for host communities in Bangladesh.
In November, the US initiated a rehabilitation program for the Rohingya living in Bangladesh and introduced a historic “BURMA ACT.” From December 3 to 7, the US Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration Julieta Valls Noyes visited Rohingya Camps and discussed relocation programs. On December 8, 24 Rohingya left for the US from a group of 62 Rohingya, identified for resettlement.
The role of China is also an important factor in facilitating Rohingya repatriation. Despite Beijing's controversial axis with Myanmar, during his visit to Bangladesh on August 6, China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China is working sincerely to find a solution to the Rohingya crisis. Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Prak Sokhon, ASEAN Chair's Special Envoy to Myanmar, also assured Bangladesh of making all-out efforts for a sustainable solution to the Rohingya issue.
On the multilateral level, the Rohingya quagmire was discussed as a serious concern at numerous UN forums throughout the year. The UNGA unanimously adopted the resolution entitled "The situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar" for the first time on November 16, 2022. A Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Myanmar, UNHCR, and UNDP to create an enabling environment for the repatriation of Rohingya in Rakhine State according to the resolution. This will play a significant role in strengthening the collective efforts of the UN member states for a sustainable solution to the Rohingya problem.
Meanwhile, UNHCR High Commissioner Filippo Grandi has called on regional countries to come forward to repatriate the Rohingya, stressing the continuation of humanitarian assistance to the refugees.
Since December 21, the Rohingya problem has become part of the regular activities of the UN Security Council, as the UNSC adopted a historic resolution on Myanmar for the first time, calling for an immediate end of ongoing violence. The proposal emphasized on solving the Rohingya problem with a particular emphasis. It also emphasized the speedy and full implementation of the five-point consensus adopted by ASEAN member states in 2021.
Though the year was overwhelmed with many positive events, the Rohingya crisis witnessed several challenges throughout the year. Since August, fierce clashes and heavy gun fights broke out between the Arakan army and the Myanmar army along the Bangladesh border in North Maungdu and lasted for about three months. To reduce border tension, the 8th border conference between BGB and BGP was held from November 23 to 27. Meanwhile, in a meeting between BGB and BGP officials, Bangladesh's concerns regarding the quick repatriation of Rohingya were informed.
From the security perspective, the failure to create an environment conducive to safe and sustainable voluntary return has exacerbated the Rohingya's frustration, leading to a variety of security concerns and instability. Till October 2022, 125 people have been killed in the Rohingya camps. Human trafficking and illegal trafficking of methamphetamine “Yaba” tablets from Myanmar to other neighbouring countries have increased alarmingly.
In the last five years, 2,441 cases have been filed in Rohingya camps for various crimes including posession of weapons, drugs, rape, kidnapping, robbery, assault on police, murder, and human trafficking. Rohingya leaders and volunteers were the targets of these killings within the camps. The ongoing instability may spread organized crimes to other parts of the country, which will pose a regional and global security threat in the upcoming days.
From the economic perspective, dwindling funds for the Rohingya camps also deteriorated the humanitarian crisis. In 2022, only 43% of the required amount of $881m under the Joint Response Plan (JRP) has been disbursed, which leaves room for consideration. As around 35,000 children are born in the camps every year, this increased population is gradually putting pressure on humanitarian assistance.
From 2017 to 2023, the Rohingya problem remains unresolved and the crisis is becoming a “frozen and protracted” one over the years. A long-term plan must be developed to address a sustainable solution, which is nothing but dignified repatriation. In any situation, it is imperative to keep the flow of the relief and financial aid, and therefore, necessary measures should be taken on an urgent basis.
On the political front, ARNA and other organizations working with the Rohingya must work together to create an enabling environment for repatriation. The ongoing awareness activities undertaken to resolve the crisis should also be continued. In addition, more robust steps must be taken to ensure the progress of initiatives taken in 2022 in the international arena.
If these activities are implemented promptly, it is expected that the solution to the Rohingya problem will see the light of day in the forthcoming days..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh
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Sub-title:
Dissecting Myanmar’s ‘Bengali-Burmese’ narrative and what it means for the repatriation of the Rohingya refugees
Description:
"The racial identity of the Rohingya is probably the most widely discussed topic regarding the repatriation issue. The Myanmar government considers the Rohingya as British colonial and post-colonial migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. It argues that a distinct pre-colonial Muslim population is recognized as "Kaman," and that the Rohingya conflate their history with the history of Arakan Muslims in general to advance a separatist agenda. In addition, Myanmar's government does not recognize the term "Rohingya" and prefers to refer to the community as "Bengali."
The term "Rohingya" emerged from colonial and pre-colonial terms Rooinga and Rwangya. The Rohingya refer to themselves as Ruáingga/ɾuájŋɡa. In Burmese they are known as "rui hang gya," while in Bengali they are called "Rohinga." The term Rohingya may come from Rakhanga or Roshanga, the words for the state of Arakan. The word Rohingya would then mean "inhabitant of Rohang," which was the early Muslim name for Arakan.
"A Comparative Vocabulary of Some of the Languages Spoken in the Burma Empire" by Francis Buchanan, which was found and republished by Michael Charney in the "SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research" in 2003 says, among the native groups of Arakan, there are the "Mohammedans, who have long settled in Arakan, and who call themselves Rooinga, or natives of Arakan. The Classical Journal of 1811 identified Rooinga as one of the languages spoken in the Burma Empire. In 1815, Johann Severin Vater listed Ruinga as an ethnic group with a distinct language in a compendium of languages published in German.
According to Jacques Leider, the Rohingya were referred to as "Chittagonians" during the British colonial period, and it was not controversial to refer to them as "Bengalis" until the 1990s. Leider also states that "there is no international consensus" on the use of the term Rohingya, as they are often called "Rohingya Muslims," "Muslim Arakanese," and "Burmese Muslims." He writes that even many Muslims in Rakhine prefer to call themselves "Muslim Arakanese" or "Muslims coming from Rakhine" instead of Rohingya.
Others, such as anthropologist Christina Fink, use Rohingya not as an ethnic identifier but as a political one. Fink believes the Rohingya is a political movement that started in the 1950s to create "an autonomous Muslim zone" in Rakhine. Nevertheless, the term Rohingya wasn't widely used until the 1990s.
Today the use of the name Rohingya is polarized. The government of Myanmar refuses to use the name. In the 2014 census, the Myanmar government forced the Rohingya to identify themselves as Bengali. Many Rohingya see the denial of their name as similar to denying their basic rights, and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has agreed.
The Rohingya could accept the term "Bengali-Burmese race" in their National Registration Card (NRC) and accelerate the repatriation process. In Myanmar, racial identities like, Indian-Burmese or Chinese-Burmese are common. The racial identity of citizens in Kolkata is also Bengali, but that doesn't mean they are Bangladeshi. They are Indian citizens.
The Rohingya should leave no stone unturned to return to their motherland. If this can open the door to repatriation, they should welcome it. The price they're paying is too high. Decades after decades they have been suffering. Killing, raping, burning their homes, ethnic cleansing etc. every crime has been committed against them.
Millions were forced to leave their homeland. Those still living in Rakhine, are facing restrictions on their freedom of movement, access to state education and civil service jobs -- it is as though they are living in imprisonment. Not only that, thousands of new-born children of the Rohingya in different refugee camps in different countries are moving towards an uncertain future and a state-less identity.
Their Bengali-Burmese ethnic identity does not mean that the Rohingya are not Myanmar nationals. Rather, it will eliminate one point of difference between the Myanmar government and the Rohingya community. The other demands of the Rohingya like nationality, freedom of movement, political participation etc, can be discussed and solved. But for that, the Rohingya must return to their country and fight for their rights. Taking refuge in another country renders any protest by them meaningless.
On the other hand, as it is historically proven that the Rohingya Muslims are an integral part of Myanmar, the Myanmar government should not deny their citizenship. They can repatriate the Rohingya and then talk with them regarding their other demands. This will help them gain some international support.
The decade-long suppression of the Rohingya must come to an end. It's our humanitarian duty to stand with them. An "ethnic cleansing" by the Burmese military must not be allowed to succeed. This is a test for the international community to give back the rights of Rohingya and repatriate them to their own homeland, Myanmar, with dignity and honor..."
Source/publisher:
"Dhaka Tribune" (Bangladesh)
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Local URL:
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Description:
"A lasting solution to the Rohingya crisis lies in the safe, sustainable and dignified repatriation of the 1.2 million Rohingyas staying in Bangladesh to Myanmar. Dignified repatriation of Rohingyas is possible through appropriate measures and the creation of an enabling environment in Myanmar’s political and social environment, but progress in this regard is not promising.
The leading representatives of the Rohingya community, who have been persecuted and tortured since Myanmar’s independence, have belatedly realized that they need a unified representation both inside Myanmar and abroad to actively tackle this problem. From 2017 till date, there has been an absence of active, regular presence and effective role of any group or organization representing the Rohingya community in the international arena.
A larger coalition called Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA) has been formed with some of these leading organizations and senior Rohingya politicians working on the interests of the Rohingyas to secure and ensure the oppressed Rohingya community’s right to live with dignity and honour. Due to the lack of coordination among the organizations dealing with the interest of Rohingyas, these organizations failed to perform an effective role in highlighting Rohingya interests in the international arena. To secure the rights of Rohingyas in a new federal democratic union of Myanmar strong cooperation between organizations representing the Rohingyas is essential.
According to the founding member of ARNA and co-founder of the Free Rohingya Coalition Ne San Luin, the most important task for the Rohingya leadership in the coming days is to increase cooperation and coordination between organizations. It is hoped that the ARNA will unite Rohingya leaders living at home and abroad to achieve the right of self-determination for the Rohingyas within the Federal Union of Myanmar. ARNA leadership stated that the Rohingya’s are not separatists, are willing to be part of the future Federal Democratic Union of Myanmar and willing to cooperate with all parties within Myanmar.
ARNA brought together Rohingya organizations, politicians and activists on a common platform for the first time since the organized genocide and brutal military crackdown in 2017. According to ARNA, the Rohingyas are interested in living peacefully with other ethnic groups in Myanmar and want to work together with the National Unity Government (NUG) and the United League of Arakan (ULA). ARNA stated that the Rohingyas are committed to maintaining peaceful coexistence on the principle of unity in diversity. The Rohingya have also expressed their support and solidarity with other oppressed ethnic and religious minorities in the country. Alliance leaders approved the outline of the alliance on November 20, 2022. ARNA is still in its early stages and will soon include youth and women representing the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh.
After the military coup the NUG was formed. They published a policy paper titled ‘Policy Position on the Rohingya in Rakhine State’ recognizing their identity as ‘Rohingya’. This recognition gives an idea of the changing position of Myanmar’s pro-democracy parties. Earlier, the Myanmar government and military had been claiming that there was no such thing as ‘Rohingya’. Almost all the demands of the Rohingya’s are reflected in the commitments mentioned in the policy paper of the NUG. In addition to this, the commander in chief of the Arakan Army (AA), the military wing of Arakan’s ruling political party ULA said that they recognize the Rohingyas as “Muslim residents of Rakhine” and wants to ensure the human and civil rights of the Rohingyas. This acceptance is a positive step to solve the Rohingya problem and an indication of their changing attitude towards the Rohingyas.
Acceptance of the Rohingyas in the political circles of Myanmar and in the local politics of Arakan will accelerate the resolution of the crisis. ARNA can advocate for this initiative in the international arena. The participation of Rohingyas in this political initiative is an important decision. ARNA leaders can continue to communicate with the NUG, AA and take initiatives to mend the divide and bring back the long-standing coexistence and tolerance of the two communities. On September 19, the ULA announced in a statement that the world community must come to an understanding with them in any matter related to Arakan. The repatriation of Rohingya needs to be discussed with AA and then ULA will develop a roadmap for Rohingya repatriation based on mutual consent. It is also an important event in the ongoing process.
Recently, on the 75th Independence Day of Myanmar, the junta government awarded the prestigious state award to the Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, who was criticized for his radical nationalist sentiments and spreading hatred against the Rohingyas. It remains to be seen whether this has any negative impact on resolving the Rohingya issue. Wirathu came into the limelight by demanding that Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim-owned businesses be boycotted and Buddhists are banned from marrying Muslims. In 2013, his photo was featured on the cover of the world-famous Time magazine and he was identified as the ‘Face of Buddhist Terror’. Wirathu is also referred to by many as the Buddhists ‘Bin Laden’.
National League for Democracy (NLD) was working to end the ethnic violence in Myanmar. NLD co-founder Win Tin visited the Wirathu’s monastery in the city of Mandalay two months before his death in 2014 to discuss the acceptance of Rohingyas by the extremist Buddhist groups, but their meeting failed to bring any positive result for the Rohingyas. International human rights groups have accused Wirathu of helping the junta to foment hatred against the Rohingya community, saying Wirathu’s anti-Muslim role helped fuel the junta’s crackdown on the Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2017. ARNA should be ready to work to make the existing situation favorable to resolve the crisis.
In December 2022, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution for the first time calling for an end to the violence in Myanmar, identifying the root causes of the Rohingya crisis and creating a favorable environment for their safe, sustainable and dignified return. The resolution adopted by the Security Council praised the government of Bangladesh for providing shelter, security and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas. The resolution also strongly highlights the negative impact of the current political unrest on the return of Rohingyas to Myanmar and the resulting regional security risks. According to China, there is no quick fix to the Rohingya issue. China expressed that, the ultimate solution to this crisis depends fundamentally and solely on Myanmar. Russia does not see the situation in Myanmar as a threat to international security and therefore believes it should not be addressed by the UN Security Council. India also abstained from voting on the resolution. ARNA should work with these powerful countries to create an environment conducive to speedy repatriation. Analysing the recent events, it can be seen that western countries are putting pressure on Myanmar in addition to providing humanitarian aid to solve the Rohingya crisis. Their positive attitude was expressed by passing the resolution in the UN General Assembly.
ARNA has number of challenges in future and to deal with those they need to work with the international community. Since the attitude of China, India and Russia is still not positive, ARNA has to keep in touch with these countries and donor organizations to prepare the ground for solving the issue. Efforts should be made to soften the attitude of Buddhist organizations with the support of ASEAN and friendly Buddhist countries. The Nippon Foundation is in contact with the Myanmar government and AA, ARNA should also find a way forward to resolve the crisis by maintaining contact with them.
For sustainable repatriation, the economic and social development of Rakhine state is important. This should be ensured by implementing the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission report with the help of donors, UN, countries investing in Myanmar and Western countries. ARNA should be active and find out measures to change the attitude of the common people in Myanmar and broadcast motivational programs aimed at hardline Buddhist organizations.
ARNA should take initiatives for a permanent solution to the Rohingya crisis by closely working and developing relationships with NUG, PDF, AA, civil society, policymakers, lawmakers and other relevant organizations. They are not yet in a position to do so much in the beginning, but if they continue with organizational strength and sincerity, it is expected that they will be able to contribute significantly to the process of resolving the crisis. It is expected that ARNA will quickly gain recognition in the international arena and speed up the solution to the Rohingya problem by addressing the root causes..."
Source/publisher:
"Eurasia Review"
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-22
[field_licence]
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Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"DHAKA – A Rohingya refugee was shot dead, two others injured and many displaced by shooting and fires at a camp in no man’s land between Bangladesh and Myanmar on Wednesday.
Gunshots were also reported on Thursday from the Konarpara camp where Squadron Leader Rizwan Rushdee of the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) and a young Rohingya woman were killed during an anti-smuggling operation on November 14.
Bangladeshi intelligence and police sources told The Irrawaddy that there was fighting between groups linked to the Rohingya Solidary Organisation (RSO) and Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) broke at the Konarpara camp and sporadic firing carried on for several hours.
“We have nothing to do with the firing as it took place inside the camp and also inside Myanmar,” said Naikhyangchhari police chief Mohammad Shahjahan on Thursday.
Police said the border is mainly under Border Guard Bangladesh jurisdiction. The border force was unavailable for comment.
A law enforcement agency source in Bandarban said one man in RSO “combat uniform” was shot dead and many others were injured on the border and inside Myanmar.
Two intelligence agents said fighting between the RSO and “uncontrolled” ARSA was responsible for Rushdee’s death in November. ARSA denied involvement.
DGFI Cox’s Bazar officer Mohammad Anwar Hossain on November 23 filed a case against ARSA commander-in-chief Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi and 66 others for Rushdee’s death.
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in Bangladesh told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that two injured people were treated at its Kutupalong clinic in Cox’s Bazar. Another victim was dead on arrival.
“MSF can confirm that among the two injured patients who survived, one suffered a gunshot wound and has been referred for further treatment to another facility. The second patient, a child, sustained minor injuries after a bullet grazed his hand and damaged the tissue,” the charity said.
The deceased man was Hamid Ullah, 24, while Mohid Ullah, 23, of Shalbagan Rohingya camp near Cox’s Bazar was admitted to a government hospital.
Ullah’s brother-in-law Mohammad Shaker said he was an RSO member.
Rohingya community leader Dil Mohammad told the media that the rival groups were fighting to control the refugee camp.
Many Rohingya were later displaced after fires were set at the camp.
“We have learned it was ARSA who set fire to escape from Konarpara. I saw over 100 Rohingya lose their shelters,” said a Bangladeshi visitor.
Bangladesh Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner Mohammed Mizanur Rahman said many of those displaced were seeking safety inside Bangladesh.
“We put our law enforcement agencies on alert and asked them not to allow anyone inside into Bangladeshi territory as we are already overburdened and have no room to accommodate a single person,” he told The Irrawaddy.
RSO or ARSA made no comment.
Last month Bangladeshi home minister Asaduzzaman Khan announced that security at Konarpara would be increased, including extra fencing to reduce transborder crimes.
He said around 4,500 Rohingyas in no man’s land would not be relocated but fences would be erected to prevent crime..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Sub-title:
UN figures show number of those attempting to escape horrendous conditions in refugee camps increased from 700 in 2021 to over 3,500 in 2022
Description:
"The number of Rohingya refugees taking dangerous sea journeys in the hope of reaching Malaysia or Indonesia has surged by 360%, the UN has announced after hundreds of refugees were left stranded at the end of last year.
Rohingya in Bangladesh refugee camps have warned that human smugglers have ramped up operations and are constantly searching for people to fill boats from Myanmar and Bangladesh headed for Malaysia, where people believe they can live more freely.
More than 3,500 Rohingya boarded boats in 2022 compared with 700 the year before, reviving a route between the Bay of Bengal and southeast Asia which was used to move thousands of Rohingya until 2015, when the discovery of mass graves in Thailand forced a crackdown.
Shabia Mantoo, a UNHCR spokesperson, said smugglers are using “false promises and false hope” to lure desperate people, and that regional governments need to act to prevent trafficking and protect any Rohingya who arrive on their shores.
She said: “Calls by UNHCR to maritime authorities in the region to rescue and disembark people in distress have been ignored or have gone unheeded, with many boats adrift for weeks.”
Since 2017, more than a million Rohingya have lived in refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing massacres by the Myanmar military, while those still in Myanmar are frequently arrested when travelling beyond their districts. Several boats were left adrift during the last two months of 2022, with governments not responding to distress calls, leaving Indonesian fishers to rescue 450 people. Another boat with 100 Rohingya was rescued by the Sri Lankan navy.
Zahid Hossain, a Rohingya teacher, said two of his friends were on a boat of 180 people that the UN believes capsized last month. Like him, both spent most of their lives in Bangladesh after their families fled Myanmar in the early 1990s, and were active in volunteering for NGOs.
“They left the camp to seek a better life, and hoping in Malaysia there might be an opportunity for them and their families to build a future for their children. This long-lasting refugee life of 31 years has become an unbearable, poisoned life for them,” he said.
“I found out about their drowning when I heard voice notes sent to us from another boat nearby that reached Indonesia after a bad storm.”
Ali Kabir, an anti-trafficking campaigner who lives near the camps, said the problem was not being taken seriously, and people-smugglers have freely recruited and moved refugees without police action. “There are lot of people being moved, and sometimes when we tell them [the police] they don’t care – they say these people have become a burden.”
Kabir said refugees are often held on boats while ransoms are demanded from their families, adapting a previous strategy of holding people in jungle camps which continued until Thailand discovered mass Rohingya graves in 2015.
“The systems change, the routes change. Now there aren’t mass graves – they die at sea. The sea became the graveyard for them.”
Rohingya people have complained that violent armed gangs are becoming increasingly powerful inside the camps. In a report on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Bangladesh’s Armed Police Battalion, assigned to tackle insecurity in the camps, of arbitrary arrests, harassment and extortion.
“Abuses by police in the Cox’s Bazar camps have left Rohingya refugees suffering at the hands of the very forces who are supposed to protect them,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at HRW..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-19
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in China, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Following the attempted coup in February 2021, Myanmar’s military1 has relied on an arsenal of weapons2 to carry out summary executions, massacres and other human rights atrocities in response to peaceful protests and growing anti-coup armed resistance in Myanmar. Analysis of witness statements and of video and photographic evidence in relation to such human rights violations shows security forces armed with a variety of locally produced firearms, including sniper rifles,3 MA-1 semi-automatic rifles,4 and Uzi-replica BA-93 and BA-94 sub-machine guns.5 In addition, analysis of images of weapons used by soldiers and the military-controlled Myanmar police force shows that much of the small arms ammunition used against peaceful protestors in 2021 carries the headstamp marking of the Myanmar military’s Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI), confirming local manufacture.6
Since the late 1950s, and in particular with the coming to power of the so-called State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) military junta in 1988, Myanmar’s military has invested significantly in strengthening its domestic capacity to produce weapons as a necessary means for releasing the military from a dependence on external supplies. This ambition is illustrated by:
the initial establishment of weapon production factories in Yangon and in the central, Bamar- majority parts of the country and the continuous establishment of new factories, including some that have yet to become fully operational;
the progressive increase in stockpiles of strategic raw materials to ensure adequate and uninterrupted supply for continuous in-country production of weapons;
the modernisation of auxiliary industries – such as iron and steel plants – to provide necessary materials for production;7
the continuous upgrading of existing weapons and diversification of production lines; and
the strategic diversification of sourcing bases (countries and companies) to limit the impacts of current and potential future sanctions and embargoes.
As a result, Myanmar’s military has gradually become largely self-sufficient in manufacturing a range of weapons. By way of illustration, the DDI currently has an extremely robust production capacity for small arms8 to meet its operational needs,9 which are focussed almost exclusively on the brutal internal suppression of the Myanmar population.
As its atrocities mount, the military’s need to further insulate itself from economic and external diplomatic pressure will likely lead to increased efforts aimed at the modernisation of existing weapon factories, the construction of additional factories and the development of auxiliary domestic industries for supplying the factories with necessary raw materials.
Despite robust production capabilities, however, the DDI is still reliant on international supplies, including for a variety of raw materials, parts and components and end-items, as well as machinery and technology, for the sustained production – both licensed and un-licensed10 – of the weapons in its arsenal.
This report maps out the Myanmar military’s in-country weapon production which takes place at factories commonly referred to as KaPaSa (after the Burmese name for the Directorate of Defence Industries, Karkweye Pyitsee Setyone) or, in the military’s own terms, as “Defence Industry” factories (DI). The report provides an overview of some of the critical supplies that appear to enable this production, and it identifies companies whose products are currently used by the DDI to successfully sustain its weapon manufacturing at scale.11 The report also identifies companies that enable the DDI to purchase products by brokering deals or otherwise acting as intermediaries for the DDI.12 In doing so, these companies also enable Myanmar’s military to continue to commit gross human rights violations, amounting to crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
This report by the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) finds that:
Some of the DDI’s production appears to be taking place under license (including expired licenses). However, the licensing situation for many of the weapons currently produced at the KaPaSa factories remains unclear. Whether licensed or unlicensed production, the DDI appears to have obtained the technology and know-how to produce a variety of its weapons through various types of transfer of technology (ToT) deals. Over the years, the types of ToT deals that the DDI has entered into with companies – including State-owned companies – from Italy and (then) West Germany, Singapore, Israel, South Korea, North Korea, China and Ukraine have included the receipt of entire weapon production plants (turn-key projects), receipt of direct support from engineers associated with the owner of the technology, joint venture agreements, and KaPaSa factory staff being trained by original license-holders. Some companies that have provided ToTs to the DDI appear to have received commercial contracts, including in Myanmar’s oil and gas sector, in exchange.
While the DDI is able to partially produce and domestically source some of the critical raw materials used for its arms production, it still imports important quantities of such materials, including from China through the China State-owned company China North Industries Group Corporation Limited (NORINCO). China has also played an important role in supporting the establishment and operation of auxiliary industries, such as iron and steel plants and copper mines, that are either directly connected with weapon production factories in Myanmar or whose outputs feed the factories’ production. The DDI is currently also seeking to invest in iron and steel plants in the country, including in Pyin Oo Lwin, Mandalay Region. Consequently, foreign companies involved in the extraction and/or processing of certain raw materials in Myanmar may find themselves contributing to, or being directly linked to, sustaining the Myanmar armed forces’ arms production capabilities.
The DDI also depends on imports of parts and components ready to be used in weapons made in the KaPaSa factories, including fuses, cast boosters, detonating caps, igniters and electric detonators. Available data indicates that many of these parts and components come from companies domiciled in India and China. Information obtained by SAC-M suggests that the poor quality of many of the Chinese products upon which the DDI depends has prompted the DDI to progressively turn to other countries, including India, for critical supplies, and that the DDI is planning for other countries, including India, to play an increasingly important role for the weapon production industry in Myanmar. Several companies domiciled in India have also been identified as supplying the DDI with end-items such as optical sights to be fitted to made-in-Myanmar small arms such as sniper rifles. The military’s need to import optical sights is likely to continue as the military is moving towards the increased use of optical sights in its small arms and light weapons design and manufacture.
Automated machining is a critical step for weapon manufacturing at scale and modern Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines with turning, milling and grinding functions, as well as electro-discharge machines, play a critical role. SAC-M has identified machines manufactured by companies legally domiciled in Austria, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and the United States (US) that are currently used by the Myanmar military at its weapon production factories. SAC-M has also identified various software programmes made by companies legally domiciled in France, Israel and Germany currently being used at KaPaSa factories for operating some of the CNC machines.
Singapore functions as a strategic transit point for potentially significant volumes of items – including certain raw materials – that feed the Myanmar military’s weapon production. Companies domiciled in Singapore have been identified as brokering deals and exporting items to the DDI or to associated civilian front companies for the military in Myanmar. In addition, according to credible information received by SAC-M, Taiwan functions as an important transit point for the DDI’s purchase of high precision CNC machines, including from European manufacturers, for KaPaSa arms manufacturing. In addition, individuals formerly associated with Myanmar’s armed forces suggest that, with the assistance of Mottama Holdings Limited – a Myanmar-based conglomerate and reportedly the current intermediary between the DDI and Chinese arms industry company NORINCO – the DDI also regularly sends CNC machines from KaPaSa factories to Taiwan where they are serviced by technicians associated with the European manufacturers of the machines, after which they are shipped back to Myanmar and to the DDI. It appears as though the absence of Taiwanese sanctions on Myanmar facilitates these types of transactions and shipments to and from Myanmar for the performance of critical maintenance.
The leader of the Myanmar military, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and his top military leaders must be held accountable for the human rights violations that they have perpetrated. However, this report emphasises that concrete action must also be taken to address the corporate responsibility to respect human rights in Myanmar. This requires action both by the companies that have been identified in this report and by their home governments.
Under international human rights law, all States have a duty to protect against human rights abuses by third parties, including business enterprises, through appropriate policies, regulation and adjudication. In relation to the manufacturing and export of weapons and associated items and machinery specifically, this expectation is reflected in several multilateral agreements of relevance to the arms industry, including the Arms Trade Treaty13 and dual-use goods regimes, such as the Wassenaar Arrangement,14 the European Union (EU) Dual-Use Goods Regulation15 and current sanctions regimes that apply to Myanmar.16 For the home States of the companies that have been identified, adhering to these legal provisions requires them to apply export controls on a number of items – including sub-components, end-items and machinery and technology – that could be used for arms production.
At present, it is unclear to what extent the home States of companies have upheld this responsibility in relation to the products that have been identified in use at the Myanmar military’s weapon production factories and auxiliary industries. SAC-M recommends that the home States identified in this report investigate and, as relevant, initiate administrative and/or legal proceedings against the companies whose parts and components, end-items and machinery and technology are relied upon by the Myanmar military’s Directorate of Defence Industries. States should also adopt targeted sanctions against the KaPaSa, its leadership and its network of brokers that have been identified in this report.
Companies have a responsibility to respect human rights. This means that they should act with due diligence to avoid infringing on the human rights of others and to address adverse human rights impacts with which they are involved.17 The responsibility to respect is independent of States’ abilities and/or willingness to fulfil their human rights obligations. In practical terms, and in relation to the Myanmar military’s weapon production, meeting this responsibility means that companies are expected to apply their own due diligence in relation to the risks of potential harmful end-use of their products,18 and to put in place measures to prevent or mitigate such risks. For products that are covered by export controls, companies are not absolved of the responsibility to respect human rights by the mere fact that their home State has granted the necessary export permits. Companies identified in the report should immediately stop doing business with the Myanmar military’s Directorate of Defence Industries and associated military entities and civilian front companies for the Myanmar military, and they should investigate how their products have ended up being used for the manufacturing of arms by the military in Myanmar. Beyond this, companies should also take steps to prevent future harmful end-use of their products through robust due diligence to identify, prevent, and mitigate the risk of harm associated with the sale/licensing and deployment of their products. In relation to harms that have already been suffered by civilians in Myanmar, companies should provide for, or cooperate in, the remediation of such harms, including by collaborating with any future legal or administrative proceedings.
Lastly, it should be noted that this report does not undertake the immense task of mapping out the Myanmar military’s arms production and associated value chains19 in their entirety. Undertaking such an endeavour is a key recommendation of this report. Put differently, additional, longer-term research is needed to identify additional critical supplies with a view to disrupting the Myanmar military’s weapon production. This undertaking would fill an important gap in the current research on Myanmar’s armed forces, which tends to focus on the military’s acquisition of weapons from elsewhere, rather than weapons that are made in the country. To this end, SAC-M encourages interested parties to follow-up on the present research where it has left off. To sustain such future work, SAC-M invites the submission of information, on a continuous basis, that could lead to the identification of additional companies that supply or support the Myanmar military in its manufacturing of weapons.20
PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY
Since the military’s crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, arms embargoes and sanctions have been imposed on Myanmar by foreign governments. So far as arms are concerned, these types of measures have principally sought to prohibit the trade of military or dual-use goods that may be used by the Myanmar military for internal suppression. Important as they may be, these measures have not been fully effective in preventing the military from committing atrocities against the civilian population. On the one hand, this failure stems from the fact that several UN member states continue to sell weapons to the military.21 An equally important factor, however, is the fact that Myanmar’s military can produce a large variety of weapons in-country.
Weapons made in the country’s so-called KaPaSa factories have been, and continue to be, used by Myanmar’s military for widespread, systematic and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, as evidenced in publicly available reports and video/photographic evidence, and corroborated by information received by SAC-M from individuals formerly associated with the Myanmar armed forces or experts on made-in-Myanmar weapons. For example:
Post-coup military offensives in Karenni / Kayah State have involved the systematic and massive use of landmines – including locally produced M14 anti-personnel landmines – in and around villages in south-eastern Karenni / Kayah State, acts that may amount to war crimes.22 Photographs reviewed by the Land Mine and Cluster Munition Monitor indicate that antipersonnel landmines manufactured by Myanmar were captured from the Myanmar Armed Forces by non-state armed groups every month from January to September 2022 and in virtually every part of the country.23 In August 2022, antipersonnel mines manufactured by and in the possession of the Myanmar military were captured in both the northwest and southwest of the country, indicating extensive mine use by the armed forces.24
Following the 2021 attempted coup, the military and police responded to peaceful protests with in- country made weapons – including a variety of rifles25 and grenades26 – to assassinate protestors.
In March 2019, during armed conflict between the military and the Arakan Army (AA), at least five people were killed when the army opened fire on Say Taung village in northern Rahkine, using rounds and artillery produced at a KaPaSa factory.27 Throughout the two-year period of conflict with the AA, the military regularly fired into villages in Rakhine State with locally produced small arms and ammunition, injuring or killing civilians, damaging civilian houses and other structures, and causing mass displacement. Investigation into military attacks in Rakhine in 2019 also indicates that the military systematically fired explosive weapons with wide area effects, including locally produced mortars and associated projectiles, into civilian areas.28
The military’s genocidal atrocities inflicted on Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017 involved the killing of Rohingya civilians by the military and Border Guard Police using a variety of DDI-made small arms, including the MA-3 MK I and G3 rifles used during the Inn Din massacre.29
In short: weapons produced by the Myanmar military in-country at its KaPaSa factories have been used in the military’s widespread and systematic attacks against civilian targets, prior to, during and after the 2021 attempted military coup, and continue to be so.
Over a period of one year, SAC-M has mapped out the Myanmar armed forces’ in-country weapon production and the value chains that enable this production. The research has entailed open- source investigation, including review of user-generated content in Burmese and English posted on a wide variety of social media forums and discussion groups (open and closed). SAC-M has also reviewed leaked budget-related documents (2016-2021) from the Myanmar military-controlled Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the DDI as well as shipment records from subscription-based import/export databases. In addition, SAC-M has interviewed approximately 30 individuals, including former soldiers of the Myanmar armed forces as well as weapon experts and experts on the weapon manufacturing industry in Southeast Asia broadly and Myanmar specifically.31,32
SAC-M hopes that this report will contribute to a greater understanding of the Myanmar military’s weapon production and the global value chains that feed this production to ensure that more effective international action can be taken to protect the rights of the Myanmar people, including through targeted sanctions, engagement with identified companies to prevent future supplies reaching the DDI and the network of KaPaSa factories and, as necessary, targeted accountability-oriented proceedings..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-16
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"Media Release from the Global Justice Center and Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
The Global Justice Center and the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) today submitted recommendations to the Argentinian judiciary in a case brought against Myanmar military leaders for the genocide of the Rohingya.
The case was filed by BROUK and launched by the Second Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court in 2021 under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows any court to prosecute certain human rights abuses, regardless of where they were committed.
Today’s submission seeks to prepare the court for testimony from victims of sexual violence. It presents internationally-recognized principles for interviewing and engaging with victims. The submission also sets out standards for how the court should asses evidence of sexual violence.
Tun Khin, BROUK President, issued the following statement:
“More than five years after the genocide of the Rohingya, this case represents a crucial path to justice for crimes committed in Myanmar, particularly for victims of sexual violence. The Argentinian courts have an opportunity to be on the right side of history and provide justice that, until now, has seemed illusive.”
Angela Mudukuti, Senior Legal Advisor with the Global Justice Center, issued the following statement:
“Supporting victims of sexual violence, and our partners BROUK in their quest for justice, is of the utmost importance to the Global Justice Center. We submitted these recommendations because, historically, courts all over the world have failed to engage with victims and survivors of sexual violence in a way that avoids retraumatization and gives their testimony the weight it deserves. We remain hopeful that our submission will support the Argentinian judiciary in treating survivors and victims with dignity.”..."
Source/publisher:
Global Justice Center and Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-03
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"How providing cash, piglets, and business training is helping Rohingya survivors of gender-based violence, and those at risk, in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
Rakhine State, Myanmar – Daw Mya Mya Aye, 60, could not hide her joy as she joined fellow villagers in sharing how the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) breathed hope into their vulnerable families.
Speaking at the launch of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November in Matkalar village in Rakhine state, Daw Mya Mya Aye and her fellow beneficiaries explained how through the assistance from CERF they are now slowly rebuilding their lives after the COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation of the armed conflict following the military takeover in February 2021.
“I am happy that the programme gave my life back,” said Daw Mya Mya Aye, a single mother of two. “I received business training, cash, 17 piglets and stock feed to revive my pig business, which had collapsed. The training has improved my pig rearing skills, and the animals are healthier than my previous stock.”
After the armed conflict intensified, risks of gender-based violence increased, including child, forced and early marriages, and human trafficking. Daw Mya Mya Aye said she had seriously considered leaving her country out of desperation. “But I decided to stay here because I could not bear the thought of staying in a refugee camp with my small children.” The military takeover has seen more than 1.4 million people, 200,000 in Rakhine state alone, internally displaced in Myanmar, while more than 950,000 have sought refuge in nearby Bangladesh, Thailand and India.
However, after some weeks of sleepless nights pondering her next move to survive the effects of the conflict, she said a representative of one local women-led organization informed her about a new programme that intended to support vulnerable women. “That was my turning point.”
It is the plight of many women such as Daw Mya Mya Aye that required UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to join hands in the CERF-funded global multi-country programme to provide essential services to gender-based violence survivors and enhance their protection from exploitation and abuse. The programme also aimed to help women build back their small businesses for economic independence.
The initiative targets 7,192 women and girls in Rakhine and Kachin states, focusing particularly on survivors of, or those at risk of, gender-based violence.
Through this joint programme, UNFPA is also improving communities’ access to quality and comprehensive prevention and response services for gender-based violence. On the other hand, UN Women is complementing these efforts through provision of cash, business trainings and livelihood support to prevent women from opting for negative coping mechanisms such as selling family livelihood assets, exhausting savings for children’s education and other necessities, transactional sex and forced and child marriages. Support will ensure that women do not respond to difficulties using strategies that may provide a temporary means of survival, but seriously undermine their long-term wellbeing.
The cutting edge of this programme is that UN Women and UNFPA are not working alone. To further promote the localization agenda and expand the reach and access of services, the programme is partnering with 15 local women-led organizations and women’s rights organizations. This partnership is facilitating the capacity development of the women’s organizations for better engagement in humanitarian action, for them to promote reporting of gender-based violence incidents and increase accessibility of essential services such as mental health and psychosocial support and legal aid for delivery of justice.
Working in the camps for internally displaced persons and resettlement sites, the women’s organizations are engaging with various groups of people including community and religious leaders, men and boys to raise awareness on the negative effects of GBV and to improve local capacities to influence behaviour change and address social norms and gender stereotypes that fuel gender-based violence. In Rakhine state, where Daw Mya Mya Aye stays with her family, the programme is supporting 227 women, including 50 female-headed households.
The women were provided with business trainings to help improve their livestock production capacity for economic resilience, as well as in-kind support, namely piglets, chicks, stock feed and cash.
The acting interim UN Women representative in Myanmar, Karin Fueg, emphasized the importance of investing in multi-sectoral gender-based violence services and livelihood opportunities that can strengthen the protection of women and girls in conflict. She said expanding activities that can create opportunities for people to challenge gender norms and address unequal power relations between women and men can help prevent gender-based violence.
Humanitarian actors, she said, should work as a collective and put survivors and women and girls at risk of gender-based violence at the centre of protection efforts, while ensuring that life-saving services are delivered in a timely manner through different mechanisms, such as partnering with local women’s civil society organizations to ease access..."
Source/publisher:
UN Women (New York) via United Nations Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-02
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Type:
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UN Women, Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"U Nay San Lwin is the co-founder of the Germany-based Free Rohingya Coalition, but better known on social media as Ro Nay San Lwin. Known for his Rohingya activism, he has described the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) as criminals who kill their own kind. U Nay San Lwin talked recently to The Irrawaddy about the Spring Revolution against the military dictatorship and the conflict in Rakhine State.
What is your opinion of the Spring Revolution and the civilian National Unity Government (NUG)?
The revolutionary spirit of young people in Myanmar and their desire to reform the country deserves praise. I’m proud that young people are this active after almost two years of revolution. If they keep on like this, I think the country will be liberated one day.
About the leadership of the NUG, after the NUG was formed it released a statement describing its policy towards the Rohingya people. Although it has some weakness in recognizing the identity of the Rohingya, I welcome the NUG statement.
The NUG has yet to cooperate with the Rohingya. About the genocide, the United States officially recognized [the Myanmar military’s 2017 operation against the Rohingya] as genocide and the case is also being heard at the International Court of Justice. What will be the NUG’s position? It has not recognized it as genocide. When will it recognize it? Rather than cooperating only when necessary, the NUG should cooperate extensively with Rohingya leaders and activists to find a solution to the issue.
How will the Rohingya co-exist with the Rakhine people? What are the views of the Rohingya on the Arakan Army (AA) and the conflict in Rakhine?
Rakhine ethnic people make up the majority in Rakhine. And the Rohingya make up the second largest population. The Rohingya were officially recognized as one of Myanmar’s ethnic groups after independence and granted full ethnic rights. There were different views about this policy after [military dictator] U Ne Win seized power. Rakhine scholars and politicians were involved in designing and backing the 1982 Citizenship Law [which denies the Rohingya citizenship]. [Rohingya] were not happy, but there were no attacks.
[Sectarian strife] was created under U Thein Sein’s government to distract public attention from the [China-backed] oil and gas pipeline project in Kyaukphyu in 2012. There were casualties. The two communities became segregated. But, lately, the two communities are engaging again.
Rakhine people and Rohingya people have reached a higher level of understanding. Previously, Rohingya students could not attend Sittwe University. But now some 200 to 300 Rohingya students are studying there. Rohingya and Rakhine student unions are cooperating. Previously, Rohingya people could not leave their camps to do shopping. But now there is trade between the two communities. So things have improved a lot. But there are still vague policies.
We don’t know about the fate of Rohingya when the AA takes control of all Rakhine State and declares independence. Generally, they [the AA] have been saying that there will be full human rights and citizenship rights for Rohingya. But the situation on the ground is a little different from what the AA leaders say.
Developments [in relations between Rakhine and Rohingya] youths are quite encouraging. But there is room for engagement between the leadership of the two sides. We will wait and see how the leaders of the two sides resolve things. We must try.
What is your view on ARSA? There are suspicions that ARSA has ties to international terrorist organizations.
About ARSA, their first operation took place on October 9, 2016. They attacked border police outposts in northern Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships then. About their coordinated attacks on 30 border guard outposts and police stations in 2017, I doubt that they are really that strong or have the weapons to carry out attacks on that scale. I think it was an excuse [for the Myanmar military to persecute the Rohingya]. In fact, Rohingya people were forced out of their homes. It was not a coincidence. When I went to Bangladesh, I met residents from every village and inquired what happened. The things that the military claimed happened didn’t occur. The attacks occurred just one day after an advisory commission led by former United Nations chief Kofi Annan issued its report [which provides a long-term solution for Rakhine State]. It couldn’t be a coincidence.
There are alleged ties between the Myanmar military and ARSA. I have suspicions that they have ties, but I have no evidence. And ARSA has started to target people in the refugee camps in Bangladesh who oppose them and are advocating for Rohingya repatriation.
ARSA assassinated our comrade who had become a community leader at the refugee camps. We have monitored the activities of ARSA in the refugee camps since 2016. We found that they are not working in the interests of the Rohingya people. There are also allegations that ARSA is involved in drug smuggling. If they are really working for the liberation of the Rohingya people, they wouldn’t be killing Rohingya people in the refugee camps.
They have gone too far. I have assessed their policies and I can’t accept them. The Rohingya community can’t accept the ARSA. We have officially told the world that ARSA does not represent the Rohingya community.
Are Rohingya people hopeful that they will be able to return to their homes in Rakhine once the military dictatorship is overthrown?
Frankly speaking, we didn’t have hope in the past. Although the NLD government was in office, the military was in fact in control and the [NLD government] just echoed the military. So there was no hope then and there is no hope now either.
If the NUG is consistent with its policies and returns to power as a legitimate government, there will be hope.
After the coup last year, Min Aung Hlaing talked about repatriating Rohingya people and also sent a letter to the Bangladesh government about it. But the military then engaged in fierce fighting with the AA to create the impression that Rakhine is not safe and that repatriation is impossible.
The military committed genocide against the Rohingya and its claim that it is now working to bring them back deceives no one. If it really wants to mend its ways, there are more than 130,000 internally displaced persons currently in camps in Sittwe [the Rakhine capital] and it must arrange for them to return to their homes.
The military must show clearly how it has rebuilt villages for refugees to come back to. And it must also clearly state if they can enjoy citizenship rights. The regime is only talking the talk, and there is no hope for us. We can do nothing if the whole country is ruined.
We are part of this country and we will do what we can to help the success of the revolution and a return to civilian administration. We have been advocating and finding ways to build a new federal, democratic country which guarantees equal rights for all the minorities, not just the Rohingya, when a civilian administration is restored. We are not leading the efforts, but only assisting the people leading those efforts. Only when peace is restored to the country, will we know the fate of our Rohingya people..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"GENEVA (22 December 2022) – Appealing for the immediate rescue of Rohingya refugees in distress on a vessel in the Andaman Sea, UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Tom Andrews said regional governments in South and Southeast Asia should prioritise safety and human rights and ensure coordinated search and rescue operations. He issued the following statement:
“While many in the world are preparing to enjoy a holiday season and ring in a new year, boats bearing desperate Rohingya men, women and young children, are setting off on perilous journeys in unseaworthy vessels.
One such boat carrying more than 100 Rohingya refugees has been at sea for weeks, and is reportedly now close to Aceh, Indonesia. Its engine has failed and those on board are running out of food and water. It has been reported that 16 passengers have already died, including at least one child. I call on all relevant maritime actors to immediately and urgently coordinate search and rescue for this boat and ensure safe disembarkation of those aboard before any further loss of life occurs.
Too many Rohingya lives have already been lost in maritime crossings. Regional governments should prevent any further loss of life and urgently rescue and provide immediate protection to Rohingya stranded at sea. The duty to rescue persons in distress at sea is a fundamental rule of international law, is a norm of customary international law and is incorporated in international treaties. States must not push back boats out of territorial waters in an attempt to shirk international obligations.
I urge all governments from the region to develop and coordinate a more humane regional response to those fleeing the junta’s brutal violence, including the Rohingya. This requires an absolute moratorium on any deportations or pushbacks to Myanmar, and the need for coordinated search and rescue at sea in line with international human rights standards. The international community must step forward and assist regional actors to provide durable solutions for the Rohingya.
Increasing numbers of Rohingya have been using dangerous sea and land routes in recent weeks, which highlights the sense of desperation and hopelessness experienced by Rohingya in Myanmar and in the region.
While details remain unclear, at least two other boats, each carrying over 100 Rohingya refugees, have also embarked on perilous journeys.
Two weeks ago, a Vietnamese oil company vessel on its way to Myanmar rescued one sinking boat with 154 Rohingya refugees aboard. As they were close to Myanmar waters, they reportedly handed the group over to Myanmar authorities. It has been reported that those aboard were placed in migration detention in Myanmar and may now face criminal charges.
Last weekend, the Sri Lankan Navy rescued a third trawler in distress, carrying 104 Rohingya, including numerous children, some unaccompanied. I wholeheartedly thank the Government of Sri Lanka for this intervention to rescue these vulnerable Rohingya refugees.
Rohingya inside Myanmar who are unable to access sea routes have also been risking their lives by seeking out dangerous overland routes in an attempt to flee the country. Rohingya attempting to flee Myanmar who are detected outside Rakhine State are regularly charged with migration offences and jailed.
On 5 December, I was distressed to learn of credible reports indicating that the bodies of 13 Rohingya men and boys, reportedly aged between 16 and 20 years old, were found in the north of Yangon. Reports indicate they died from lack of oxygen inside a vehicle while trying to reach the border area.
All these tragedies point to unscrupulous smuggling and trafficking networks, some of whom are exploiting their desperation by putting lives at risk.
I also have learned that a court order to stay the deportation of 104 persons who arrived by boat from Myanmar in February 2021 in Malaysia has been lifted by the Malaysian High Court, putting these people at risk of being returned to Myanmar. I reiterate my call that there must be an absolute moratorium on any forced returns of refugees and migrants to Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Executive Summary:
Around 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar continue to live in the largest refugee settlement in the world in Bangladesh. More than 700,000 of these refugees fled genocide by the Myanmar military in August 2017. Five years on, the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have built up networks of support within the camps with volunteer educators, health workers, and distributors of aid. The people and government of Bangladesh, supported by international donors and humanitarian actors, have provided the Rohingya with food, shelter, and vaccines. But too few solutions have been implemented to address what has become a protracted humanitarian crisis.
Indeed, prolonged displacement and uncertainty about the future of the Rohingya is feeding a growing despair, which recent events and policies have only heightened. The 2021 coup by the Myanmar military (the entity responsible for the genocide against the Rohingya) and increased fighting within Rakhine State (the homeland of the Rohingya) in 2022 make safe return in the near term unlikely. Safety in the camps in Bangladesh has deteriorated as militant Rohingya groups and criminal gangs increasingly have targeted and killed Rohingya camp leaders. And Bangladeshi policies have constrained the ability of refugees to pursue formal education and employment opportunities, to move freely, or to form organizations and gather as civil society actors. At the same time, donor fatigue, competing crises, and global economic downturn are projected to lead to significant cuts in humanitarian funding.
Despite the dangerous trends, solutions are emerging that must be cultivated and expanded. Enhancing promising new education and skills-building initiatives is an essential place to start. The government of Bangladesh, supported by international donors, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and civil society must better engage and incorporate the Rohingya community efforts and views toward improved quality education and livelihood opportunities. Other countries, particularly in the region, should explore opportunities to provide Rohingya with access to higher education and temporary work opportunities. The government of Bangladesh must prioritize the safety and security of Rohingya refugees by cracking down on armed and criminal elements and investigating and snuffing out corruption and abuse from some members of the Armed Police Battalions (APBn) and other authorities in the camps. The United States and other countries must also engage the government of Bangladesh about resettlement of the most vulnerable among the refugees and UN agencies must work with Bangladesh to provide further safe houses for those under greatest threat.
For the Rohingya refugees to realize their ultimate goal of safe return to their homeland, the United States and like-minded countries, particularly Myanmar’s neighbors, must also address the long-term root causes of the crisis by increasing pressure on the military junta in Myanmar and furthering diplomatic and humanitarian support for opposition groups and civil society within the country.
In the meantime, to stem the tide of hopelessness, and in the interest of sustainable and dignified return in the future, the Rohingya community in Bangladesh must not be restricted, but rather supported and empowered.....Recommendations: The government of Bangladesh should:
Urgently address the security situation in the camps through enhanced coordination, investigation, and accountability among Bangladeshi law enforcement. Investigation and apprehension of armed actors in the camps must be improved through enhanced coordination among Bangladeshi law enforcement inside and outside of the camps and through authorization of APBn officers in the camps to directly receive reports from Rohingya and carry out investigations in the camps. Charges of corruption and abuse among the APBn must also be addressed and due process guaranteed for Rohingya detained in mass arrests.
Improve protection of Rohingya in the camps through safe houses and enhanced community engagement. Camp officials must engage the Rohingya community to improve protection measures including the use of unarmed refugees in night patrols or to find alternative solutions. Officials must also provide safe houses outside of the camps to human rights defenders and other Rohingya refugees identified as particularly vulnerable and at risk of attack.
Expand access to quality education for Rohingya. The government should enhance training and recruitment of Rohingya teachers through increased limits on stipends and dedicated capacity-building for female Rohingya teachers. It should support community-based learning initiatives and also allow two-story buildings to be used for schools. The government should provide and facilitate access to higher education for Rohingya refugees both in Bangladesh and abroad through scholarships and online opportunities.
Expand livelihood opportunities for Rohingya. The government should expand programming under the new skills development framework, increase the upper limits of stipends for Rohingya volunteers, expand livelihood opportunities to the main camps, and engage regional governments toward temporary work opportunities for Rohingya.
Support and open space for Rohingya civil society. The government should allow gatherings and provide capacity-building support, official registration, and access to bank accounts and mobile financial services for community-based organizations.
Refrain from further movement of refugees to Bhasan Char until ongoing questions of voluntariness and sustainability are properly addressed. Refugees currently on the island should be provided opportunities to visit or return to the main camps if they choose.
Refrain from repatriation of Rohingya to Myanmar until conditions are conducive for safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable returns, in line with international standards.
Allow resettlement of Rohingya refugees to the United States and other third countries.....UN Agencies should:Urge and support the government of Bangladesh to do more to protect refugees and address the insecurity situation within the refugee camps. UN agencies should expand trainings of APBn and other camp officials on humanitarian protection principles and community safety. They should also work with the government to improve protection services and provide safe houses for human rights defenders and other refugees facing imminent threats.
Prioritize commitments on Bhasan Char in meetings with the government of Bangladesh, towards truly voluntary and informed relocations, planning and preparation for potential natural disasters and disruptions of supply lines, and increased opportunities for refugees to return to the main camps.
Engage the government of Bangladesh toward allowing resettlement of Rohingya refugees to third countries and build UN capacity to do so.
Empower Rohingya and improve representation in the camps and on the global stage. UN agencies should work with the government of Bangladesh to restart and expand the pilot representation program for electing Rohingya camp leaders. Rohingya community representatives should be included in important fora including the Global Refugee Forum.....The government of the United States and other donor countries should:Engage and support the government of Bangladesh toward improved policies on access to quality education, skills building and livelihood opportunities, freedom of movement, and voluntariness of any further relocations to Bhasan Char.
Sustain and cultivate robust humanitarian support through a global pledging conference. Donors should maintain robust funding, particularly for psycho-social support, and seek further support through engagement of the private sector and hosting of a global pledging conference for the Rohingya response and broader Myanmar response as was done in 2019.
Offer a significant number of resettlement spots to Rohingya in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the region. The United States should offer to settle at least 50,000 Rohingya in the coming years and urge other countries to enhance that number.
Work with like-minded countries, especially in Southeast Asia, to coordinate further pressure on the Myanmar junta to create conditions for safe return of Rohingya. Key steps include placing a global arms embargo on the junta, additional targeted sanctions on military leaders and military-owned enterprises (including on the oil and gas sectors and entities supplying jet fuel to the junta), support for accountability including the genocide case before the International Court of Justice, and diplomatic and humanitarian support for opposition groups and civil society within Myanmar.....Research Overview: Refugees International traveled to Bangladesh in October 2022, visiting Dhaka, Cox’s Bazar, and the Rohingya refugee camps to assess the humanitarian response to the Rohingya refugee crisis and to explore ongoing challenges and possible solutions. This report is informed by dozens of interviews with Rohingya refugees, representatives of UN agencies, donor governments, and local and international non-governmental organizations working on providing humanitarian assistance. It is also informed by and builds upon several Refugees International research trips to Bangladesh, consultations with Rohingya refugees, and prior reports over recent years.....Background: Around 1 million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar continue to live in the largest refugee settlement in the world in Bangladesh. Of these, an estimated 200,000-300,000 Rohingya fled decades of persecution prior to 2017, including 36,000 living in camps established in the early 1990s. The majority, however – more than 700,000 – fled genocidal attacks by the Myanmar military in August 2017. Five years later, the Rohingya refugee crisis now fits what the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) defines as a protracted crisis.
Another 600,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar – including more than 100,000 living in camps for internally displaced people since 2012. They face rising threats as fighting increases between the Arakan Army (an ethnic Rakhine armed group) and the military junta. The fighting has at times spilled over the border into Bangladesh with errant shells killing one Rohingya refugee and injuring several Bangladeshi citizens. This fighting has made the prospects of safe return of Rohingya to their homeland in the near term unlikely. It also underscores the need to address ongoing and growing challenges faced by the million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
Over the first five years of the displacement crisis, the government of Bangladesh – supported by international donors, UN agencies, and international and local NGOs – oversaw a robust humanitarian response, providing food, shelter, health and sanitary infrastructure, protection, and other services. But the needs have been immense, requiring nearly $1 billion in humanitarian aid each year. The response has also sought to support the Bangladeshi community near the camps. These communities were already facing high unemployment and poverty rates and have been adversely affected by the crisis. The Bangladeshi population in the sub-districts hosting the camps is now outnumbered by Rohingya at a 2:1 ratio.
From the start of the crisis, the government of Bangladesh has viewed the stay of Rohingya as temporary. It has resisted any longer-term planning or programming that might allow for integration of Rohingya into Bangladeshi society, insisting on repatriation to Myanmar as the only viable solution. Refugees have not been allowed to work, seek formal education (until recently), nor leave the camps without express permission, usually on medical grounds. In late 2019, Bangladeshi authorities began building barbed wire fencing, which now surrounds the main mega-camp.
Meanwhile, the governance structure in the camps has left the Rohingya with little in terms of a representative voice. With the arrival of new refugees in late 2017, Bangladeshi officials hand-picked local camp leaders, or majhis, without input from the refugees themselves. These majhis answer to appointed Bangladeshi officials known as Camps-in-Charge (CiCs) who oversee various parts of the camp. A pilot representation program, in which Rohingya were allowed to elect their own leaders, was tried by UNHCR in one of the camps established in the 1990s, but Bangladeshi authorities have not allowed that to expand.
Finally, in 2020, Bangladeshi authorities began relocating refugees to the island of Bhasan Char – located 37 miles out from the mainland in the Bay of Bengal. Thousands of refugees have now been relocated, despite ongoing questions of informed consent and the safety and sustainability of such moves....Current Situation in the Camps in Bangladesh : In October 2022, Refugees International visited the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh and spoke with dozens of refugees, humanitarian workers, and UN and government officials. Efforts to improve conditions in the camps since the first chaotic months are readily observable. Roads and bridges have been reinforced with bricks and concrete drainage. Trees and bushes that had been decimated as refugees sought fuel to burn have been largely reforested. Fires that ravaged the camps, particularly in 2021, have been minimized through better response training and preparation. As one humanitarian official told Refugees International, the Rohingya camps now have the largest refugee voluntary fire response team in the world. Innovations in wastewater treatment and e-vouchers for World Food Program (WFP) markets, allowing greater diversity in food selection, are other noteworthy improvements.
But beneath the surface, several challenges have been percolating, ranging from increased insecurity to a growing sense of despair tied to uncertainty about the future and inability to access educational and livelihood opportunities.
Rohingya refugees, many with family or friends still living in Myanmar, want above all else to return, but recognize that it is not currently safe to do so. One refugee told Refugees International, “I want to be in Myanmar tomorrow. But relatives and friends in Myanmar know no peace.”
Further, Rohingya see little opportunity to provide for themselves and for their children to access quality education, and this is having a direct effect on their mental health. A humanitarian worker involved with psycho-social support in the camps told Refugees International that there has been a shift from the trauma of directly experienced or witnessed atrocities during the genocidal attacks in 2017 to a cumulative trauma based on lack of education opportunities and increased hopelessness.
A sense of despair and lack of opportunity threaten to worsen both mental health and the security situation in the camps. Without more positive alternatives, Rohingya youth are far more vulnerable to turning to negative coping mechanisms ranging from child marriage, human smuggling and trafficking, and involvement in the drug trade to joining gangs or turning to extremist militancy.
Finally, several humanitarian officials raised concerns over the risk of rising tensions between the Rohingya and the host community, especially as the lead up to parliamentary elections in 2023 may incentivize scapegoating of the Rohingya. Negative narratives of Rohingya refugees have already been prevalent in local and national media and efforts to counter this will be important in the year ahead.
Within this backdrop, refugees and humanitarian workers with whom Refugees International spoke identified a number of ongoing challenges in the camps, but also some promising solutions.....Main Challenges and Potential Solutions: Rising Insecurity
THE CHALLENGE
The most prevalent concern Rohingya refugees and humanitarian workers in the camps raised during Refugees International’s interviews was the rising insecurity within the camps, particularly at night. Attacks on Rohingya by members of the Rohingya militant group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and rival factions and criminal gangs competing for influence have been on the rise. In the time Refugees International visited Bangladesh, two Rohingya local camp leaders, or majhis, were killed and another shot and injured. At least 17 Rohingya have been killed since mid-August 2022. The motivations behind these attacks are not always clear but appear to be a mix of influence-seeking and retaliation on those seen as informing authorities about illegal activities.
The assassination of prominent civil society leader Mohib Ullah by ARSA in September 2021 is cited by Rohingya refugees as a particular turning point in terms of feelings of insecurity. In the year following, several more Rohingya camp leaders have been attacked or killed, as well as a number of civil society actors. As one refugee told Refugees International, “After one year of Muhib Ullah’s assassination, the camp [has] become a war place, and murder by the armed groups in the camp are always happening. The camps are totally unsafe for civilians.”
Bangladesh authorities have responded with an increased presence of Armed Police Battalion (APBn) units and have sporadically made mass arrests. These operations have been followed by lulls in attacks. However, Rohingya refugees have also reported corruption and abuse at the hands of some APBn officers and frustration with both innocent people getting caught up in crackdown operations and guilty parties being released after only a short time. Refugees also expressed fear and frustration in being selected to serve in nominally volunteer night patrols set up by camp authorities following the increase in killings of majhis. Those who serve in night patrols are unarmed and understandably feel that such activities put them in danger.
One refugee with whom Refugees International spoke said that his brother had been held hostage by ARSA until his family was able to pay 20,000 Taka, nearly $200. He continues to receive threats from ARSA, accusing him of informing on them, and has not stayed the night in the camps for five months. “The camp security system is too weak,” he said. “APBn is not doing enough to take action against criminals.”
The insecurity caused by ARSA and other armed or criminal elements and the reported abuse and extortion by APBn in the camps contribute to a sense of accumulating trauma. A Rohingya photographer in the camps told Refugees International, “We faced the trauma of 2017. Now we are facing persecution by [camp] authorities and our people.”
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
These allegations of abuse and corruption and the growing trust deficit stemming from them must be addressed. Bangladeshi authorities have sent in higher level APBn officers but must do more to crack down on criminal activities while also addressing corruption and abuse. Bangladesh should also authorize and empower APBn officers to collect and file reports of violent crimes directly from refugees and to carry out investigations. Currently, Rohingya must report such crimes to majhis and CiCs before getting permission to leave the camps to officially file a report with police who are authorized to carry out investigations. The Bangladeshi officials in the camps should also ensure that the use and selection process for night patrols or alternative solutions are done in close consultation with the Rohingya community.
UN agencies are seeking to provide trainings for APBn on humanitarian protection principles and community safety and should seek to expand such programs. UNHCR, which leads the protection sector, should work with the government of Bangladesh to further relocate those facing imminent threats to more secure areas in the camps or to safe houses outside of the camps. Another potential solution would be to increase protection by allowing UN actors and international and local NGOs to operate or stay in the camps overnight. Currently, all outside actors are required to leave the camps at the end of each day. This protection by presence, accompanied by security guards, could go a long way in deterring attacks.
Lack of Quality Education
THE CHALLENGE
Further contributing to the general growing sense of despair, according to refugees with whom Refugees International spoke, is frustration with a lack of quality education for their children. As one refugee told Refugees International, under educational efforts to date, “Children are not improving and not getting any benefit.”
For most of the first five years of the response, access to education has been limited to informal learning centers run by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and NGO partners. This informal system was based on a curriculum of classes including English, math, Burmese, and life-skills, developed as an emergency measure, and only through the eighth grade level (with more than 90 percent of children learning at below a third grade level). In January 2020, Bangladesh announced the launch of a pilot education program based on the official curriculum used inside Myanmar prior to the coup and taught in Burmese. But the launch was delayed by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rohingya civil society groups have filled this gap by setting up their own community-based learning centers or in-home private education. These community-based efforts are taught in Burmese or the Rohingya language and range from basic skills and literacy to efforts to follow the formal curriculum in Myanmar.
A growing recognition by Bangladeshi officials of the need to combat the dangers of idle youths growing up in the camps and to prepare for sustainable returns to Myanmar has opened the way for a more formalized education program. The delayed pilot Myanmar curriculum program was finally relaunched in November 2021 and provides a formal, standardized education up to the secondary level (grades six to nine) and expands the number of subjects covered to include science, social studies, and skills training. The program has now reached 248,000 children with aims to reach all of the more than 400,000 school-aged Rohingya in the next two years.
While the roll out of the Myanmar Curriculum Program has been a welcome initiative, it has already faced several challenges and Rohingya and humanitarians alike question the quality of the teaching. Rohingya refugees told Refugees International that many of the instructors are unqualified and that what children are learning is too basic. Humanitarian actors cite the difficulty in finding qualified teachers among the Rohingya. Rohingya teachers cite the low stipends offered, especially compared to that of the Bangladeshi instructors they are paired with, and the failure to incorporate informal educational efforts that the Rohingya themselves have been carrying out to fill the gaps over the past five years.
Bangladeshi authorities have also been cracking down on informal education efforts, ordering the closure of Rohingya-run community schools in December 2021 and threatening private instructors. This directive affected an estimated 32,000 students and led to the closure of several learning centers including the largest, a school of some 600 students founded by the assassinated community leader Mohib Ullah. This crackdown has led to wide-spread angst among Rohingya refugees and undermined overall access to education.
Many refugees told Refugees International they prefer the informal Rohingya-led efforts and question how Rohingya teachers are selected for the formal program. A recent survey of Rohingya refugees by Save the Children found that just 25 percent thought the quality of education was better than in earlier years of the response, while 40 percent said it was the same, and 32 percent said it was worse. As one Rohingya community volunteer put it, the Myanmar Curriculum Program is “more about quantity than quality.”
For their part, humanitarians involved with the educational efforts complain that it is difficult to find qualified teachers who speak and read Burmese among the Rohingya community. According to a 2020 survey, only 57 percent of households have at least one Burmese-language speaker. Many Rohingya speak only the Rohingya language and were denied educational opportunities in Myanmar. Bangladeshi officials say that the illegal private schools charge students and prevent the more qualified teachers among the Rohingya from joining the Myanmar Curriculum Program. They also cite inequities in access to education through private learning, as it is only accessible for those who can afford it. Bangladeshi authorities want to ensure that teaching does not take place in the Bangla language and warn about alleged dangers of extreme jihadist ideologies being taught through these unmonitored community-based programs.
Another challenge is the lack of space for education. The Myanmar Curriculum requires longer hours than the previously approved educational programs, meaning that it is more difficult to incorporate multiple shifts of students in the limited number of learning centers throughout a day. Finding space in the already densely populated camps is challenging.
Cultural norms and pressures present further challenges for girls’ access to education, as much of the Rohingya community holds conservative views on the education of girls, particularly when mixed with boys. This is accentuated by threats from groups like ARSA against girls who seek education or to volunteer with NGOs. The effects of these pressures and threats are particularly seen as girls get older. Whereas girls are enrolled in learning centers at roughly equal rates to boys at younger ages, the dropout rates for girls increase as they get older, especially around puberty around ages 12 to 14. UNICEF has set up some girls-only classes as part of the Myanmar curriculum program, but these remain limited as more resources and trained female teachers are needed.
Finally, the Myanmar Curriculum Program faces the challenge of not being accredited and not providing a path to higher education. POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
In Refugees International’s conversations with Rohingya refugees, one of the most cited ways to counter the growing hopelessness was by providing quality education to the Rohingya youth. Such education is seen as a concrete way to prepare the Rohingya community for a better future and to counter influences toward negative coping mechanisms. As one refugee put it, “Solve for education and you solve for ten other problems.”
The Myanmar Curriculum Program provides a base from which to build, but steps must be taken to ensure that qualified teachers are found, trained, and prepared. The private education networks set up in the camps should be incorporated into the broader efforts to provide quality education to all Rohingya youth, both through recruitment of the most qualified teachers and as a private supplement to the Myanmar Curriculum classes. As UNICEF has stated, “Private and community-based learning facilities that meet the needs of both boys and girls, and which are operated with sufficient oversight, could also play a role in providing educational services.”
This will require adjusting the system to allow for higher stipends for teachers, while allowing teachers to supplement their incomes through private sessions. The new volunteer guidance is raising that monthly stipend from 8,000 Taka to between 10,000 and 15,000 Taka, depending on teaching level, as of November 2022. This is a good start but should be increased further.
While possible inequities for those Rohingya able to afford private lessons versus those who cannot are a concern, the current alternative of denying private education or forcing it to function under the radar, is both a net negative and undermines the ability to monitor private efforts for both quality and risks of extremism. One way to address this would be for Bangladesh to allow Rohingya civil society groups to officially register. They could also be supported to set up accounts with Bangladeshi banks or mobile financial services such as bKash. Both initiatives would help give Bangladesh more oversight over the private schools and address their concerns.
Allowing for some private, community-based learning would also help to alleviate the space challenges already faced by the Myanmar Curriculum Program. Another solution to the space problem would be allowing the use of two-story buildings in the camps, something that Bangladeshi authorities have been reluctant to do so far.
Allowing for more girls-only classes, providing more learning centers closer to girls’ households, and prioritizing the training and recruitment of women teachers could help to address the cultural challenges. Donors should also continue to support community outreach efforts to push back on negative views of women and practices like child marriage and gender-based violence that remain major challenges for women and girls in the camps.
Finally, to address the lack of access to higher education, the United States and other countries, including those in the region, should engage Bangladesh to provide scholarship programs and allow for access for Rohingya to attend universities abroad or to access higher education through online courses. The question of accrediting the Myanmar Curriculum Program will be more challenging as long as the military junta continues its coup in Myanmar. But other countries could recognize the program for the purposes of pursuing higher education. Myanmar’s opposition groups, including the National Unity Government, should also commit to recognizing and accrediting the program for when Rohingya refugees are able to return to their homeland.
Lack of Livelihood Opportunities
THE CHALLENGE
Alongside lack of education, the lack of livelihood opportunities is among the most cited reasons for growing despair among Rohingya refugees. As one refugee told Refugees International, one of the most effective ways to improve people’s lives in the camp would be “permitting refugees to do business in the camp to support their respective families.”
Bangladeshi officials view the stay of Rohingya refugees as temporary and fear allowing Rohingya to work will lead to their integration into Bangladesh for the long term. Officials also do not want Rohingya to compete for work with Bangladeshis near the camps who face high unemployment rates and levels of poverty.
As a result, official livelihood opportunities have, until very recently, been barred, with legal opportunities to earn income limited to some cash-for-work activities and small stipends for volunteer work with UN agencies and NGOs in the camps. These include carrying supplies, shelter construction and repair, desludging latrines, and community outreach on health, monsoon preparedness, and other issues. Unofficially, many Rohingya have set up shops in or near the camps. Others have found ways, often through payment of bribes, to get through the barbed wire fencing to work as day laborers in nearby fields or as domestic workers. However, each of these carry risks of detention, extortion, or loss. For example, at the end of 2021, Bangladeshi officials destroyed more than 3,000 Rohingya-run shops and continue to do so on a semi-regular basis.
In its reluctance to allow anything that hints at integration of Rohingya, the government of Bangladesh has also rejected possible funding. In July 2021, the Bangladesh foreign ministry denounced a World Bank proposal to offer funding tied to one of its mechanisms for countries hosting refugees and people in refugee-like situations. At question was the Bank’s broader guidance, not specific to Bangladesh, that mentioned efforts to allow refugees freedom of movement throughout a host country, the right to purchase property, and access to public education and the labor market. While the World Bank has funded several efforts related to provision of basic services and building disaster and social resilience for Rohingya refugees, as well as several that support the host community, Bangladesh’s stance on refugee-related funding mechanisms is preventing potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in additional assistance.
The one place where Bangladesh has allowed for true livelihood activities is on Bhasan Char. Bangladesh has said that it will allow fishing, farming, cattle raising, and other activities on the island. This can be understood partially because there are no local host communities with which to compete on the island, but also because it is in Bangladesh’s interest to attract refugees to come to the island and to entice international donors to support these relocations. To date, these opportunities have remained limited, and their sustainability remains in question. For example, Rohingya are not allowed to fish beyond the island’s shores, and it is unclear how needed supplies will reach the island, which so far is only serviced by Navy boats.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
The government of Bangladesh’s approval in late 2022 of a new skills development framework and guidance on volunteer stipends has created an opening. The framework – a copy of which was seen by Refugees International – aims to provide Rohingya with skills that can be applied to future work upon return to Myanmar or, in other words, to prepare Rohingya for sustainable return and reintegration in Myanmar. But it also recognizes the need to mitigate risks during the Rohingya’s stay in Bangladesh by providing opportunities for an otherwise idle population. The framework is also meant to mitigate the effects of the crisis on the host community, by offering Bangladeshis living near the camps enhanced employment and entrepreneurial skills.
Among the activities mentioned for support for Rohingya are kitchen and homestead gardening, chicken and turkey rearing, and training in electrical maintenance, plumbing, tailoring, and production of soap and dairy products. The framework also aims to expand some livelihood activities already begun on Bhasan Char, including fishing, livestock rearing, and gardening.
Notably the framework allows for UN agencies and NGOs to provide allowances to Rohingya refugees participating in such projects. The guidance on volunteer stipends aims to establish consistency in what volunteers receive as stipends across the camps and provides for slight increases from earlier established levels. Monthly stipends range from 8,000 Taka (roughly $80) for unskilled volunteers to 13-15,000 Taka (roughly $130-150) for skilled volunteers (e.g. assistant teachers/trainers, head teachers/trainers). However, such opportunities remain limited.
The activities identified in the skills building framework should be rapidly rolled out and expanded. At the same time, Bangladeshi authorities should refrain from activities that constrain what little additional opportunities to earn for themselves the refugees have at their disposal. They should, for example, allow shops, or at least refrain from destruction of shops in the camps even if unofficial. UN agencies and donor countries should encourage Bangladesh to allow the same livelihood opportunities offered on Bhasan Char in the main camps.
International financial institutions and private sector actors should engage Bangladesh on economic projects that will benefit both the host community and Rohingya refugees. As has been recommended by the Center for Global Development, there are several activities that governments, international financial institutions, and private companies can offer, if allowed, including trade incentives, infrastructure investment, and development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to provide employment for the host community and refugees. Finally, other countries, particularly in the region, should look to offer temporary work opportunities for the Rohingya, particularly in fields such as farming and fishing that they pursued while in Myanmar.
Restrictions on Freedom of Movement and Civil Society
THE CHALLENGE
Over time, restrictions on freedom of movement have increased, with refugees telling Refugee International that they now have difficulty in gaining permission even to move within the camps. Several Rohingya refugees told Refugees International about having to pay bribes to camp authorities for being caught moving without permission. And as one refugee told Refugees International, “We can’t travel to Cox’s Bazar [town] except for medical reasons. Even moving block to block [in the camp] can lead to harassment, beatings, arrests, and extortion.”
One of the more positive aspects of the Rohingya humanitarian response was the growth of a robust civil society among the refugees. Repressed and persecuted within Myanmar, refugees found new space in the camps in Bangladesh to meet, discuss how to address community challenges, and organize toward a better future. Hundreds, if not thousands, of groups were formed focusing on a range of issues, from basic education to women’s empowerment.
At the height of this civil society growth, a group known as the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH) organized a rally of thousands of refugees to mark the second anniversary since the genocidal attacks that forced most of the Rohingya population to flee to Bangladesh. While the rally featured calls for justice and for the ability of Rohingya to return to Myanmar – all messages with which Bangladeshi authorities whole-heartedly agreed – the size of the rally and prospect of refugees getting more organized was portrayed in the media as a security threat and led to a backlash. ARSPH’s headquarters was locked up, and Bangladeshi intelligence officers began monitoring and listening in on meetings between ARSPH and other groups and foreign visitors. Since that time, civil society has been much more closely monitored and restricted or even co-opted by Bangladeshi intelligence to emphasize their own interests. For example, a large rally in June 2022 and similar gatherings to mark the fifth Rohingya genocide remembrance day in August 2022 featured “Going Home” messages reportedly encouraged and orchestrated by intelligence officials, including the provision of poster materials and suggested messages to emphasize support for Rohingya repatriation as soon as possible.
ARSA and its factions, along with rival criminal gangs operating in the camps, have also targeted civil society leaders – including assassinated ARSPH leader Mohib Ullah – seen as endangering their influence or informing on their activities. As one Rohingya civil society leader told Refugees International, “people who speak up for the community are not safe. Those who take initiative of leadership are targeted.”
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Despite the risks, a number of Rohingya civil society actors continue their efforts and advocacy, whether in partnership with UN agencies and NGOs or via Whatsapp and Signal groups. They work to educate Rohingya youth, empower women, pursue accountability for the atrocity crimes committed against the Rohingya, and raise awareness about hygiene, gender-based violence, and child marriage. These groups hold the key to a better future for the Rohingya community and must be protected, supported, and empowered. Supporting them will both help to improve current conditions in the camps and facilitate sustainable return of Rohingya to Myanmar when it is safe.
In addition to the efforts needed to improve security mentioned above, camp officials, UN agencies, and NGOs should seek to build the capacity of Rohingya civil society actors through training and funding of activities. Rohingya-led community-based organizations could be better supported through official registration in Bangladesh that would allow them to hold bank accounts and to receive funding directly from donors. As one Rohingya man told Refugees International, “If we have to stay in the camps, we at least want to be independent. Allow teachers to teach. Allow us to raise the voice of the community.”
Rohingya-led research initiatives should also be supported. For example, a recently released report on threats to Rohingya language, culture, and identity in Myanmar and Bangladesh, was carried out by a team of Rohingya researchers based in the camps in Bangladesh. Donors should seek to fund similar Rohingya-led research and advocacy efforts.
UN agencies and donors should also engage Bangladeshi officials toward restarting and expanding the pilot representation program, which replaced Rohingya camp leaders selected by Bangladeshi authorities with those elected by the Rohingya community. Once leaders are identified, they should be included in important meetings discussing the future of the Rohingya community in Dhaka and globally. In the meantime, UN agencies should seek to include community representatives in such meetings as the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), an international gathering of States and other actors aimed at raising financial support and identifying best practices for refugee response. The first GRF took place in 2019 with the passage of the Global Compact on Refugees, and the second GRF will take place in 2023.
Bhasan Char
THE CHALLENGE
Another recurring concern raised by Rohingya refugees and humanitarian actors in the camps is the relocation of refugees to a remote island in the Bay of Bengal known as Bhasan Char. The government of Bangladesh had long spoken about the idea of developing the island to host Rohingya refugees but accelerated plans following the sudden increase of refugees starting in August 2017. It has spent at least $300 million to build embankments and concrete housing to ensure the safety of the island for refugees. Bangladeshi authorities first moved a small group of Rohingya caught fleeing the main camps by sea to the island in April and May 2020, then began more formal relocations in December 2020. Bangladesh has now moved some 30,000 refugees to the island, claiming the moves to be voluntary. However, hundreds of refugees have attempted to flee the island, calling this into question.
Human rights and refugee advocacy groups, including Refugees International, have long raised questions about the safety and sustainability of moving refugees to the island, without satisfactory answers. International donor countries, UN agencies, and NGOs have expressed similar concerns. Eventually, UN agencies were able to visit and carry out limited assessments. In October 2021, UNHCR signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government, in which the government committed to voluntariness and informed consent of any relocations to the island and the ability of refugees to return to the main camps for limited occasions, such as weddings and funerals. The government has also set up livelihood opportunities on the island that are not available to refugees in the main camps, including fishing and farming. Bangladeshi authorities also began providing limited transport for refugees to return to the camps and arranging go-and-see visits for refugees in the main camps to see the island before deciding to relocate there.
Since the signing of the MoU, observers told Refugees International that the process for informing refugees about the island and monitoring voluntariness has improved. Many Rohingya who choose to move to the island are motivated by the more stable shelters and the relative safety of the island compared to the rising insecurity in the camps. However, many Rohingya refugees continue to report false information and coercive pressures to move to the island. Refugees with whom Refugees International spoke described pressure exerted by Bangladeshi security and camp authorities on majhis leading to offers of money to volunteers and threats to confiscate ration cards if a quota of volunteers is not reached. And only around 1,500 refugees have been able to return to the main camps for visits, all dependent on transport by the Bangladeshi navy. Refugees International spoke by phone to a Rohingya man who was among the first thousand refugees on the island. He said that, at the beginning, he felt good and that the government was doing better for him, but now, nearly two years later, he felt “the government wanted to tie us up without rope.”
By 2022, UN agencies were able to carry out a needs assessment and identified serious concerns about the health and nutrition situation on the island, finding high malnutrition rates and inadequate health facilities. Recognizing the humanitarian imperative to help the refugees, the United States and other donors agreed to provide funding for limited life-saving aid including for food security, protection, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene efforts.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
Even as international donors and NGOs are compelled by the humanitarian imperative to provide life-saving assistance to those already relocated to the island, they must make clear that future support that goes beyond emergency needs, will depend on Bangladesh living up to its own commitments. These commitments include truly voluntary and informed relocations, provision of Myanmar curriculum education and livelihood activities, and planning and preparation for potential natural disasters and disruptions of supply lines to the island. Refugees should also have increased opportunities to visit the main camps, or to return permanently, should they so choose.
Donor and UN engagement with Bangladesh on Bhasan Char must also include pushes for generally improved conditions for Rohingya, including access to health care, quality education, and livelihood opportunities both on the island and in the main camps.
Looming Funding Cuts
THE CHALLENGE
Humanitarian workers in Bangladesh are concerned about likely cuts in funding for aid to the Rohingya. The prolonged nature of the crisis, paired with greater global humanitarian needs and negative economic factors make it unlikely that international donors will continue to fund the Rohingya response at the levels of recent years.
The appeals of the Joint Response Plan (JRP), which provides an annual roadmap for matching funds with needs, called for more than $900 million annually between 2018 and 2021. These appeals have been funded at between 65 and 75 percent each of those years. In 2022, the appeal was reduced slightly to $881 million and, as of November 2022, had only been funded at 43 percent.
UN agencies and NGOs recognize these trends and are taking steps to consolidate and improve the efficiency of their efforts. For example, the number of medical facilities in the camps has been reduced based on analysis of distance and overlapping services. Similar consolidation measures are planned for various sectors of the response. However, NGOs have raised concerns about the transparency of the process and resulting greater control by UN agencies at the expense of international and local NGOs.
But with nearly 1 million refugees dependent on aid, consolidation can only go so far. Humanitarian officials, for example, warn about the impact of diminished funding for liquid petroleum gas (LPG) used by refugees to cook within their shelters. Massive deforestation – that was the result of refugees’ initial use of trees for shelter materials and cooking fires – has been successfully rolled back with efforts to “re-green” the camps. Today much of the plant-life has been regrown, but as soon as LPG is no longer available, refugees will turn to whatever sources of fuel they can find. Similarly, food aid can only be cut so much before malnutrition rates rise.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
International donors must not forget the need of the Rohingya and the rapid deterioration that will result from aid cuts. Those currently supporting the response must sustain robust financial commitments while engaging other donors to do the same. The United States, as the leading donor to the response, should work with like-minded countries to host a global pledging conference for the Rohingya response and broader Myanmar response as was done in 2019.
Until Rohingya can return safely to their homeland, the most effective way to support the humanitarian response and reduce the need for aid in Bangladesh is to increase the self-reliance of Rohingya refugees in the camps. Taking the steps mentioned earlier in this report to expand education, skills-building, and livelihood opportunities would help to create a more self-sustaining situation in the camps. The United States and other countries must engage the Bangladeshi government to take these steps.
In the meantime, beyond aid, the most impactful action that can be done to ameliorate the situation in the camps would be to allow for the processing of vulnerable Rohingya for resettlement to third countries. In an earlier report, Refugees International suggested resettlement of at least 50,000 refugees by the United States over several years as a reasonably attainable number, but the United States should work with allies to aim higher. Resettlement will not be a solution for the vast majority of Rohingya in Bangladesh, but it will make all the difference in individual lives and may also help in other ways. As one Rohingya refugee said, resettlement will allow more Rohingya to speak freely and raise awareness of our situation on the global stage.
Conclusion
Solutions to the protracted crisis in the Bangladesh camps all require empowerment of the Rohingya. Donors and humanitarian actors must work with the government of Bangladesh to ensure that the more positive solutions begun are expanded and not undermined by counter-productive actions. The ultimate solution to the crisis will be the safe return of Rohingya to their homeland. This will require increased global coordination of pressure on the Myanmar junta. But until this is realized, protecting and empowering Rohingya in Bangladesh is the best way to reduce dependency on international aid, to counter rising despair, to prevent further insecurity, and to prepare for sustainable return in the future..."
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-13
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"The United States is pleased to announce the establishment of a resettlement program for vulnerable Rohingya refugees in collaboration with the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This program, which will be part of the global U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, is one element of a broader comprehensive response to the Rohingya refugee crisis with the main focus on preparing the Rohingya for voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return. The United States will consider for resettlement referrals submitted by the UNHCR.
The United States is proud of our long-standing support for displaced Rohingya, who have suffered genocide and crimes against humanity at the hands of Burma’s military, and we have provided more than $1.9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Rohingya refugees from Burma in Bangladesh and the region, those affected by ongoing violence in Burma, and communities hosting refugees from Burma. In addition to supporting immediate basic needs, our humanitarian assistance strengthens the resilience, economic security, and dignity of refugees and host communities by improving education and livelihood opportunities. The United States is also supporting efforts to hold the perpetrators of the genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya accountable and to ensure justice for the victims of these atrocities.
The resettlement of most vulnerable Rohingya from Bangladesh reflects the United States’ long-standing leadership on refugee resettlement in the face of an unprecedented displacement crisis as record numbers of people around the world have been forced to flee war, persecution, and instability. We thank the Government of Bangladesh as a generous host of refugees and for their support of this important resettlement initiative..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of State
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-13
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Six-fold increase of mostly Rohingya people making risky journeys by sea from Myanmar and Bangladesh this year
Over 100 people reported dead or missing at sea
Rohingya continue to suffer discrimination and persecution in their home state of Rakhine in far western Myanmar
‘Regional governments must urgently coordinate and cooperate on search and rescue operations’ - Rachel Chhoa-Howard
Responding to reports of at least one boat carrying Rohingya refugees stranded at sea, Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Amnesty International’s Southeast Asia Researcher, said:
“Seven years after the Andaman Sea crisis, which saw an extensive loss of lives, Rohingya people continue to risk everything in dangerous journeys to escape persecution at home in military-run Myanmar, and the abysmal conditions in Bangladeshi refugee camps.
“International humanitarian law requires the rescue of people at sea when they are in distress, and their delivery to a place of safety. Swift action is needed to protect lives. Further delays to alleviate this suffering or any attempts to send Rohingya back to Myanmar where they face persecution are unconscionable.
“Regional governments must urgently coordinate and cooperate on search and rescue operations. They must attempt to locate any boats in distress and ensure the people on board are allowed to disembark safely and receive proper medical support, food and water.”
Search and rescue
UNHCR has reported a six-fold increase of mostly Rohingya people making risky journeys by sea from Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2022, with 119 people reported dead or missing.
Regional authorities have made extensive commitments to improve their coordination of search and rescue operations of boats in distress, after the loss of lives due to delayed response.
Systematic assault on Rohingya villages
In August 2017, more than 740,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh after Myanmar security forces launched a widespread and systematic assault on Rohingya villages, including extrajudicial killings, destruction of property and sexual assault.
More than 130,000 Rohingya people remain in squalid internment camps in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. Rohingya in Myanmar continue to face severe restrictions on freedom of movement, access to education and health services in a system that Amnesty has called apartheid.
Myanmar military authorities routinely and arbitrarily detain Rohingyas for travelling outside of Rakhine state. Those detained are sent to prisons without the right to defend themselves or access to legal counsel. Conditions in Myanmar prisons are inhumane and do not meet international human rights standards..."
Source/publisher:
"Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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The incident comes a week after 68 Rohingya men and women were arrested in the same area while being transported in a truck
Description:
"The bodies of 13 Rohingya men and boys were found dumped on the side of a road in a northern Yangon suburb on Monday morning, two sources told Myanmar Now.
The victims, who were estimated to be between the ages of 16 and 20, were found dead near Ngwe Nant Thar, a village in Hlegu Township about 25km north of Yangon’s city centre, said a local regime authority who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“There were no injuries found on their bodies. The cause of their deaths is still unknown. The bodies were sent to the Yangon General Hospital and we are still waiting for the autopsy results,” the official told Myanmar Now on Monday afternoon.
The bodies were all dumped along a road less than a kilometre from Ngwe Nant Thar, he added.
A police source familiar with the case said that while the victims were known to be Rohingya, it was unclear where they had travelled from or how they got to Ngwe Nant Thar.
“I was informed that they were smuggled inside a vehicle and died due to a lack of oxygen,” the police source said.
Myanmar Now was unable to independently verify this information.
Most of Myanmar’s more than one million Rohingya have fled the country in recent years due to ethnic cleansing campaigns by the military. They have been subject to restrictions on their freedom of movement and other basic rights for decades.
These restrictions have made them vulnerable to human traffickers, who promise them better living conditions and work opportunities in Malaysia and other countries in the region.
Many are arrested in transit as they make the journey from Rakhine State to the Thai-Myanmar border or coastal areas in the country’s south. They are then charged with immigration offences that carry sentences of at least two years in prison.
On November 28, Radio Free Asia’s Burmese-language service reported that 54 men and 14 women of Rohingya ethnicity were arrested at a checkpoint in Hlegu while travelling inside a truck..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of entry/update:
2022-12-05
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"DHAKA — Several Rohingya organizations and activists have united to form a group to demand human rights in Myanmar.
The Arakan Rohingya National Alliance (ARNA) called for Rohingya unity and said the Muslim community was not secessionist.
It said the Rohingya wanted to be part of a future federal democratic Myanmar to uphold peaceful coexistence through unity in diversity.
The groups said it would work with the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) and United League of Arakan in Rakhine State to achieve full and effective equality and the right to self-determination, like other ethnic groups in Myanmar.
An online press conference on Sunday aimed to unite the global Rohingya diaspora and announce the alliance’s intent to achieve self-determination for the Rohingya in Myanmar.
Rohingya leaders thanked the Bangladeshi people and government for sheltering more than a million Rohingya refugees. They also condemned the killing of a Directorate General of Forces Intelligence officer, Squadron Leader Rizwan Rushdee, by a criminal gang on Myanmar’s border on November 14.
An ARNA statement said: “For more than half a century, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have been brutally murdered, raped and tortured by Myanmar’s military and regime-sponsored non-state actors. The violence reached a peak in 2017 when Myanmar’s brutal military led the worst genocide of the 21st century in northern Rakhine State, forcing more than a million Rohingyas to cross the border into Bangladesh where they currently live in squalid refugee camps aided by the Bangladesh government and international aid organizations.
“This is the first time since the genocide of 2017 that a broad coalition of the Rohingya organizations, politicians and activists have joined together in a common platform, a development greeted with hope by the Rohingya people, including half a million stuck inside the open-air prison of Arakan [Rakhine].”
Rohingya leader Nurul Islam will chair ANRA’s central executive committee and the prominent Dr Yunus and Reza Uddin will be the vice chairs.
Other members include U Kyaw Min, Aman Ullah U Tun Khin, U Nay Saw Lwin, Dr Hla Myint, U Zaw Min Htut, Dr Habib Ullah and Dr Abu Siddique Arman.
Retired Dhaka University international relations academic CR Abrar, a specialist on refugees, welcomed the move and said unity is essential for the persecuted community, many of whom are genocide survivors.
Aung Kyaw Moe, a Rohingya activist and advisor for the NUG, told The Irrawaddy: “There is no such thing yet in the Rohingya community as representation. I wish one day it will exist. It must be secular, inclusive, and diverse and uphold human rights.
“The Rohingya are an issue for Myanmar which impacts the region heavily and must be tackled with the core leadership of emerging youth and female leaders in Myanmar and civil society organizations leaders in Myanmar.
“The diaspora may offer support but history suggests no issues in Myanmar will be solved by leaders overseas. While unity is needed more than ever in the Rohingya community, it needs to be initiated with principled and correct processes to avoid endangering the Rohingya.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2022-11-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"16 November 2022, New York – European Union General Statement at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee Resolution on the Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar: A/C.3/77 /L.33 Rev 1
Mr. Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The Candidate Countries North Macedonia*, Montenegro*, Albania*, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, the country of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidate Bosnia and Herzegovina, align themselves with this statement.
The resolution that the EU and the OIC are presenting today for adoption by the Third Committee of the General Assembly is about atrocities committed for many years against Rohingya and persons belonging to other minorities in Myanmar, and about atrocities committed against all the population of Myanmar since a military coup forcibly overthrew the civilian government in blatant violation of the will and democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar on 1 February 2021.
The indiscriminate use of violence by the Myanmar armed and security forces across the country, the widespread cases of killings, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, the obstruction of humanitarian aid and the breaches of international humanitarian law, sexual and gender-based violence as well as the maiming and killing of children occurring every day in Myanmar are intolerable. The international community, in particular the United Nations and ASEAN must act to stop these atrocities. This joint resolution prepared by the EU and the OIC aims at contributing to this urgent call for action. I would like to thank the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh for the good cooperation in preparing the resolution.
We are appalled by the death sentences carried out by the junta in July 2022 against four pro-democracy activists, after decades with no recorded executions in Myanmar. We are extremely alarmed by the continued arbitrary detention of journalists, peaceful protesters and politicians, and by the unjustified restrictions to fundamental freedoms in Myanmar, aggravated by the junta. The continued military build-up and flow of arms into Myanmar also gravely undermine human rights and must stop immediately.
Mr Chair,
Rohingya and persons belonging to other minorities in Myanmar continue to face severe movement restrictions, impeded access to services and livelihoods, disenfranchisement and violations of their fundamental rights. The current situation in Myanmar also suppresses hopes for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of the 1.5 million Rohingya and other minorities who have found refuge in Bangladesh and across the region.
This joint EU-OIC resolution is also about accountability: It sends a strong message on the importance of the work ongoing with the ICC and the ICJ, and calls on all countries to actively cooperate with the Independent Investigate Mechanism for Myanmar, including by facilitating access to witnesses of human rights violations.
The European Union wishes to express its unequivocal support for all the people of Myanmar, including Rohingya and other minorities, their democratic aspirations, and their legitimate expectation that their human rights and the rule of law be respected.
The European Union continues to underline the importance and urgency of the full implementation of the ASEAN “Five Point Consensus”. The EU stands ready to actively support ASEAN’s efforts towards the establishment of a constructive political dialogue, which is essential for the country’s return to a democratic path..."
Source/publisher:
Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations in New York
Date of entry/update:
2022-11-16
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"The European Rohingya Council (ERC) condemns Arakan Army (AA) in the strongest terms for its atrocious crimes perpetrated against the Rohingya population in northern Arakan State of Myanmar. We also express our concerns on safety and security of the remaining Rohingya population in Arakan State where clashes between Myanmar Military and Arakan Army intensify.
Since the fighting broke out between the military and the Rakhine insurgent group in August 2022, the Rohingya population is on the edge as both groups deliberately choose Rohingya villages in Buthidaung township as the battlegrounds.
Hundreds of Rohingya civilians are either trapped in their villages or forced to flee to nearby villagers as both the military and Arakan Army shelled the villages in the presence of civilians. The fighting has also left between 800 and 900 Rohingya families stranded in Dhangkhali at the Myanmar-Bangladesh border after fleeing their villages. The Rohingya civilians trapped in villages and stranded at the borders are at high risk of hunger as Myanmar Military continues to place blockages in the northern Arakan.
Moreover, land mines are being planted around the Rohingya villages and farms, causing injuries to Rohingya civilians.
Over a dozen of Rohingya civilians including women and children have been injured in open firing at the civilians since the fighting broke out.
On October 8, Sheikul Islam, a 48-year-old highly educated Rohingya teacher was shot death by Arakan Army’s sniper after he went to feed his animals at his house in Gu Dar Pyin, Buthidaung.
Besides widespread arbitrary arrests, abductions and extortions, there are serious allegations and crimes of sexual abuses and rapes that Arakan Army has committed against Rohingya women and girls before and after the fighting erupted between the two armed groups.
The conducts of Arakan Army are not dissimilar to those of Myanmar Military, which amount to crimes against humanity.
It is also a clear violation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) that sets out the responsibilities of the state and non-state armed groups during the armed clash. Arakan Army violates the responsibilities by its deliberate actions while Myanmar Military continues to fail to protect the Rohingya civilians through provisional measures set out by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The European Rohingya Council condemns both Arakan Army and Myanmar Military for their crimes against the remaining Rohingya population and calls on the international community to take preventive measures to protect the population in Arakan State.
The European Rohingya Council also closely monitors and documents every crime that Arakan Army perpetrates against the Rohingya population in Arakan State..."
Source/publisher:
The European Rohingya Council
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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564.82 KB
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"DHAKA—A Rohingya teenager was killed and another man injured when a land mine exploded on the Myanmar-Bangladesh border adjacent to Bandarban district, Bangladesh on Sunday morning, officials said Monday.
The victim, Omor Farok, 17, was a resident of Konarpara Rohingya camp in no man’s land, said community leaders. They named his injured companion as Abdu Yah.
Gumdhum Rohingya camp leader Abdur Rohim said the youths had gone fishing on the border when they were caught in the blast. The body of Farok was recovered and buried in Konarpara cemetery. The injured man was rushed to nearby MSF Hospital in Ukhia, Cox’s Bazar.
Bangladesh Border Guards said the incident occurred about 1 km inside Myanmar’s border, opposite Bangladesh border marker 35, at about 9 a.m.
BGB Cox’s Bazar battalion commanding officer Lieutenant Colonel Md Mehedi Hussain Kabir reiterated that the explosion occurred inside Myanmar’s border.
The BGB said land mines are not used inside Bangladesh territory as the country is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines.
Bangladesh signed the UN convention on May 7, 1998 and ratified it on Sept. 6, 2000.
BGB officials said three mines have exploded on the border this year, killing one person and injuring two.
Another ethnic minority youth, Aung Thein Tanchangya, was injured in a land mine blast on the same border on Sept. 16. He was sent to Chattogram Medical College Hospital but lost his left leg.
Over 4,000 Rohingya have been living in the Bangladesh-Myanmar border strip since 2017 when hundreds of thousands took refuge in Bangladesh following a military crackdown in neighboring Rakhine State..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-03
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Anti-Personnel Landmines - Specialist organisations and commentary
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Local URL:
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Description:
"Facebook owner Meta’s dangerous algorithms and reckless pursuit of profit substantially contributed to the atrocities perpetrated by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya people in 2017, Amnesty International said in a new report published today.
The Social Atrocity: Meta and the right to remedy for the Rohingya,details how Meta knew or should have known that Facebook’s algorithmic systems were supercharging the spread of harmful anti-Rohingya content in Myanmar, but the company still failed to act.
“In 2017, the Rohingya were killed, tortured, raped, and displaced in the thousands as part of the Myanmar security forces’ campaign of ethnic cleansing. In the months and years leading up to the atrocities, Facebook’s algorithms were intensifying a storm of hatred against the Rohingya which contributed to real-world violence,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
Meta must be held to account. The company now has responsibility to provide reparations to all those who suffered the violent consequences of their reckless actions.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International Secretary General
“While the Myanmar military was committing crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, Meta was profiting from the echo chamber of hatred created by its hate-spiralling algorithms.
“Meta must be held to account. The company now has a responsibility to provide reparations to all those who suffered the violent consequences of their reckless actions.”
Sawyeddollah, a 21-year-old Rohingya refugee, told Amnesty International: “I saw a lot of horrible things on Facebook. And I just thought that the people who posted that were bad… Then I realized that it is not only these people – the posters – but Facebook is also responsible. Facebook is helping them by not taking care of their platform.”
The Rohingya are a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority based in Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State. In August 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled Rakhine when the Myanmar security forces launched a targeted campaign of widespread and systematic murder, rape and burningof homes. The violence followed decades of state-sponsored discrimination, persecution, and oppression against the Rohingya that amounts to apartheid.
© Tamara-Jade Kaz
Artwork commissioned for publication of research looking at the Rohingya right to remedy from Meta
AN ANTI-ROHINGYA ECHO CHAMBER
Meta uses engagement-based algorithmic systems to power Facebook’s news feed, ranking, recommendation and groups features, shaping what is seen on the platform. Meta profits when Facebook users stay on the platform as long as possible, by selling more targeted advertising. The display of inflammatory content – including that which advocates hatred, constituting incitement to violence, hostility and discrimination – is an effective way of keeping people on the platform longer. As such, the promotion and amplification of this type of content is key to the surveillance-based business model of Facebook.
In the months and years prior to the crackdown, Facebook in Myanmar had become an echo chamber of anti-Rohingya content. Actors linked to the Myanmar military and radical Buddhist nationalist groups flooded the platform with anti-Muslim content, posting disinformation claiming there was going to be an impending Muslim takeover, and portraying the Rohingya as “invaders”.
In one post that was shared more than 1,000 times, a Muslim human rights defender was pictured and described as a “national traitor”. The comments left on the post included threatening and racist messages, including ‘He is a Muslim. Muslims are dogs and need to be shot’, and ‘Don’t leave him alive. Remove his whole race. Time is ticking’.
Content inciting violence and discrimination went to the very top of Myanmar’s military and civilian leadership. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s military, posted on his Facebook page in 2017: “We openly declare that absolutely, our country has no Rohingya race.” He went on to seize power in a coup in February 2021.
In July 2022, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that it has jurisdiction to proceed with a case against the Myanmar government under the Genocide Convention based on Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya. Amnesty International welcomes this vital step towards holding the Myanmar government to account and continues to call for senior members of the Myanmar military to be brought to justice for their role in crimes against the Rohingya.
In 2014, Meta attempted to support an anti-hate initiative known as ‘Panzagar’ or ‘flower speech’ by creating a sticker pack for Facebook users to post in response to content which advocated violence or discrimination. The stickers bore messages such as, ‘Think before you share’ and ‘Don’t be the cause of violence’.
However, activists soon noticed that the stickers were having unintended consequences. Facebook’s algorithms interpreted the use of these stickers as a sign that people were enjoying a post and began promoting them. Instead of diminishing the number of people who saw a post advocating hatred, the stickers actually made the posts more visible.
The UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar ultimately concluded that the “role of social media [was] significant” in the atrocities in a country where “Facebook is the Internet”.
Mohamed Showife, a Rohingya activist, said: “The Rohingya just dream of living in the same way as other people in this world… but you, Facebook, you destroyed our dream.”
The Rohingya just dream of living in the same way as other people in this world…but you, Facebook, you destroyed our dream.
Mohamed Showife, Rohingya community member
FACEBOOK’S FAILURE TO ACT
The report details how Meta repeatedly failed to conduct appropriate human rights due diligence on its operations in Myanmar, despite its responsibility under international standards to do so.
Internal studies dating back to 2012 indicated that Meta knew its algorithms could result in serious real-world harms. In 2016, Meta’s own research clearly acknowledged that “our recommendation systems grow the problem” of extremism.
Meta received repeated communications and visits by local civil society activists between 2012 and 2017 when the company was warned that it risked contributing to extreme violence. In 2014, the Myanmar authorities even temporarily blocked Facebook because of the platform’s role in triggering an outbreak of ethnic violence in Mandalay. However, Meta repeatedly failed to heed the warnings, and also consistently failed to enforce its own policies on hate speech.
Amnesty International’s investigation includes analysis of new evidence from the ‘Facebook Papers’ – a cache of internal documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen.
In one internal document dated August 2019, one Meta employee wrote: “We have evidence from a variety of sources that hate speech, divisive political speech, and misinformation on Facebook… are affecting societies around the world. We also have compelling evidence that our core product mechanics, such as virality, recommendations, and optimizing for engagement, are a significant part of why these types of speech flourish on the platform.”
Our recommendation systems grow the problem
Meta report, 2016
‘META MUST PAY’
Amnesty International is today launching a new campaign calling for Meta Platforms, Inc. to meet the Rohingya’s demands for remediation.
Today marks the first anniversary of the murder of prominent activist Mohib Ullah, chair of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights. Mohib was at the forefront of community efforts to hold Meta accountable.
Rohingya refugee groups have made direct requests to Meta to provide remedy by funding a USD $1 million education project in the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The funding request represents just 0.002% of Meta’s profits of $46.7 billion from 2021. In February 2021, Meta rejected the Rohingya community’s request, stating: “Facebook doesn’t directly engage in philanthropic activities.”
Showkutara, a 22-year-old Rohingya woman and youth activist, told Amnesty International: “Facebook must pay. If they do not, we will go to every court in the world. We will never give up in our struggle.”
There are at least three active complaints seeking remediation for the Rohingya from Meta. Civil legal proceedings were filed against the company in December 2021 in both the United Kingdom and the USA. Rohingya refugee youth groups have also filed an OECD case against Meta which is currently under consideration by the US’ OECD National Contact Point.
“Meta has a responsibility under international human rights standards to remediate the terrible harm suffered by the Rohingya that they contributed to. The findings should raise the alarm that Meta risks contributing to further serious human rights abuses, unless it makes fundamental changes to its business model and algorithms,” said Agnès Callamard.
“Urgent, wide-ranging reforms to their algorithmic systems to prevent abuses and increase transparency are desperately needed to ensure that Meta’s history with the Rohingya does not repeat itself elsewhere in the world, especially where ethnic violence is simmering.”
“Ultimately, States must now help to protect human rights by introducing and enforcing effective legislation to rein in surveillance-based business models across the technology sector. Big Tech has proven itself incapable of doing so when it has such enormous profits at stake.”
On 20 May 2022, Amnesty International wrote to Meta regarding the company’s actions in relation to its business activities in Myanmar before and during the 2017 atrocities. Meta responded that it could not provide information concerning the period leading up to 2017 because the company is “currently engaged in litigation proceedings in relation to related matters”.
On 14 June 2022, Amnesty International again wrote to Meta regarding the relevant allegations contained in the report, and to give the company the opportunity to respond. Meta declined to comment..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations
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Local URL:
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Description:
"Beginning in August 2017, the Myanmar security forces undertook a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims. This report is based on an in-depth investigation into Meta (formerly Facebook)’s role in the serious human rights violations perpetrated against the Rohingya. Meta’s algorithms proactively amplified and promoted content which incited violence, hatred, and discrimination against the Rohingya – pouring fuel on the fire of long-standing discrimination and substantially increasing the risk of an outbreak of mass violence. The report concludes that Meta substantially contributed to adverse human rights impacts suffered by the Rohingya and has a responsibility to provide survivors with an effective remedy..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Format :
pdf
Size:
1.08 MB (Original version) - 74 pages
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Description:
"Media Release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)
The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) has again petitioned Facebook to share information relevant to the genocide case it is pursuing in an Argentinian court. A federal court in Buenos Aires has, through the US State Department, asked the social media giant to submit any evidence as soon as possible.
The move is part of the universal jurisdiction case on the Rohingya genocide that was opened in Argentina last year after a petition from BROUK.
“Facebook continues to put profits and its own ‘brand value’ before the lives of Rohingya people. The platform has been used to spread hatred and misinformation against the Rohingya for years, including when the military killed thousands in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017,” said Tun Khin, President of BROUK.
“We urge Facebook to respond as soon as possible with any relevant information. This is crucial not just to our case, but to expose the deeply harmful effects of misinformation and online hate speech everywhere.”
In 2016 and 2017, Myanmar military launched vicious operations in Rakhine State which killed thousands of Rohingya women, men and children, and drove close to 800,000 to flee into Bangladesh.
There is much evidence that Facebook, the overwhelmingly most popular social media platform in Myanmar, was used to vilify the Rohingya before, during and after the campaigns. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar in 2019 concluded that “Facebook is the leading platform for hate speech in Myanmar” and that the company has a responsibility to tackle its spread.
While Facebook has since taken some positive steps – including strengthening monitoring in Myanmar language and banning military-linked accounts – activists and human rights groups have consistently said that the company’s efforts fall short of what is required.
In February this year, the Argentinian judiciary first petitioned Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to share information relevant to BROUK’s universal jurisdiction case. In its new request issued on 17 August 2022, however, the Federal Court in Buenos Aires has approached the US State Department Directly to ensure the compliance of Facebook. While there is no formal deadline attached to the request, Facebook is legally required to respond as soon as possible.
The request has been made through the Inter-American Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, a treaty adopted by Members of the Organization of American States in 1996 to facilitate cooperation in criminal cases.
Facebook is being asked to;
Identify and block all pages promoting hate or violence towards the Rohingya, and provide information on its users;
Provide information on accounts or pages linked to Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the Myanmar Commander in Chief, and other senior military figures; and
Provide information on how its own algorithms might have facilitated the spread of hatred against the Rohingya, and what steps the company has taken to prevent the dissemination of hate speech in the future.
“The genocide against the Rohingya is still ongoing to this day. International justice is crucial to ensure that those responsible are held to account, and are never in a position to commit the same crimes again,” said Tun Khin.
“Since the military’s attempted coup, our case in Argentina is now even more relevant. This is a fight for justice not just for the Rohingya, but for repressed people all over Myanmar.”
In a separate communication, the Federal Court has also requested that the US State Department provide information relevant to the US’s determination that the Rohingya are facing a genocide, announced in May this year.
Background: Universal jurisdiction case
On 13 November 2019, BROUK petitioned Argentinean Courts to open an investigation into the role of Myanmar’s civilian and military leaders in committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya. Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, such crimes can be investigated anywhere in the world regardless of where they were committed.
On 28 November 2021, the Argentinian judiciary took the historic decision to accept the case and begin the first-ever universal jurisdiction trial anywhere in the world regarding the Rohingya. Since then, BROUK President Tun Khin has testified in court in Argentina, and later this year BROUK hopes to bring genocide survivors to share their stories in person in the Federal Court in Buenos Aires..."
Source/publisher:
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Sub-title:
Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.
Description:
"DEADLY ARMED CONFLICT RETURNS TO MYANMAR’S RAKHINE STATE
Following weeks of escalating conflict in Rakhine State and southern Chin State, a ceasefire that has been in place between Myanmar’s (Burma) military — the Tatmadaw — and the ethnic armed organization the Arakan Army (AA) since November 2020 appears to have entirely broken down. The temporary ceasefire was established following two years of war between the Tatmadaw and AA – an armed group seeking greater autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist population in Rakhine State. Since June, tensions between the Tatmadaw and AA have steadily risen, with reports of intense fighting, shelling and deployment of troops since early August.
Most of the fighting has been concentrated in Maungdaw, Rathedaung, Buthidaung and Mrauk-U townships in Rakhine State, as well as in Paletwa township in southern Chin State. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as of 5 September the violence had displaced nearly 9,600 people, bringing the total number displaced by past and ongoing fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA to almost 84,000. Key roads and waterways have been blocked, restricting freedom of movement and halting humanitarian assistance from reaching people in need.
Escalating armed conflict in Rakhine State comes as populations across the country continue to face atrocity risks resulting from the February 2021 coup. On 12 September Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), presented the IIMM’s fourth annual report on Myanmar during the 51st session of the Human Rights Council. Between 16 June 2021 to 30 June 2022 the IIMM found that “the scope of potential international crimes taking place in Myanmar has broadened dramatically,” with evidence indicating that the military continues to commit war crimes, as well as the crimes against humanity of murder, torture, deportation and forcible transfer, rape and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and imprisonment.
Renewed fighting between the Tatmadaw and AA not only increases the risk of atrocities facing civilians but also complicates the prospects for the safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar. Liam Scott, Myanmar Expert at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said, “the resurgence of violence between the Arakan Army and the Tatmadaw underscores the international community’s ongoing failure to effectively respond to the post-coup crisis in Myanmar. Imposing arms embargoes and sanctions against the oil and gas sectors are the least individual states and the UN Security Council should do to uphold their Responsibility to Protect.”..."
Source/publisher:
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Human Rights and international relations
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Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Shells landing in Bangladesh during fighting in Rakhine state led to diplomatic protests by Dhaka.
Description:
"Hundreds of people were waiting to cross into Bangladesh from Myanmar, a small group of newly arrived Rohingya told BenarNews, amid fierce fighting close to the border that has sparked diplomatic protests over reports of artillery and mortar shells landing in Bangladeshi territory.
One of the new arrivals said he saw “several hundred” people clustered along a river that separates Cox’s Bazar district in southeastern Bangladesh from Myanmar’s Rakhine state, and who were trying to cross the frontier several days ago. It was not immediately clear what happened to those other people apparently displaced by intense clashes in recent weeks between Burmese junta forces and Arakan Army (AA) rebels.
In Bangladesh, where the government has tightened security along the border amid the violence in Rakhine, authorities have not confirmed reports of any new refugee arrivals or influx into Cox’s Bazar.
Meanwhile, a Rohingya leader said that at least five Rohingya fleeing Myanmar had arrived at a Cox’s Bazar camp in recent days.
“Two Rohingya families of five people, including two infants, have taken shelter at the Lambasia camp in Ukhia,” Muhammed Jubair, secretary general of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), told BenarNews.
The adults were identified as Abul Wafa, his wife, Minara, and another woman, Dildar Begum.
Wafa said they fled from Buthidaung in Myanmar on Sept. 6 as junta and AA forces clashed.
“The junta started torturing the Rohingya in Buthidaung,” he told BenarNews. “That’s why we came to Bangladesh to save our lives, but we are also hiding here.”
“When we were entering Bangladesh, we saw several hundred Rohingya people, mostly women and children waiting to leave near the Naf River,” Wafa said.
Two days earlier, on Sept. 4, the Foreign Ministry issued a news release expressing “deep concern” over mortars that reportedly landed on the Bangladeshi side of the frontier the day before. The release noted that Myanmar Ambassador U Aung Kyaw Moe was summoned regarding the incident, just as he had been summoned on Aug. 21 and 28.
“During the meeting, the ambassador was also told that such activities are of grave threat to the safety and security of the peace-loving people, violation of the border agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar and contrary to the good neighborly relationship,” the ministry said.
On Tuesday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said he expected firing inside Myanmar along the border to end soon.
“We heard that a group called Arakan Army was fighting with the government forces inside Myanmar. When the government forces attack the Arakan Army, some shells land inside our territory,” he told reporters.
“Our Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), as well as Foreign Ministry, have strongly protested the incidents by calling the ambassador of Myanmar.”
Refugees’ accounts
Jubair said Wafa and the others sheltered with a relative after arriving in Bangladesh before moving into another camp.
Wafa said his group gave a boatman a piece of gold jewelry to carry them across the Naf River because they had no money to pay him.
Dildar Begum, 22, said her husband, Syed Ullah, was killed by the “Mogh army” a month ago. She was referring to the Arakan Army although “Mogh” is a term that Rohingya also often use to refer to the Burmese military.
“I fled with Wafa’s family to Bangladesh as there was no other option for me,” she told BenarNews.
In Rakhine state, an official with the AA rebels denied that the group was targeting members of the stateless Rohingya Muslim minority.
“The allegations on AA targeting Muslims are not just wrong but baseless accusations, because the fighting [in the state between Arakan Army and junta troops] has been more than a month,” Khine Thu Kha, a spokesman for the rebel group, told RFA Burmese.
“We want to question back, did you guys see or hear any report of a Muslim killed or injured by the fighting? Did you hear any report or see anyone saying there was a shell or a bullet from AA falling in a Muslim village so far? Otherwise, it is just an accusation with other intentions to defame our organization.”
Despite the claims made by the Rohingya, Md. Shamsud Douza, Bangladesh’s commissioner for Refugee Relief and Repatriation, said there was no official information about any new arrivals from Rakhine state infiltrating Bangladesh territory.
“Clashes are occurring between two groups in Myanmar. It is very normal that it will create some tension on our border as a neighboring country,” he told BenarNews. “Our decision is very clear – we cannot allow even a single Rohingya to enter Bangladesh.”
Robiul Islam, additional superintendent of police, said his unit was “not sure about a fresh entry of Rohingya but we are looking into the matter.”
Sheikh Khalid Mohammad Iftekhar, a senior official of Border Guard Bangladesh, said the border police force had tightened security at the frontier to prevent any attempts by refugees to enter the country. From January to June, 478 Rohingya were denied entry and four were arrested, according to the BGB.
Repatriation hopes
A Rohingya who lives in Maungdaw, Myanmar, and asked to not be named for security concerns, said that the increasing conflict in the state had dampened Rohingya hopes for repatriation.
“It will be difficult for them to return in this situation. The current situation will not allow them to come here,” the resident told RFA.
“The situation here is not very good. There is no security. People here are fleeing to other areas because fighting is going on. In this situation, they will not be able to come back.”
Fighting between the military and the AA resumed in July. Oo Maung Ohn, a resident of Maungdaw Township, blamed the resurgence in Rakhine State after a nearly two-year ceasefire on the junta.
“Do you know why all this fighting resumed? They (the junta) closed the roads and started the fighting and they arrested many innocent people,” he told RFA. “They arrested village administrators, questioned them and hit them.”
Rakhine State Attorney General Hla Thein, a junta spokesman, did not immediately respond to RFA requests for comment.
Regional army chief visit camps
Meanwhile, top army officers from 24 countries, including the United States, China and India, who were taking part in a conference in Dhaka, took a side trip on Tuesday to visit the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.
The delegation, including Bangladesh Army Chief Gen. S.M. Shafiuddin Ahmed and Gen. Charles A. Flynn, the American army chief in the Indo-Pacific, spoke with Rohingya leaders at the camps. The U.S. military did not immediately release details of those discussions.
While delivering the keynote address during the first day of the conference on Monday, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina warned that the prolonged stay of more than 1 million Rohingya in the crowded Cox’s Bazar camps had become a serious security and stability concern.
Most of those refugees, about 740,000, fled from Rakhine state during a Myanmar government crackdown five years ago. Within months, Bangladesh and Myanmar officials agreed to repatriate the Rohingya, but none have returned to their homeland under the program..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Five years after 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, and a decade after intercommunal violence rocked Rakhine State, those who remain live in a state of limbo.
Over the course of her life, Zaw Bedah, a 27-year-old Rohingya woman living in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, has had to adapt to increasing restrictions on her rights and freedoms.
In 2012, intercommunal clashes rocked Rakhine State. Zaw Bedah was 17 at the time and had just started her own family. Together with tens of thousands of others, they were forced to flee.
A decade later, over 153,000 Rohingya like her remain displaced, the majority of them confined to camps. An additional 447,000 live in villages where they have little freedom of movement, affecting their ability to obtain healthcare, attend school or make a living. Another 700,000 Rohingya fled a further round of violence in 2017 and now live as refugees in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the region.
Restrictions on the amount of land the camps can occupy have meant that many are unable to expand to accommodate growing populations. Living in a crowded camp with limited sanitation facilitates and a growing family has brought hardships for Zaw Bedah. “I have difficulties sleeping because there is not enough space for the eight of us in our shelter. I often go to my neighbour’s house to sleep,” she says.
Access to healthcare is an additional challenge. Now enduring a difficult pregnancy with her third child, Zaw Bedah is unwilling to seek medical care due to a cumbersome and costly administrative process involving the need for approval from local administrators, male escorts, and navigating security checkpoints where extortion is common.
“I get upset when complications occur during childbirth,” says Hassinah Begom, a midwife who attends to the needs of Zaw Bedah and other pregnant women in the camp. Despite not having had any formal training, she has successfully delivered over 500 children during her two-decade career and is often the first person mothers call on when they need assistance.
“In serious cases, I have to quickly accompany them to the hospital. We cannot leave if it is past 6pm because of the curfew. When we do go, only one person is allowed to accompany the patient, and we are not allowed to bring our phones. We also pay higher prices for medication,” says Begom. “Thankfully, no mother has died under my care.”
To improve living conditions and heal historical wounds, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners have supported the Rohingya, Rakhine and other displaced communities in Rakhine State through distributions of household items, shelter reconstruction, livelihoods support and services. Such assistance is aimed at reducing vulnerabilities such as gender-based violence while promoting dialogue between different communities.
But policies such as denying equal access to citizenship and essential services, as well as movement restrictions, have kept the Rohingya marginalized and highly dependent on humanitarian aid. “No amount of aid is enough to solve the crisis,” says Federico Sersale, UNHCR’s head of office in Sittwe, the Rakhine state capital. “While it is imperative to assist, access to rights and freedoms, social cohesion between communities, the closure of camps, and allowing the Rohingya to return to their homes or places of choice are crucial to lasting solutions.”
Even after giving birth with little or no medical care, women living in the camps continue to worry for their children. Birth certificates are rarely issued to Rohingya children, a key document that provides them with a legal identity.
“It saddens me that none of the children born here have birth certificates.”
Zaw Bedah’s second child, who was born in the camp, never received a birth certificate. Her eldest child had one, but it was lost during the chaos of their displacement in 2012. “I’ve tried many ways to obtain a new one for him, but it has been impossible,” she says.
“It saddens me that none of the children born here have birth certificates. No one can grow up to be successful without one,” says Begom.
Determined to help as best she can, she has diligently recorded the date of birth for every child she has delivered. “My wish is for these records to help children obtain identity documents one day,” she says.
Restricting the Rohingya’s access to civil documents like birth certificates has long term consequences. As children grow up, they are unable to acquire other important identity documents such as national registration cards, leaving them legally and administratively invisible. This in turn jeopardizes their future prospects, limits their freedom of movement and traps them in a cycle of poverty and marginalization.
“The longer this situation persists, the more vulnerable and marginalized the Rohingya communities become. This will further diminish the prospects for those in Bangladesh who wish to return safely,” says UNHCR’s Federico Sersale.
Ajam Bibi, a 16-year-old living in the camp who Begom helped deliver as a baby, had to drop out of school at the age of 14 because her mother could not afford the fees. “I love to learn. If I have a chance to complete my studies, I will apply for a job with a humanitarian agency … Right now, I do chores and help my younger siblings with their studies,” she says.
While primary education is often provided by humanitarian agencies for free inside camps, state-run high schools are often located far from camps and segregated from other communities. School fees and transportation costs add to the financial strain faced by cash-strapped families, a situation exacerbated by the lack of employment opportunities.
Reflecting on the difficulties faced in her own life and those of her children, Zaw Bedah worries about the future. “I feel sad and unhappy with the situation … I cannot imagine what life will be like when the children grow up,” she says..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Education in Burma/Myanmar - general, Human Rights and international relations
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Sub-title:
The group, including three children, was refused visits from locals offering food and assistance.
Description:
"A court in Myanmar’s Ayeyarwady region has sentenced 56 ethnic Rohingya to two years in prison.
They were arrested on Aug. 21 in Wakema township and the sentences were handed down by the township’s court on Tuesday under Section 6 (3) of the Residents Registration Act.
The group came from Buthidaung and Maungdaw townships in Rakhine State.
They decided to leave due to a lack of jobs in their townships and the hardships of living there.
The group comprised 30 men, including three boys, and 26 women.
The children were sent to a youth detention center in Twantay township, Yangon region. The adults were sent to Myaungmya Prison in Ayeyarwady region, according to people who volunteered to assist the Rohingya while they were in custody.
A Wakema resident who offered to help the group, and who declined to be named for safety reasons, told RFA the township administration and its judicial department made the decision to detain the Rohingya and later refused to allow visitors.
“At first, we could assist them with food,” the volunteer said. “I haven’t been able to see them since last week. I can’t go to court anymore. Even if we wanted to give food or other things, we couldn’t give them directly. That was carried out by administration officials. We don’t know much about the details.”
RFA’s calls to the State Administration Council’s Minister of Social Affairs Khin Maung Than, who is the spokesman for Ayeyarwady region, went unanswered Thursday.
Sources close to the court said the 56 were the first group of Rohingya in Ayeyarwady region to be prosecuted under the 1949 Union of Myanmar Residents Registration Act. Previous groups were prosecuted only under immigration law.
Ayeyarwady region lies directly south of Rakhine State and many Rohingya enter the region as they try to seek refuge there or reach Malaysia.
At the end of August six bodies were found, along with 59 Rohingya survivors, on a boat floating near an island off the Ayeyarwady delta region. The survivors were detained by local police.
Rohingya arrests continue
Also on Tuesday, 19 Rohingya residents from Minbya, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Buthidaung townships in Rakhine state were arrested in Ayeyarwady region’s Mindon township.
Nearly 800 Rohingya have been arrested across Myanmar between Dec. 2021 and Sept. 6, 2022, according to data compiled by RFA based on local reports and local news sources.
A bloody crackdown by the Burmese military that started on Aug. 25, 2017 led to more than 740,000 Rohingya fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh, where they have spent the last five years sheltering in refugee camps.
Of the more than 600,000 Rohingya who stayed in Myanmar an estimated 125,000 have been confined to open-air camps in Rakhine State..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) welcomes the decision by the UK government to support the genocide case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). On 25 August, Minister for Asia Amanda Milling confirmed the UK’s intention to intervene in the case of The Gambia v. Myanmar before the International Court of Justice. The case will determine whether Myanmar has violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention in relation to the military’s acts against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017.
“The U.K. Government decision to intervene in the case of The Gambia vs. Myanmar before the International Court of Justice sends a strong message of solidarity to the Rohingya people five years since the genocidal attacks in Rakhine State,” said Burma Human Rights Network Executive Director, Kyaw Win. “International justice can have a preventative affect and stop future atrocities by the brutal junta in Burma.” The Gambia filed the case against Burma before the ICJ in November 2019, alleging that the Myanmar military’s campaign against the Rohingya people violated various provisions of the Genocide Convention. 60 countries supported the case which included Canada, the Netherlands, the UK and all 57 members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In January 2020, the ICJ unanimously indicated legally binding provisional measures of protection for the Rohingya people, requiring Burma to ensure that the military and other security forces do not commit acts of genocide,
Despite the provisional measures, BHRN has continued to document abuses against the Rohingya remaining in Burma. In Rakhine State, nearly 600,000 Rohingya remain trapped under a system of discriminatory laws and policies that amount to crimes against humanity and ongoing genocide. Since the attempted military coup on 1 February 2021, the human rights situation of the Rohingya has further deteriorated with Rohingya facing tightened restrictions on their fundamental freedoms and are increasingly at risk of being subjected to further atrocity crimes.
The Gambia’s laudable step towards ending impunity for those committing atrocities in Myanmar should be fully supported by the international community. Recalling that the Genocide Convention requires all States parties to prevent the crime of genocide and hold those responsible to account, BHRN calls on all States Parties to the Genocide Convention to support efforts addressing these violations. BHRN calls on the British government, as penholder on Burma at the United Nations Security Council, to convene a meeting of the Security Council to discuss progress in implementing the provisional measures. BHRN also continues to call on the United Nations Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court to enable further scrutiny.
Organisation’s Background
BHRN is based in London and operates across Burma/Myanmar working for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in the country. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders..."
Source/publisher:
Burma Human Rights Network
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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Description:
"Burma Campaign UK is delighted that the British government has finally announced its intention to join the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice. Burma Campaign UK launched our campaign for the British government to join the case almost three years ago.
“For decades the Burmese military have been allowed to violate international law without consequences, encouraging them to commit genocide and attempt another coup,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “We are delighted that the British government has finally joined the Rohingya genocide case. They will bring vital additional resources and expertise, as well as sending an important political message.”
The British government has faced sustained pressure to join the case, including from Rohingya civil society organisations, Rushanara Ali MP, Co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on democracy in Burma, the Foreign Affairs Committee, opposition political parties, more than 100 MPs, former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and international human rights groups.
The Burmese military has enjoyed impunity for decades, despite widespread documentation of numerous violations of international law, mainly against ethnic and religious minority groups.
The sense of impunity encourages further violations of international law. The failure to act to prevent Rohingya genocide and then the failure to hold the military to account for Rohingya genocide would have encouraged the military to believe they could get away with the coup and subsequent violations of international law without facing serious consequences.
The Rohingya genocide is not over. The laws and policies which are an integral part of the genocide continue, and the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice to prevent ongoing genocide are being ignored by the military.
Burma Campaign UK also welcomed the imposition of new sanctions on three businesses working with the military that are helping them to earn money and buy arms. The companies are Star Sapphire Group of Companies, International Gateways Group of Companies Limited (IGG), and Sky One Construction Company Ltd.
Burma Campaign UK calls on the British government, as penholder on Burma at the United Nations Security Council, to convene a meeting of the Security Council to discuss progress in implementing the provisional measures, as the ICJ is a UN court, and its ruling is being ignored. The British government must also reverse cuts in funding to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
“This move by the UK is the result of years of advocacy by Rohingya communities, British MPs, members of the public and international human rights and humanitarian organisations,” said Anna Roberts..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Five years ago today, Burmese troops began carrying out a campaign of violence against the Rohingya minority, resulting in a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale and the displacement of nearly a million people. The political crisis that began with the coup d’état on February 1, 2021, has aggravated the security situation and made the prospect of the refugees’ return more remote.
Burmese security forces continue to carry out acts of violence, and France calls for their immediate, unconditional halt.
Working with its European partners and under the auspices of the UN, France will continue its humanitarian commitment to displaced persons and refugees. We demand unhindered humanitarian access to vulnerable populations. We commend the role played by Bangladesh, which has continuously shown its solidarity by taking in hundreds of thousands of people.
France will continue to advocate for ending impunity for those responsible for crimes committed in Burma against the civilian population.
France supports efforts by ASEAN and its Special Envoy to Myanmar to establish a political dialogue process that includes the democratic opposition, which is essential to ending the crisis in that country..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
Foreign ministers gave a joint statement marking the 5th anniversary of the Myanmar military’s attack against Rohingya and ensuing crisis.
Description:
"Joint statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union, and the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States:
Five years ago, the Myanmar military launched a violent attack on Rohingya communities in Rakhine, killing, raping, and torturing thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children and forcing over 700,000 to seek refuge in Bangladesh – where they joined other Rohingya, who had fled earlier attacks and decades of systemic discrimination. These deplorable actions against Rohingya precipitated one of the largest mass exoduses of a minority in recent history. We are concerned by the UN Fact Finding Mission’s establishment of consistent patterns of serious human rights violations and abuses, of which many amount to grave crimes under international law. We also recognize other initiatives to hold perpetrators accountable, including The Gambia’s efforts before the International Court of Justice, which is currently examining whether the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against Rohingya amounted also to genocide. We reiterate that Myanmar must comply with the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures order.
The same actors that committed these reprehensible actions led the military coup d’état in February 2021, and today continue to perpetrate atrocities against political dissidents and vulnerable populations, including other ethnic and religious minorities across Myanmar, and have done so for decades. The Rohingya themselves suffer human rights violations and abuses, discrimination, systematic persecution, and denial of access to basic services – including the right to citizenship. Around 150,000 Rohingya have been confined to camps without freedom of movement in Rakhine for a decade. Women and girls continue to be at extreme risk under the current conditions.
As we mark five years since the brutal 2017 campaign against Rohingya, we commend the courage of Rohingya communities and remember all the victims. We reiterate our commitment to holding the perpetrators of these violations and abuses to account, and acknowledge the work of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and others contributing to this objective. We call on the military regime to cease its violence against those who have suffered under its rule, including the decades of grave human rights violations and abuses endured by Rohingya and other communities in Myanmar. We thank the UN relevant bodies, Bangladesh, and other hosting nations for their generosity and providing lifesaving support to Rohingya and remain dedicated to supporting Bangladesh to ensure that the needs and rights of all refugees and impacted host communities are met. We also appreciate the important efforts of humanitarian organizations to extend protection and assistance for Rohingya communities. At the same time, we call on the international community to help to ensure justice for Rohingya victims, support host communities, and foster conditions that will allow for the safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return to their communities. Rohingya must be meaningfully included in discussions around the future of Myanmar."..."
Source/publisher:
Govt. UK (London)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
The UK announces new sanctions and legal action in support of Myanmar’s Rohingya community.
Description:
"UK takes fresh action against the Myanmar Armed Forces on 5th anniversary of the military’s campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya
new sanctions against military-linked companies to target the military’s access to arms and revenue
UK confirms its intention to intervene in The Gambia v. Myanmar International Court of Justice Case to support international justice efforts
The UK has announced a further round of sanctions to target military-linked businesses in Myanmar. Those being sanctioned include Star Sapphire Group of Companies, International Gateways Group of Companies Limited (IGG) and Sky One Construction Company Ltd. They are being sanctioned in an effort to limit the military’s access to arms and revenue.
Minister for Asia Amanda Milling has also confirmed the UK’s intention to intervene in the case of The Gambia v. Myanmar before the International Court of Justice. The case will determine whether Myanmar has violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention in relation to the military’s acts against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017.
The Myanmar Armed Forces launched a devastating attack on the Rohingya communities living in Rakhine State, Myanmar on 25 August 2017. A UN Fact Finding Mission report stated that over 10,000 Rohingya were killed and 740,000 displaced into neighbouring Bangladesh.
The report also claimed Myanmar Armed Forces engaged in a campaign of sexual violence, grave violations against children, torture and village burnings. These are the hallmarks of a military acting with impunity, and the UK notes its grave concern that they are employing these tactics in their current operations against pro-democracy groups in Myanmar.
The UK has been clear that what happened to the Rohingya was ethnic cleansing and remains committed to taking action to stop the brutality of the Myanmar Armed Forces and hold them to account.
Minister for Asia Amanda Milling said:
The UK will always face down those who seek to undermine and destroy our values of freedom and democracy. Five years on, we continue to stand in solidarity with the Rohingya people and condemn the Myanmar Armed Forces’ horrific campaign of ethnic cleansing.
Our decision to intervene in The Gambia v. Myanmar case and a further round of sanctions sends a strong signal of our continued support to seek accountability for the atrocities in 2017 and also restrict the military junta’s access to finance and the supply of arms.
The violence in 2017 was the result of an attempt, over generations, to destroy the Rohingya identity. The 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Rakhine State have been stripped of their citizenship and face systemic discrimination restricting the freedom of movement and access to healthcare. The UK now reiterates the call for the abolition of the 1982 Citizenship Law and the restoration of Rohingya citizenship.
Since 2017 the UK has provided £330 million in aid to the camps, supporting food needs, shelter, sanitation, education, medical and protection services..."
Source/publisher:
Govt. UK (London)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Sanctions
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Local URL:
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Description:
"The European Rohingya Council (ERC) echoes the voices of Rohingyas all over the world and remembers today as one of the darkest days in the history of mankind. On 25th August, 2017 the Burmese military brutally cracked down of our people and drove away hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas from their lands culminating in a brutal genocide in the Arakan State of Myanmar.
We support the international community in calling out Myanmar’s maltreatment of the Rohingya community as genocide. The United States on March 21, 2022 officially declared that the violence in 2017 amounted to genocide, saying there was clear evidence of an attempt to “destroy” the Rohingya population. Additionally, we support the ICJ in its ruling on July 22 2022 that the case against Myanmar government’s alleged genocide of Rohingyas filed by The Gambia can proceed.
We support the statements of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet that return of Rohingya refugees is not possible currently due to concerns about their safety in Myanmar. We additionally urge regional countries including India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and China to respect the principle of non-refoulement and support the cause of the persecuted Rohingya minority.
We urge the international community to curb the Burmese military power. This can be done by blocking the sources of revenue that Myanmar’s military is receiving. We also recommend a UN-sponsored investigation for the prosecution of Myanmar’s top military commanders on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes for violence against the Rohingya population and support the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber I in its decision regarding Myanmar’s crimes against humanity in the form of systematic forced migration of 800,000 Rohingya women, men, children and elderly people to neighbouring Bangladesh.
We declare 25 August as the Rohingya Remembrance Day. It was on this unfortunate day in 2017 that the combined Myanmar Armed Forces – Navy, Air Force and Army – launched a large scale premeditated attack against the substantial segment of the Rohingya population in Northern Rakhine State of Myanmar, using the invented pretext that the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a 1 year old, small, unorganised group of largely illiterate, barefooted young Rohingya village men had launched (coordinated) “attacks on 30 police outposts” in N. Rakhine. Myanmar government’s official story has never been independently verified by any credible research, media or UN agency.
Finally, we support the several million Rohingyas who were violently deported by the Burmese government in periodic waves of exodus since 1978. We urge for their secure, protected and dignified return to their ancestral homeland in Northern Rakhine. We urge the international community to offer them refuge and protection, until Myanmar is ready to accept them as equal citizens and human rights guarantees which the Rohingya population had enjoyed upon independence from Britain well until late 1962.
The European Rohingya Council (ERC) calls upon the international community, including the regional powers of South Asia to pressure the military junta to stop persecuting the Rohingyas and all other peaceful people of Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
The European Rohingya Council
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
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Format :
pdf
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543.36 KB
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Description:
"Today marks five years since the Myanmar military launched a campaign of killings, mass rape and arson against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State, killing thousands and forcing over 730,000 to flee to Bangladesh under NLD government. In the five years since the military’s atrocities, the situation for Rohingya in Myanmar and abroad offers a dismal reflection of justice delayed.
“The world must act decisively if they want to end the suffering of the Rohingya and the rest of Burma’s people. For decades the international community has discussed ways to improve the humanitarian situation in Burma, and the obstacle has always been the military government. There is no point in pretending otherwise. Every political and economic tool that can be used to dislodge the military from power must be utilised. If the world continues to drag its feet, we will only witness new refugee crises and humanitarian disasters at the hands of an illegitimate military junta for decades to come”, said BHRN’s Executive Director Kyaw Win.
Nearly 600,000 Rohingya remain trapped in Rakhine state under discriminatory laws and policies that amount to crimes against humanity and ongoing genocide. Since the attempted military coup on 1 February 2021, Rohingya have been subjected to tightened restrictions on their fundamental freedoms and are increasingly at risk of being subjected to further atrocity crimes.
Rohingya who have fled Myanmar and managed to reach Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, or India live under the constant threat of arrest, detention, and forced return to military-controlled Myanmar. In Bangladesh, one million Rohingya refugees who were forcibly displaced by the Myanmar military, remain in sprawling refugee camps in southern Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, where they have been subjected to discrimination and denied basic rights and adequate access to services, including education and healthcare.
The coup has made clear that the ongoing atrocities in Myanmar are a direct consequence of a military that for decades has faced no consequences for its crimes. Despite the longstanding evidence of widespread and systematic human rights violations, impunity remains nearly absolute. Impunity has been particularly enabled by the UN Security Council’s inaction on Myanmar, with Russia and China resisting any substantive action. Even in the face of serious violations of international law, the political dynamics of the Council have shielded Myanmar from any real consequences. ASEAN has also remained paralysed. Under its principle of noninterference, ASEAN has chosen to reject thousands of civilians seeking refuge from the military’s brutality and continues to engage with the military. This is the same approach it took in 2017, when it refused to condemn the military’s genocidal campaign against the Rohingya despite Malaysia and Indonesia raised strong voice.
The Government of Bangladesh has done a great service by openings its borders to refugees, and they deserve acknowledgment for the countless lives they’ve saved. Yet, it is critical that conditions for those living in the refugee camps improve without interference by Bangladesh authorities. Most vital is access to education. The Rohingya children in these camps have extremely limited access to education, and authorities have shut down the makeshift and informal schools throughout the camps without offering any alternative. Those living in the camps are also largely prohibited from seeking any form of education outside of the camps, other than in rare cases where refugees can get special permission. Without access to education and vocational services, an entire generation will have had their futures robbed. Undoubtedly, Bangladesh government saved hundreds of thousands Rohingya lives but denying education is killing their soul. Bangladesh must cooperate with domestic CSOs and human rights organisations in the camps to provide reliable education, including the Burmese curriculum, and to host courses for trauma, which the vast majority of refugees suffer with. The international community must support these efforts and help create a situation where Bangladeshis may also find employment opportunities.
So long as the Myanmar military enjoys complete impunity for their actions, unyielding oppression of the Rohingya and other minorities will continue unabated. The time to close this impunity gap is now. The Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) calls on UN member states to take all possible measures to hold General Min Aung Hlaing and other senior military leaders who bear responsibility for atrocity crimes accountable for their crimes and to cut off the military from all revenue and weapons allowing it to continue its genocidal operations. BHRN calls on the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) and National Unity Government (NUG) to abolish 1982 Nazi law, recognise Rohingya as ethnic of Burma which is a long due, recognise the Rohingya are victim of genocide and continue to support and cooperate with ongoing accountability mechanisms, including the International Criminal Court and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.
Organisation’s Background
BHRN is based in London and operates across Burma/Myanmar working for human rights, minority rights and religious freedom in the country. BHRN has played a crucial role in advocating for human rights and religious freedom with politicians and world leaders..."
Source/publisher:
Burma Human Rights Network
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
183.04 KB
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Description:
"Today marks five years since the beginning of the massive refugee influx of Rohingya people and other communities from Myanmar’s Rakhine State into Bangladesh.
On 25 August 2017, Myanmar’s military started carrying out violent operations against the Rohingya population in Northern Rakhine State, which resulted in grave crimes under international law and forced hundreds of thousands to flee.
Five years later, Rohingyas in Rakhine State still lack freedom of movement and other basic rights such as access to adequate food, healthcare and education.
This anniversary is a reminder that the crimes committed against Rohingya call for accountability.
The OIC pays tribute to the Government and people of Bangladesh for their relentless efforts to provide protection, hospitality, and necessary assistance to Rohingya refugees who have been living in Bangladesh for the past five years. It appreciates the international support, including by OIC Member States, for the cause of these Refugees.
The OIC General Secretariat reiterates the OIC’s firm support for the Rohingya people and calls on the international community to stand firm with them in their plight, and to redouble efforts to protect their fundamental human rights, including their right to full citizenship, and to ensure favourable conditions for the safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return of all Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons to their homeland.
The OIC General Secretariat expresses the hope that the recent ruling of the International Court of Justice to dismiss the preliminary objections of Myanmar would contribute to mobilizing the necessary momentum for effective international action that would provide more support for the Rohingya people and contribute to finding a final solution to their constant affliction..."
Source/publisher:
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Thousands adopt the slogan “Hope is Home,” during demonstrations in Bangladesh camps
Description:
"Rohingya refugees staged mass demonstrations at camps in southeastern Bangladesh on Thursday to demand the world help repatriate them to Myanmar, as they marked the fifth anniversary of a brutal Burmese military offensive that spurred an unprecedented exodus.
Officials from the United Nations, the United States and other members of the international community also commemorated the occasion by expressing their support for Rohingya, who refer to Aug. 25 as “Genocide Remembrance Day.”
At about two dozen camps in Cox’s Bazar, the district where the refugees are sheltering along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, thousands took part in rallies with the slogan “Hope is Home.”
“We no longer want to be refugees. We want to go back to our homeland,” Mohammed Jubair, secretary general of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH), said during a rally at the Kutupalong camp in Ukhia, a sub-district in Cox’s Bazar.
“I am requesting the international community to exert more pressure on Myanmar for a safe repatriation.
Rohingya also demanded that those responsible for the bloody crackdown by the Burmese military that started on Aug. 25, 2017, be brought to justice and that those who were expelled be repatriated to Myanmar’s Rakhine state with full dignity and civil rights.
“The world already knows how the Myanmar army killed the Rohingya people. That’s why we cannot forget this day,” said Khin Maung, director of the Rohingya Youth Association, who lives in Cox’s Bazar.
“Now we live in camps. Food, living conditions, nothing is good. We’ve been here for a long time. That’s why we want to return to our villages, to our country, as soon as possible.”
But the prospect of the stateless Rohingya Muslim refugees returning safely to their villages and townships in their home state of Rakhine has become dimmer because of post-coup bloodshed across Myanmar after Burmese generals seized power last year.
A Rohingya youth who attended the Kutupalong rally said he and others worried about what might await them if they return to their Myanmar homes.
“We want an end to such a refugee life. But the present situation in Myanmar is not safe enough, we want help from the world community,” Abdur Razzak said.
According to one Rohingya human rights activist based in Rakhine, some 600,000 Rohingya who did not flee to Bangladesh in 2017 have been subjected to stricter repression since the 2021 coup and their movements within the state are even more limited.
“Currently, they are facing many hardships. They are barred from visiting other villages and subjected to religious and ethnic discrimination all the time,” said activist Zarni Soe.
“Now that the AA [Arakan Army] and the Burmese army are fighting again in northern Rakhine state, we might even see worse things coming.”..."
Source/publisher:
"RFA" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Local URL:
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"25 August 2022: Five years ago, the Myanmar military launched genocidal security operations against Rohingya in Rakhine State in a horrific culmination of decades of state-based persecution of Rohingya inside Myanmar. Today, the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) remembers the Rohingya victims and survivors of the genocide perpetrated by the Myanmar military and all of those struggling for justice, human rights, and the right to live dignified lives free from military oppression.
On 25 August, 2017, the launch of security operations by the Myanmar military against Rohingya in northern Rakhine State heralded the beginning of a widespread and systemic campaign of rape, arson, torture, murder and forced displacement that would claim the lives of thousands of boys, girls, men and women and drive 750,000 people across the border into Bangladesh. Those that fled joined a quarter of a million Rohingya already seeking refuge inside Bangladesh. Today, nearly one million people live in squalid conditions inside the world’s largest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh.
“The stories and accounts we have heard from the Rohingya survivors of Myanmar military atrocities have had a profound effect on us all. They will never leave us,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “Today we remember the Rohingya survivors and victims of these grave crimes and are reminded once more of our moral duty to the Rohingya people and to humanity that the perpetrators of such atrocities are held to account wherever they occur.”
Life is a daily struggle for the some 900,000 people confined to refugee camps in Bangladesh. Hemmed in on all sides by barbed wire, there is no escape from the frequent fires, floods and landslides caused by the torrential monsoon rains or criminal gangs that threaten and murder camp inhabitants with impunity. Last September, much-loved Rohingya community leader and activist Mohib Ullah was assassinated after threats were made against his life.
The situation is similarly dire for the 600,000 Rohingya that remain inside Myanmar where the military has been committing widespread daily atrocities against the entire population of the country since attempting a military coup in February 2021. Rohingya in Rakhine State face increased restrictions on movement and threats of violence and persecution from security forces. As such, the safe, voluntary, dignified and durable return of Rohingya in Bangladesh to Myanmar is currently impossible.
“The strength, spirit and determination of the Rohingya and their fight for justice in the face of such horrific circumstances is a source of great inspiration for us and oppressed peoples around the world,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “The entire country of Myanmar is now engaged in a struggle against their military oppressors as they fight for a new Myanmar built on human rights, justice, and democracy. The Rohingya are an integral part of this future. Securing justice for the Rohingya is essential to seeing these dreams of a new Myanmar become reality.”
Today, as SAC-M remembers the Rohingya victims and survivors of genocide, we call on the international community to spare no effort in assisting and strengthening ongoing accountability measures and to explore every avenue in pursuit of justice for the Rohingya and accountability for the Myanmar military’s genocidal atrocities.
“Myanmar military impunity is the root cause of the Rohingya genocide,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “Only when Myanmar military leadership are held to account for their grave crimes can the horrific, decades-long cycle of military violence that has brought untold suffering to the Rohingya people finally be brought to a close.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"Five years after the military’s “clearance operations” against Rohingya, we, Women's
Peace Network, recommit our support to the Rohingya community; as well as urge the
international community to pursue comprehensive and concerted measures to bring justice and
accountability for such victims and survivors of genocide.
We remain alarmed by Rohingya’s worsening conditions across South and Southeast
Asia, to where hundreds of thousands of them were forced to flee from the 2017 attacks. In its
deteriorating conditions, trauma continues to shape the community’s path to survival: Rohingya
are increasingly deprived of access to healthcare, education, and other basic needs and
livelihoods; and their women and girls, survivors of a harrowing escape, remain at heightened
risk of being subjected to sexual and domestic violence without access to any form of protection
or recourse to justice. Barbed-wire fences confine their movement to isolated camps, and any
attempt to find their long-awaited freedom is threatened by human trafficking, detention, arrest,
and forced deportation to Myanmar.
Yet the Myanmar that awaits Rohingya is now farther from the home that they envision.
The military that perpetrated their genocide overthrew an elected government last year, and is
now wielding brutal tactics – many of which were used to strategically destroy the community
for decades – across the entire country. The over 600,000 Rohingya in Myanmar are at
increasing risk of being subjected to further atrocities: The junta is now issuing past,
discriminatory and apartheid-like policies aimed at further confining what it still calls “Bengali”
in camps and prisons. Since the attempted coup, the junta has detained and arrested over 1475
Rohingya, including 617 women.
Therefore, this Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day, we urge the international
community to expedite its efforts to bring accountability to Myanmar by fully addressing the
needs and concerns of its most vulnerable and marginalized population. Countries must now
join the International Court of Justice's The Gambia v. Myanmar, which will now proceed as a
case, against the Rohingya genocide; support universal jurisdiction to prosecute the military for
its international crimes; and impose more targeted economic sanctions and financial penalties
on the military and its related businesses, particularly the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise. The
United Nations Security Council should immediately uphold its mandate – as well as the
Responsibility to Protect and Women, Peace, and Security agendas – and adopt a resolution
referring the situation of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court and imposing a global
arms embargo on the country. And as was demonstrated by the United States government this
year, governments must begin to officially recognize the entirety of the mass atrocities that have
been committed against ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar for decades, including
genocide against Rohingya; countries that do so must also pursue rigorous and robust measures
to bring justice to the many affected communities.
Holding the military accountable is fundamental to ensuring that such justice will be
served, and that its victims and survivors of genocide will be there to receive it. For the latter, we
call upon the international community to provide sustainable forms of material and financial
assistance to the over one million Rohingya seeking rehabilitation and recovery as refugees
across South and Southeast Asia. This form of assistance must be directed to the community and
members of its civil society, especially women’s groups, in a way which respects their autonomy,
agency, and dignity – and with the goal of securing their safe and dignified voluntary return
home..."
Source/publisher:
Women’s Peace Network
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရသည် ၂၀၁၇ ခုနှစ်တွင် စစ်တပ်မှ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများအား ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်စွာ ပြုမူခဲ့သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများ၏ ပဉ္စမနှစ်ပတ် လည်နေ့ ကို ဝမ်းနည်းမှုများစွာဖြင့် အထိမ်းအမှတ်ပြုပါသည်။
၂၀၁၇ ခုနှစ်တွင် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်မှ သတ်ဖြတ်ခဲ့သဖြင့် ထောင်နှင့်ချီသော ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ သေဆုံး ပျောက်ကွယ်ခဲ့သည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ ပျောက်ပျက်သွားရန် အကြမ်းဖက် နည်းဗျူဟာတစ်ခု ဖြစ်သော အစုလိုက်အပြုံလိုက် မုဒိမ်းကျင့်မှုအပါအဝင် လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများလည်း ကျုးလွန်ခဲ့ကြ ပါသည်။ ရွာပေါင်းများစွာ ဖျက်ဆီးခံခဲ့ရပြီး မရေမတွက်နိုင်သော အိမ်ခြေများ ပျက်စီးသွားခဲ့ရသည် ။ ယခု ငါးနှစ်ကြာသည်အထိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူ တစ်သန်းကျော်မှာ ၎င်းတို့နေရပ်များမှ အတင်းအကျပ် ရွှေ့ပြောင်း ခံရပြီး အိုးမဲ့အိမ်မဲ့ဖြစ်ခဲ့ရသည်။ စစ်တပ်သည် ဤအလားတူ လုပ်ရပ်များအား ရိုဟင်ဂျာ ပြည်သူများ ကိုသာမက ကချင်နှင့် ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်များတွင် နေထိုင်သော လူမျိုးနွယ်စု အသီးသီး အပေါ် တွင်လည်း ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့ကြောင်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာ ကုလသမဂ္ဂ အချက်အလက်ရှာဖွေရေး မစ်ရှင်၏ တွေ့ရှိချက်များ အရ သိရှိခဲ့ရပါသည်။
ထိုကဲ့သို့ သမိုင်းတလျှောက် ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများအတွက် ပြစ်ဒဏ်စီရင်ခြင်းမခံခဲ့ရခြင်း က မြန်မာ စစ်တပ်ကို တရားမဝင်စစ်တပ် တစ်ခုအဖြစ် နိုင်ငံအနှံ့ ရာဇဝတ်မှုများကို ဆက်လက် ဦးဆောင် ကျူးလွန် စေခဲ့ပါသည်။ ယခင်က ပစ်မှတ်ထားခံရသူလူနည်းစုမှ ယခုဆိုလျှင် နိုင်ငံတဝှန်းရှိ လူအများစုသို့ ဦးတည် ကျူးလွန်ဆောင်ရွက်လာပြီ ဖြစ်သည်။ စစ်တပ်၏ မအောင်မြင်သော အာဏာသိမ်းမှု စတင်ခဲ့သည့် နေ့ မှ ယနေ့အထိ နောက်ထပ် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသား တစ်သန်းကျော် အိုးမဲ့အိမ်မဲ့ ဖြစ်ခဲ့ရသည်။ ကျေးရွာများစွာကို ဗုံးကြဲ၊ လက်နက်ကြီးများ ဖြင့်ပစ်ခတ်ခဲ့ပြီး အိမ်များစွာ မီးရှို့ခံခဲ့ရသကဲ့သို့ အစုလိုက် အပြုံလိုက် သတ်ဖြတ်မှုများ ကိုလည်း ပေါ်ပေါ်ထင်ထင် ကျူးလွန်လျက် ရှိပါသည်။
ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများနှင့် အခြား လူမျိုးစုများကို နှစ်ပေါင်းများစွာ ဖယ်ကျဉ် ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံခဲ့စေသော မူဝါဒများ ၊ အလေ့အကျင့်များ နှင့် ပြုမှုပြောဆိုမှုများ၊ လုပ်ရပ်များ တည်ရှိခဲ့ခြင်းကြောင့် ယခုကဲ့သို့ ပိုမို ဆိုးရွားသော ရက်စက် ကြမ်းကြုတ်မှုများနှင့် ရင်ဆိုင်လာရခြင်းဖြစ်ကြောင်း ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရမှ အလွန်ရှက်ရွှံ့စွာဖြင့် အသိအမှတ် ပြုလိုပါသည်။
ထို့ကြောင့် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရအနေဖြင့် အောက်ပါ အချက်၃ချက်အား တစ်ပြိုင်တည်း လုပ်ဆောင်လျက် ရှိပါသည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ ပြည်တော်ပြန်နိုင်ရေး အထောက်အကူပြုရန် အခြေအနေများ ဖန်တီးခြင်း၊ တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် တာဝန်ယူမှု တည်ဆောက်ခြင်း၊ ဥပဒေအရနှင့် လက်တွေ့အရ တန်းတူညီမျှမှု ပေးနိုင်ရန်ကြိုးပမ်းခြင်း တို့ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
မကြာသေးမီက သွားရောက်ခဲ့သော ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ် ခရီးစဉ် အပြီးတွင် ကုလသမဂ္ဂ လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ဆိုင်ရာ သံအမတ်ကြီး မစ်ချယ်လ် ဘချဲလက်က ရိုဟင်ဂျာဒုက္ခသည်များတွင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ ၎င်းတို့ နေအိမ်များသို့ ပြန်သွားနိုင်မည်ဟု 'အခိုင်အမာမျှော်လင့်ချက်' ရှိနေဆဲဖြစ်ကြောင်း ပြောကြားခဲ့သည်။ သို့သော်လည်း မြေပြင် အခြေအနေများသည် မိမိသဘောဆန္ဒဖြင့်၊ ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိရှိ၊ လုံခြုံမှုရှိရှိဖြင့် ရေရှည် တည်တံ့သော ပြည်တော်ပြန်နိုင်ရေး အတွက် မသင့်တော်သေးကြောင်း သံအမတ်ကြီး က ကောက်ချက် ချခဲ့သည်။ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ၊ တိုင်းရင်းသားလူမျိုးစု အဖွဲ့အစည်း များ၊ ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ်အစိုးရ နှင့် ကုလသမဂ္ဂ တို့ နှင့်အတူ ရိုဟင်ဂျာ လူမျိုးများ အိမ်ပြန်နိုင်ရေး အတွက် ကောင်းမွန်သင့်တော်သော အခြေအနေများ ဖန်တီးရန် ကြိုးစားနေကြောင်း ထပ်မံ ကတိပြုပါသည်။
တာဝန်ယူမှု၊ တာဝန်ခံမှုနှင့် ပတ်သက်၍ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရသည် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ တရားရုံး ၊ အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ ပြစ်မှုဆိုင်ရာ တရားရုံး နှင့် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ တရားစီရင်မှုအခွင့်အာဏာ နှင့်အတူ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများ တရားမျှတမှု ရရှိနိုင်ရန် နှင့် ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများ ကျူးလွန် သူများကို ပြင်းပြင်းထန်ထန် အပြစ်ပေးနိုင်ရန် အစဉ်တစ်စိုက် ကြိုးပမ်း လုပ်ဆောင်လျက် ရှိပါသည်။
တန်းတူညီမျှမှုနှင့် ပတ်သတ်၍ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရသည် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာ ပြည်သူများအပေါ် မူဝါဒသဘောထား တွင် ဖေါ်ပြထားသော ကတိကဝတ်များ အတိုင်း လုပ်ဆောင်လျှက် ရှိပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ မှာ ၊ နိုင်ငံသား အခွင့်အရေးများ ၊ ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံမှု မရှိခြင်း ၊ တန်းတူ ညီမျှမှုရရှိခြင်း၊ အမုန်းစကားများကို တိုက်ဖျက်ခြင်း စသည်တို့ကို ဦးစားပေးသည့် ကျယ်ပြန့်သော ဥပဒေ နှင့် မူဝါဒ ပြုပြင် ပြောင်းလဲမှုများကို ရိုဟင်ဂျာနှင့် အခြားလူနည်းစု အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ နှင့် တိုင်ပင်ဆွေးနွေးပြီး ဆောင်ရွက်လျှက်ရှိပါသည်။
ဤလုပ်ရပ်များ လုပ်ဆောင်ရာတွင် အတားအဆီးများစွာ ရင်ဆိုင်နေရပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ကို အောင်မြင်စွာ အကောင်အထည်ဖေါ်နိုင်ရန်မှာ ဒီမိုကရေစီစနစ် တည်တံ့ခိုင်မြဲမှု ၊ ရက်စက် ကြမ်းကြုတ်မှု များ အဆုံးသတ်နိုင်မှု နှင့် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်တပ်အား အနိုင်ယူနိုင်မှုတို့ အပေါ် မူတည်နေပါသည် ။
အဆုံးသပ်တွင် မိမိတို့ပြည်သူများသည် မလွဲမသွေ အောင်မြင်မည်မှာ သေချာပါသည်။ ဤကတိကဝတ်များသည် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေး၊ တရားမျှတမှု၊ ညီမျှမှု၊ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးနှင့် လူနည်းစုများအား ကာကွယ်ရေးတို့အပေါ် အခြေခံတည်ဆောက်ထားသော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီ ပဋိညာဉ်စာတမ်း နှင့်အညီ ပေါ်ထွက်လာမည့် နိုင်ငံတော်သစ်၏အနာဂတ်အတွက် အဓိကအခြေခံ ဖြစ်သည်။
ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရမှ နိုင်ငံတကာ အဖွဲ့အစည်း များကို ရိုဟင်ဂျာ အသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအတွက် တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် ငြိမ်းချမ်းမှုတို့ ဆောင်ကြဉ်းပေးနိုင်ရန် မိမိတို့ ၏ ကြိုးပမ်းမှုများတွင် ပါဝင်ပြီး လက်တွေ့ကျသော ထောက်ပံ့မှုများ ပေးရန် နှင့် အတူတကွ ပူးပေါင်း ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် တိုက်တွန်းအပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
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Individual Documents
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National Unity Government (NUG), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Crimes Against Humanity, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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"The upcoming five-year anniversary of the Rohingya crisis must mark a turning point in the urgent quest to deliver justice to the victims and hold those responsible to account, Amnesty International said today.
On 25 August 2017 Myanmar’s military began carrying out violent operations against the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State, which resulted in grave crimes under international law, whole villages torched, and forced hundreds of thousands to flee into Bangladesh.
“This solemn anniversary is a haunting reminder that not a single high-ranking Myanmar military official has been prosecuted for the egregious campaign of violence against the Rohingya,” said Amnesty International’s Ming Yu Hah, Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns.
“Amnesty International stands in solidarity with the Rohingya people who are in Rakhine State and the estimated one million refugees living across the border in Bangladesh. Real justice is essential to ending the spiraling cycle of impunity engulfing Myanmar for many years.”
"This solemn anniversary is a haunting reminder that not a single high-ranking Myanmar military official has been prosecuted for the egregious campaign of violence against the Rohingya." - Amnesty International's Ming Yu Ha, Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns
Five years later, Rohingya in Rakhine State still lack freedom of movement and other basic rights such as access to adequate food, healthcare and education, problems compounded by the rising insecurity brought on by the 2021 military coup in Myanmar. Across the border in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees are living in limbo with neither the opportunity to safely return to their homes in Myanmar nor a way to live peacefully in Bangladesh, where violence has been on the rise in refugee camps.
“We face enormous hardship in the refugee camps,” San thai Shin, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar camp, told Amnesty International in June. “We do not know how we can ever return to our homes. We are neither safe in the refugee camps nor in Arakan [Rakhine State in Myanmar].”
“Our people are losing their lives to gang violence in the refugee camps, in environmental calamity, or by taking dangerous attempts to migrate to other countries through the deadly seas and other means.”
Importantly, some international justice efforts are moving forward. In July 2022, the International Court of Justice dismissed Myanmar’s objections and decided that it has jurisdiction to continue proceedings instituted by the government of The Gambia against the government of Myanmar in 2019 on the basis of the Genocide Convention.
“The International Court of Justice’s decision is a vital step in ongoing efforts to hold Myanmar’s government to account,” Amnesty’s Ming Yu Hah said.
The International Criminal Court is also investigating crimes committed in 2016 and 2017 against the Rohingya population. Although Myanmar has not ratified the ICC’s Statute, the Court is examining alleged crimes committed partly in the territory of Bangladesh or other states. Amnesty International has called for the United Nations Security Council to refer the full situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, so that an investigation of all crimes committed in Myanmar can be conducted.
An investigation into other crimes in Myanmar is also being conducted in Argentina under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which permits national authorities to investigate crimes under international law committed anywhere in the world on behalf of the international community. The case, which was filed by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK), hopes to hold senior military leaders to account for alleged responsibility in crimes against the Rohingya people.
These efforts should be supported and other states should also take measures to investigate and prosecute the crimes before their national courts.
“The Association of Southeast Asian Nations must also play a more forceful, decisive and leadership role in standing up for the Rohingya people and pushing for accountability in Myanmar,” Amnesty’s Ming Yu Hah said.
“We reiterate our call on authorities to respect and ensure the participation of Rohingyas in the decisions that affect them in order to protect their human rights.”
Background:
More than 740,000 Rohingya women, men and children fled northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh, when in August 2017 Myanmar security forces launched a widespread and systematic assault on Rohingya villages, including extrajudicial killings, destruction of properties and sexual assault. The onslaught came in the wake of a series of what the military claims were insurgent attacks on police posts.
Taking into account previous decades of violence against the Rohingya, an estimated one million Rohingya refugees now live in Bangladesh, while many of their homes in Rakhine State have been destroyed without a trace.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar previously called for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other top military officials to be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Min Aung Hlaing assumed the role of Chairman of the State Administration Council following the February 2021 coup.
In a report published earlier this month, since the coup Amnesty International documented the crackdown and arbitrary detention of those who exercise their right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly as well as enforced disappearances, torture and other inhuman treatment in detention.
More than 2,000 people have reportedly been killed since the coup, and Myanmar arbitrarily executed four people after grossly unfair trials, the first use of capital punishment in the country in decades.
A report by Amnesty International published in July showed that the Myanmar military is committing war crimes by laying banned landmines and around villages in Kayah (Karenni) State, while a report in May showed how the military uses air strikes and shelling as a form of collective punishment against civilians..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-24
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Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Sub-title:
Anniversary of Atrocities Highlights International Inaction
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"(Bangkok) – Rohingya Muslims are still awaiting justice and protection of their rights five years after the Myanmar military began a sweeping campaign of massacres, rape, and arson in northern Rakhine State on August 25, 2017, Human Rights Watch said today. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled to precarious, flood-prone camps in Bangladesh, while about 600,000 remain under oppressive rule in Myanmar.
No one has been held accountable for the crimes against humanity and acts of genocide committed against the Rohingya population. This anniversary should prompt concerned governments to take concrete action to hold the Myanmar military to account and secure justice and safety for the Rohingya in Bangladesh, Myanmar, and across the region.
“Governments should mark the five-year anniversary of the devastating campaign against the Rohingya with a coordinated international strategy for accountability and justice that draws on Rohingya input,” said Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Donors should support Rohingya refugees to study and work freely and safely so they can build independent and self-reliant futures.”
Since August 2017, Human Rights Watch has interviewed hundreds of Rohingya in Bangladesh who fled the Myanmar military’s atrocities. They described incidents in which soldiers systematically killed and raped villagers before torching their homes. Altogether, the security forces killed thousands and burned down nearly 400 villages. Those who escaped to neighboring Bangladesh joined a few hundred thousand refugees who had fled earlier waves of violence and persecution.
“Myanmar authorities brutalized us,” said Abdul Halim, 30, a Rohingya refugee in Bangladesh. “They burned down our houses, raped our mothers and sisters, burned our children. We took shelter in Bangladesh to escape that brutality. Now I’ve been living in Kutupalong camp for five years.” Abdul carried his very ill mother on his back when they fled Myanmar in 2017. She died shortly after reaching Bangladesh.
The Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State face systematic abuses that amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. They are confined to camps and villages without freedom of movement, cut off from access to adequate food, health care, education, and livelihoods.
“Since we were children in Myanmar, we never had any freedom,” Abdul said. “They called me ‘nowa kalar’ [a slur for Muslims], to say we are like animals.”
Rohingya are effectively denied citizenship under Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, rendering them stateless. The 2017 atrocities were rooted in decades of state repression, discrimination, and violence.
“In Myanmar, we struggled through life,” Hasina Hatu, 40, said. “When we raised goats, the border guard forces took away the goats. When we raised cattle, they took away the cattle. When we farmed paddy fields, they took away the rice.” Hasina’s father died after falling down a muddy slope as they fled in 2017.
In February 2021, the generals who had orchestrated the atrocities against the Rohingya staged a coup and detained Myanmar’s elected civilian leaders. The military junta responded to mass demonstrations with a nationwide campaign of mass killings, torture, arbitrary arrests, and indiscriminate attacks that amounted to crimes against humanity and, in conflict areas, war crimes. Military units that had been implicated in the 2017 atrocities – since sanctioned by the United States and United Kingdom – have been deployed in renewed operations around the country.
The junta has imposed new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages, increasing water scarcity and food shortages, along with disease and malnutrition. Since the coup, security forces have arrested an estimated 2,000 Rohingya, hundreds of them children, for “unauthorized travel.” Many have been sentenced to the maximum five years in prison. Increased fighting between the Myanmar military and ethnic Arakan Army has also left Rohingya caught in the middle.
In Bangladesh, about one million Rohingya refugees live in sprawling, overcrowded camps in Cox’s Bazar and the isolated silt island of Bhasan Char. For five years, the Bangladesh government has respected the international principle of nonrefoulement, the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
However, Bangladesh authorities have recently intensified restrictions on livelihoods, movement, and education that make many refugees feel unwelcome and at risk. Officials have closed community-led schools, arbitrarily destroyed shops, and imposed new obstacles on travel.
“If our children can’t be educated here in Bangladesh either, then anywhere we go, we will still be persecuted,” Abdul said.
Bangladesh authorities have moved about 28,000 Rohingya to Bhasan Char, where they face severe movement restrictions, food and medicine shortages, and abuses by security forces. Despite the involvement of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), many continue to be transferred without full, informed consent, and have been prevented from returning to the mainland. Bangladesh authorities should lift the new restrictions and end forced relocations of refugees, Human Rights Watch said.
“How long will we live like this?” Hasina said. “I don’t think the world will solve our condition.”
The 2022 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis has received only a quarter of its requested US$881 million in funding. Donors including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia should increase funding to meet the massive needs of the refugee population to help Bangladesh support the Rohingya and host communities.
The Bangladesh government and Myanmar junta have renewed discussions around repatriation, announcing in January joint plans to “expeditiously complete the verification process.” Two prior repatriation attempts failed, with Rohingya refugees unwilling to return due to the ongoing persecution and abuse in Myanmar. Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing UN high commissioner for human rights, announced on August 17, following a visit to Cox’s Bazar, that “the current situation across the border means that conditions are not right for returns.”
“We want to go back to Myanmar but to go there we want justice,” Mohammad Ayaz, 21, said. “How long will we have to live in a tarpaulin house? It’s been five years. Who knows how long we have to live here. Who knows whether the world will help us get justice or not.” Mohammad was shot while fleeing his village of Tula Toli on August 30, 2017. At least 12 members of his family, including his parents and sisters, were killed.
In Malaysia, India, and Thailand, thousands of Rohingya refugees are being held indefinitely in immigration detention sites or living without adequate support and protection.
The international response to the 2017 violence was fragmented and halting, with governments favoring quiet diplomacy that achieved little over strategic measures to place real pressure on the military, Human Rights Watch said.
Building conditions for the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of Rohingya refugees will require a cohesive international response to establish rights-respecting rule in Myanmar and achieve justice for the crimes in Rakhine State. A future Myanmar under democratic civilian rule will entail full citizenship rights for Rohingya and reparations for the atrocities, including for stolen or destroyed land and property.
The UN Security Council should end its inaction borne of anticipated vetoes by China and Russia and urgently negotiate a resolution to institute a global arms embargo on Myanmar, refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, and impose targeted sanctions on the junta and military-owned conglomerates.
“What are we waiting for?” a US diplomat said in a speech at a Security Council meeting in 2021. “The longer we delay, the more people die. This council is failing in our collective responsibility to safeguard international peace and security. And it is failing the people of Burma.”
The US, UK, EU, and other governments should together strengthen international sanctions to cut off the Myanmar military from the revenue funding its abusive operations, including in Rakhine State. Governments should target the junta’s gas revenues, its largest source of foreign income, totaling about $1 billion in annual profits. The EU sanctioned the junta-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise in February, but other governments have so far failed to follow suit. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should urgently abandon its failed five-point consensus response to the crisis and instead coordinate strong action against the junta’s abuses.
“We hope that, with help from foreign governments and Bangladesh, we will be able to get back our rights,” Abdul said. “That is what we want.”
Governments should explore every avenue for justice and accountability for the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes, including by formally supporting the case under the Genocide Convention brought by Gambia against Myanmar before the International Court of Justice. Canada and the Netherlands have publicly declared their intention to support the proceedings.
Governments should also actively pursue investigations and prosecutions under the principle of universal jurisdiction, an avenue to justice for crimes so serious that all states have an interest in addressing them. The Argentine judiciary has opened an investigation into Myanmar’s atrocities against the Rohingya under universal jurisdiction.
“The Myanmar junta’s killing of demonstrators, shelling of civilians, and other abuses reflect in large measure the failure to hold the generals accountable for their atrocities of five years ago,” Pearson said. “Influential governments should overcome their past mistakes and take strong measures to sever the flow of arms and revenue underwriting the junta’s ongoing crimes.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
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Sub-title:
Myanmar’s crackdown in 2017 forced a vast wave of refugees across the border into already crowded and unsafe camps – the result of decades of international political paralysis
Description:
"In the 31 years since Anuara Begum’s family moved into their bamboo shelter in the Nayapara refugee camp, the only improvement they could make was replacing its tarpaulin roof with tin sheeting – less flimsy but hammer-loud when the rains come.
Running from Myanmar’s military, their new home was built to be temporary, and so it proved when it took just 30 minutes for a fire last year to incinerate the metal and bamboo structures of a whole block of the camp.
Fires in the camp have become commonplace in the five years since 700,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, the August 2017 wave joining the approximately 300,000 already there from previous security crackdowns by the Myanmar military.
The conditions those refugees now endure – living in fragile shelters, banned from education, work and travel – have been faced by several generations, who have run for decades from violence and discrimination at the hands of the Myanmar government.
Begum, 23, was born in Bangladesh without any prospect of a safe return to the Myanmar she has never seen.
“We have no peace of mind. The camp is like an open prison for us. Most people suffer with depression and trauma,” she says. “Since I was born, I have faced constant hardship. I have spent my entire life as a refugee, since 1999, and still I can’t find peace.
“I cry when I see a fire. My family can’t sleep properly through the night because of our fear after the fire. My neighbours are constantly scared.”
Rohingya people and aid workers say the refugees who arrived five years ago have been abandoned to the same fate as those before them, accusing the humanitarian agencies of decades of failure to ensure basic rights or to secure a safe return.
One senior aid worker for an international NGO said the UN had consistently failed to challenge the Bangladeshi government over restrictive policies such as the demand that all homes be temporary, its restrictions on education and movement and the relocation of tens of thousands of people to Bhasan Char, an island camp vulnerable to extreme weather.
“Basic shelter standards have not been met, and every year the camp burns down,” he said, asking for anonymity.
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“They often blame climate change for this, which is, frankly, bollocks. The fault for those fires is on the UNHCR [UN refugee agency] and IOM [International Organization for Migration]. And they should be held accountable. Where the government has put punitive measures in place, they’ve never been challenged.”
He said the Rohingya posed no significant security threat in Bangladesh, which should ensure more humane conditions.
“It has been a failure and, on the five-year mark, the UN has to be close to saying that it’s failed. They won’t – they’ll say we did our best, and look at all of the things we’ve done. But they’ve essentially created a prison camp in Cox’s Bazar … it’s insane when you think about it.”
Another frontline worker said humanitarian agencies are too concerned about maintaining good relationships with the government so they can continue operating in Bangladesh. “They’re very much reliant on those good relationships with the government and it was my impression that they value those relationships and development programmes more than the rights of Rohingya, who were not allowed to leave, to work or receive education,” he said.
At least 7,000 Rohingya were killed in Myanmar’s Rakhine state over several weeks of “clearance operations” by the military, which began on 25 August 2017. Described as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing” by the UN, the attacks were ostensibly to remove the fringe Rohingya armed group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, but targeted civilians instead. The military, and ethnic Rakhine villagers, used killing, arson and rape to drive hundreds of thousands of people to Bangladesh. The UN called it genocide.
Such violence is not new. It was employed by the military in 1978 and 1991, creating similar but smaller refugee crises. Both times, Bangladesh carried out repatriation campaigns to force people back, with apparently little international resistance.
A report, prepared in 2010 but never published, about the UNHCR’s role in the camps and during the repatriations, said that in 1978 and during the 1990s the agency “departed the furthest from its protection mandate and principles in any of its operations worldwide”.
According to that report, seen by the Guardian, the agency cooperated with the government in repatriation efforts during the 1990s, despite concerns about lack of consent, intimidation and, on one occasion, a group of Rohingya being forced at gunpoint to board boats.
A researcher who produced a separate report for the US Congress at the time said that, when invited by UNHCR to witness a repatriation, they were shocked to see Rohingya burst into tears when told they were being returned to Myanmar.
The UN report also noted that Rohingya faced the same violence and controls when they were returned to Myanmar. Some found their home villages had been taken over as military bases. They faced increased taxes and more restrictions on their movements. Many made the journey back to Bangladesh.
The report was particularly damning on the lack of involvement the Rohingya played in decision-making. It quoted a senior official who said in a meeting: “The Rohingya are primitive people. At the end of the day, they will go where they are told to go.”
Rohingya people have repeatedly complained at not being consulted in the repatriation process, including when the UN signed a memorandum of understanding with Myanmar which did not address their main demand – the restoration of citizenship rights stripped away in 1982.
UNHCR spokesperson Regina de la Portilla said it will ensure any future repatriation is safe and that informed consent is obtained, but that the conditions in Myanmar are not currently suitable for a return. “It’s clear that, this time around, the return needs to be voluntary, safe and sustainable, and that it can only happen if the basic rights and the human rights of the Rohingya in Myanmar are ensured,” she said.
“This implies that they are granted documentation, have had services, have freedom of movement, and their safety is ensured.”
A lack of opportunity in the camps has helped feed a trafficking network that has seen tens of thousands of Rohingya trafficked from Bangladesh and Myanmar to Malaysia. In 2015, the Thai government discovered mass graves at one of the jungle camps where refugees had been held captive.
The trafficking network seemed dormant for several years after that but is now active again, with reports of boats arriving into southeast Asia. Last week, the Indonesian navy had to retrieve a sinking boat carrying more than 100 people.
Rohingya complain that insecurity has spiralled in the camps, fuelled by armed gangs vying for dominance. Last year, the most prominent Rohingya civil society leader, Mohib Ullah, was assassinated in his office. Two other leaders were shot dead in the camps last week.
Speaking at Nayapara refugee camp, Anuara Begum says gang members have threatened to abduct her if she continues to work with NGOs and advocate for girls’ education. “They said I’m a bad influence for the community. The miscreants threatened to kidnap me if I go outside any more,” she says.
“I fear them now, and can only secretly go outside. I already feel dead inside.”
All Bangladesh’s attempts to begin repatriations have failed, with no refugees signing up willingly to return. Last year’s military coup in Myanmar means the country is no safer for the Rohingya than in 2017.
Progress towards justice has also been slow. A genocide case against Myanmar, taken by the Gambia to the UN’s International Courts of Justice, moved beyond the preliminary stage in a recent ruling, but the investigation by the international criminal court into forced deportations by the military has been slower.
Evidence gathered by the Commission for International Justice and Accountability, and submitted to the ICC investigation, indicated that there was evidence the Myanmar military had for years planned operations to expel the Rohingya.
De la Portilla said the UNCHR has tried to improve conditions within the temporary response framework set out by the government, with better sanitary systems, the ability to respond to fires, and gradually rolling out limited secondary education. But funding has become a major barrier, especially when global prices have soared for key items like gas, which prevents refugees having to cut firewood.
Khin Maung leads the camp-based Rohingya Youth Association. He says UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet told the refugees at a meeting last week that conditions are not right for repatriation. “The military regime has no plan to take back Rohingya, it just shows fake willingness on social media to get legitimacy from the international community and Bangladesh government,” he says.
“[Meanwhile], the conditions in the camps are not good. Nothing is changing at all and violence is increasing.
“The Rohingya community must start political activism for self-determination. We have the right to struggle for our ethnic rights like other minority communities in their areas. Why not for our community? The solution is in our hands.”..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-24
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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The UN human-rights chief says it’s not ‘safe’ for the Rohingya to return home, but ‘safe’ for whom?
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"For the past five years, there has been much speculation about repatriation of Rohingya refugees. Recently, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, added a new dimension to the issue. On August 16, she visited the Rohingya camp in Ukhia, an administrative region in Cox’s Bazar district, Bangladesh.
The Rohingya expressed hope that she would promote their right to return to Myanmar. According to media reports, she tried to explain that the situation in Rakhine state is not yet favorable for the repatriation of Rohingya and advised them to wait and be patient.
On August 25, 2017, the Myanmar military carried out a massacre of the Rohingya population in Rakhine state. The Bangladeshi government gave shelter to the Rohingya on humanitarian grounds.
During the five years that have passed since then, Myanmar has tried to cover the issue of repatriation of the Rohingya under the cloak of various dramas. Myanmar has continually tried to convince the international community that it is serious about taking back the Rohingya, but its actual steps have fallen short.
On November 23, 2017, a 19-point agreement was signed between the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar regarding the repatriation of the Rohingya, but its practical reflection is still not visible. On August 22, 2019, Myanmar announced that 3,450 Rohingyas would be divided into seven groups and taken back to their own country. But that too remains unfulfilled.
In 2019, after a hearing of the case imposed by The Gambia against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice, an interim order on January 23, 2020, did not include any direct instructions regarding the repatriation of the Rohingya.
Then the Rohingya repatriation talks got stuck because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the military coup in Myanmar. On February 1, 2021, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing seized power.
Although the resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on June 18, 2021, regarding Myanmar mentioned many issues including the country’s democratic problems, there were no instructions regarding a solution of the Rohingya crisis. As well, no action by the UN is yet visible on the implementation of the resolution adopted on the Rohingya issue at the 47th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on July 12, 2021.
The Rohingya crisis has various aspects including the indifference of the international community, the silence of the United Nations, and the issue of Rohingya citizenship. One thing to note here is the elimination of all voices from the oppressed population.
Rohingya leader Mohibullah was instrumental in repatriation efforts. His meeting with US president Donald Trump in July 2019, his multiple visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and such actions as organizing a mass meeting of Rohingya on the anniversary of their arrival in Bangladesh on August 25, 2019, were noteworthy.
But on September 29, 2021, he was shot dead by gunmen in Lambasia Rohingya Camp East-West Block No 1. Although the details of the murder are not known, many believe that the Myanmar regime was behind it.
What everyone is ‘waiting’ for
As for Michelle Bachelet’s concerns about the situation in Rakhine state, the exact situation is not being disclosed to the international community by Myanmar. At times, it has tried to divert the attention regarding the Rohingya back to Rakhine by favoring some organizations like the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).
But the reality is that there are several economic projects being undertaken by China, India, Russia and others around Rakhine state. These include the Thelong Myanmar-China oil and gas pipeline project, including the construction of a deep-sea port, India’s Kaladan multi-purpose project, two hydropower projects, and a four-lane highway connecting Myanmar and Thailand and India.
Other notable projects include investment by the Russian oil company Bashneft, and the Japanese government’s planned economic zone near Maungdoo, Rakhine.
The Myanmar government is working diligently to implement these projects. Repatriation of Rohingya to Rakhine state could derail such economic plans. This goes a long way toward understanding why Myanmar continues to politicize the situation in the state.
Based on all this, Michelle Bachelet’s “please wait” message takes on a new perspective. When will the wait be over?..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-23
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"In August 2017, the Myanmar military launched a brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. Hundreds of thousands fled and are now living in refugee camps in Bangladesh. In this Q&A, Crisis Group expert Thomas Kean explains why prospects for near-term repatriation remain low.
What is the situation of the Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh five years ago?
Nearly all of the approximately 730,000 Rohingya who fled Myanmar in the second half of 2017 remain in sprawling refugee camps in southern Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar. The total number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh – including both those displaced by the 2017 atrocities and the several hundred thousand who sought refuge earlier – is close to one million. To date, not a single refugee has returned to Rakhine State through the formal repatriation mechanism that Myanmar and Bangladesh set up in November 2017, soon after the exodus started. There were two failed attempts, in 2018 and 2019, to convince several thousand refugees to return, but those selected were unwilling to join the process absent sufficient Myanmar government assurances about their security, access to citizenship and livelihood opportunities upon return. The two countries have not yet been able to restart the process, and prospects for returns have only grown dimmer following the Myanmar coup in February 2021.
Living conditions for the refugees are poor and worsening. Most live in Kutupalong, the largest refugee camp in the world. They have few job opportunities and little access to formal education, while crime and violence, including killings of Rohingya community leaders, are on the rise. Factions within the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which launched attacks in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017 that the Myanmar military used to justify its crackdown on the Muslim minority, have been fighting with rival groups for control of the camps. Bangladesh has blamed ARSA for the killing of a prominent Rohingya leader, Mohib Ullah, in September 2021. On the night of 9 August, two more community leaders were shot dead in the Jamtali camp. Partly in response to this violence, Bangladesh has been imposing tighter restrictions on the refugees, including limiting their ability to come and go from the camps, gain access to the internet and mix with locals.
The combination of prolonged displacement and deteriorating camp conditions has prompted some refugees to take difficult decisions about where their future lies. An unknown number – almost certainly in the hundreds, but possibly in the thousands – have returned to Myanmar informally. Others have paid hefty sums to traffickers to embark on dangerous boat journeys to Malaysia, which hosts the largest Rohingya refugee population after Bangladesh, while a smaller number seek passage to Indonesia.
Almost 30,000 Rohingya have also relocated to Bhasan Char, a small silt island in the Bay of Bengal that the Bangladesh government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing specifically to host up to 100,000 refugees. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been pushing Bhasan Char as a “temporary solution”, insisting that it offers refugees better facilities than the overcrowded camps where most still reside. Humanitarian organisations long lobbied against this plan, primarily out of concern about the island’s exposure to cyclones and flooding, as well as about limitations on freedom of movement and lack of access to livelihoods. The Bangladeshi government eventually went ahead with the plan, anyway, moving the first group of Rohingya to the island in May 2020. From December of that year, it began sending thousands each month and it became fairly clear that Dhaka planned to continue relocations with or without international support. In October 2021, the UN high commissioner for refugees, on behalf of UN agencies working on the Rohingya refugee response, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Bangladeshi government to cooperate on service delivery to the island. The memorandum could be a positive development as it commits Dhaka to ensuring that relocations are voluntary and refugees have accurate information on living conditions awaiting them on the island. (There were allegations of coercive relocations when the first refugees arrived there.) For those who do choose to relocate to Bhasan Char, escaping the worsening situation in the Cox’s Bazar camps is likely to be the major motivation.
The rise in crime and violence in and around the camps has heightened public pressure on the Bangladeshi government to adopt a tougher stance.
The Bangladeshi government’s decision to press on with relocating Rohingya to Bhasan Char reflects a hardening of its position toward the refugee population. Although it opened its borders to the desperate refugees in 2017, Bangladesh made clear from the beginning that it would not allow them to stay indefinitely and that it expected international support to both host the Rohingya and facilitate their return to Myanmar. Now, the lack of progress on repatriation has left both the Bangladeshi people and the government increasingly frustrated – at Myanmar, outside actors and the refugees themselves. This development was foreseeable: for a country that still has high levels of poverty and unemployment, hosting over a million refugees is clearly an enormous challenge, particularly for the communities hosting them in Cox’s Bazar. The rise in crime and violence in and around the camps has heightened public pressure on the Bangladeshi government to adopt a tougher stance.
As Dhaka becomes more impatient, it is also making life more difficult for the refugees. It has progressively placed greater restrictions on their movement, including by fencing off the camps, and closed some private schools and businesses that were being run inside. There has also been little progress on delivering formal education using the Myanmar curriculum, something that many refugees say they want and Crisis Group has advocated for. These restrictions have raised concerns that the Bangladeshi government is attempting to coerce refugees to return to Myanmar or, at least, relocate to Bhasan Char. While that may not be entirely fair, with repatriation seemingly a long way off, Dhaka should at least ensure that all children in the camps have access to formal education – preferably the Myanmar curriculum – and that families have some livelihood opportunities. Providing some means for self-sufficiency and hope for a better future would have obvious benefits for the refugees. It may also help mitigate the possibility that frustration with their dire conditions will manifest in growing security risks.
What have been the primary impediments to repatriation both before and after the February 2021 coup in Myanmar?
Even prior to Myanmar’s February 2021 coup, progress on official repatriation efforts had been scant. After the two failed attempts in 2018 and 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic derailed further discussions between Bangladesh and Myanmar, which was then governed by Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). The nascent process had also been plagued by bureaucratic disputes over documentation, with Myanmar agreeing to accept only a small fraction of the refugees that Bangladesh had proposed for repatriation. Moreover, the Myanmar government showed no sign of addressing refugees’ concerns on key points, such as citizenship, security and livelihoods. Naypyitaw failed to provide proper information on even the most basic questions, such as where the refugees – many of whom came from villages that the military razed to the ground after the 2017 exodus – would be sent after arriving at transit camps on the Myanmar side of the border.
To complicate the situation further, in December 2018 the Myanmar military began fighting a new war in Rakhine State against insurgents from the Arakan Army, a pro-Rakhine ethnic armed group. The heavy fighting that raged in the state over 2019 and 2020 meant that repatriation was virtually impossible for security reasons, above and beyond the Rohingyas’ other concerns.
Most refugees are ... wary of returning to Myanmar when it is ruled by the very generals who orchestrated the 2017 violence against them.
Although Rakhine State has largely been spared the post-coup violence that has engulfed much of Myanmar since February 2021, the military’s power grab has been a further setback to any prospect of repatriation. Despite the junta’s public claims that it is committed to moving ahead with the process – likely a reflection of its desire to cultivate international approval and mitigate its post-coup isolation – Naypyitaw shows little inclination to do more than pay lip service to repatriation efforts. Pressure from Western governments, several Muslim countries and China (which has weighed in at Bangladesh’s request) appears to have had little impact. In January, bilateral talks between Myanmar and Bangladesh finally resumed, but so far there has been little progress. Most refugees are, in any case, wary of returning to Myanmar when it is ruled by the very generals who orchestrated the 2017 violence against them.
As for hostilities between the Arakan Army and the military, fighting largely paused after the two sides reached an informal ceasefire in November 2020, but new power dynamics have emerged in the aftermath that any repatriation effort will need to take into account. The insurgents have consolidated control over much of the state, particularly its rural areas, rolling out an administrative, judicial and security system through which it polices communities, administers justice and collects taxes. This system is like a patchwork: in some areas, the Arakan Army has full control, while in others it shares authority with the military regime or has little direct control. The implications for repatriation are direct, as many Rohingya would be returning to areas now administered by the group or at least under its strong influence.
The Arakan Army’s administrative rollout has also put it on a collision course with the military regime, which means fighting might resume. Clashes between the group and security forces have been reported across the state over the past months, with dozens of soldiers reportedly killed. Maungdaw Township in northern Rakhine State, where many of the refugees originated, appears to be a particular hotspot for conflict: located on the border with Bangladesh, the area is strategic for both the military and the Arakan Army. There have been several clashes in the area in recent months; on 18 July, the insurgents ambushed a convoy of the regime’s Border Guard Police, killing at least four and capturing thirteen. These events do not bode well for Rohingyas’ ability to return to Rakhine State.
How is the situation for the Rohingya who remain in Myanmar?
For the estimated 600,000 Rohingya still in Myanmar, nearly all of whom live in Rakhine State, the situation remains bleak, but there are at least some signs that popular attitudes toward them are shifting.
The Rohingya are still subject to discriminatory state policies – since the coup, the military regime has tightened restrictions on movement in some areas – and the country’s economic collapse over the past eighteen months has further worsened their plight. Around 120,000 live in displacement camps that were set up following an outbreak of communal violence in 2012. They are almost entirely dependent on international aid. The remaining Rohingya are also often caught between the military and the Arakan Army – sometimes having to pay taxes to both sides or wrestle with duplicative administrative requirements. Many would likely be caught in the crossfire if war were to resume. Not surprisingly, some are trying to leave the country through risky and expensive overland journeys, mainly to Malaysia. The regime has arrested hundreds of Rohingya trying to flee the country over the last eighteen months; because the vast majority lack citizenship documents, it is a criminal offence for them to cross a state or region boundary.
At the same time, however, the rise of the Arakan Army has eased some of the ethnic tensions in Rakhine State. The ethnic armed group shifted the narrative in Rakhine, portraying the Burman-led central government, rather than the Muslim minority, as the real enemy of the Rakhine people. The two-year war that paused in 2020, in which Rakhine civilians suffered abuses at the hands of the military, which was backed by the NLD government, reinforced this idea. But the Arakan Army has also changed its tone on the Rohingya significantly. Prior to 2018, it was antagonistic, reflecting the group’s desire to win popular support among local Rakhine Buddhists, who have long resented the Muslim minority. More recently, however, the Arakan Army has made some conciliatory moves: its leader, Twan Mrat Naing, tweeted greetings for the Muslim festival of Eid, and the group issued a condolence letter when a prominent Rohingya academic died in April.
The insurgents are facilitating greater freedom of movement for the Rohingya in areas they control and providing them with some services.
These gestures are in addition to more concrete measures the insurgents have taken to bring the Rakhine and Rohingya together and that could, over time, diminish the risk of communal violence. For example, the Arakan Army has organised sporting events involving the two communities, included Rohingya leaders in its administrative structures and asked Rakhine communities in some areas to refer to the Rohingya by the more neutral term “Muslims” rather than “Bengalis” (which the Rohingya consider derogatory, as it implies that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh). Perhaps most importantly, the insurgents are facilitating greater freedom of movement for the Rohingya in areas they control and providing them with some services, such as access to judicial mechanisms. Useful further steps would be for the Arakan Army to include Rohingya representatives in higher levels of its administrative system for the areas it controls and address complaints that some of its Rakhine administrators are not treating the community fairly.
Beyond Rakhine State, the coup also appears to have triggered something of a shift in the way at least some within the broader Myanmar population view the Rohingya. The vast majority among the country’s Burman majority population had accepted the military’s claims that its 2017 operations against the Muslim minority were a legitimate response to a terrorist attack, in part because the immensely popular Aung San Suu Kyi had also propagated this narrative. After the coup, though, many experienced or witnessed for the first time the military’s capacity for inflicting extreme violence on civilians, something that had until then been largely confined to ethnic minority regions. The junta’s brutality against Burman communities appears to have prompted some to reassess the events of 2017, concluding that the military did indeed commit atrocities against the Rohingya. Manifestations of this change in sentiment emerged in numerous apologies and public expressions of support for the Rohingya both online and at demonstrations against the coup, something that would have been previously unimaginable.
The National Unity Government (NUG), a parallel administration formed by ousted lawmakers and operating mostly from abroad, has also adopted a policy toward the Rohingya that guarantees their right to citizenship and commits to ending other discriminatory policies against them. Although these promises have not been tested, because the NUG is not in control of the state, they are nevertheless notable given that the NUG is largely an offshoot of Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD, which did little to dismantle repressive policies against the Rohingya when it was in power.
What can donors and other outside actors do for Rohingya refugees?
With any meaningful repatriation highly unlikely in the foreseeable future, it is essential that donors increase their support for Bangladesh’s response to the refugee crisis. International funding for the refugee response has declined significantly in 2022, in part due to other humanitarian emergencies, such as the war in Ukraine, and there is a growing risk of donor fatigue. The funding gap is compounded by rising food prices, which means that the money that is coming in is not buying as much. Leaving Bangladesh to handle this massive refugee crisis on its own is hardly fair given the country’s own development challenges. It can only make things worse for a refugee population already living in miserable conditions.
But while more funding for the refugees in Bangladesh is necessary, it is also just a temporary fix. Improving the lives of the refugees and mitigating the impact on Bangladesh will require more than humanitarian aid. Thus, even though repatriation seems unlikely while the military is in charge of Myanmar, it remains important to make as much progress as possible, which means that Bangladesh will need to continue engaging the junta on the subject. Such engagement will at least keep the pressure on the military and give refugees some hope of returning home. While some may choose to return of their own accord, either through the formal mechanism or informally, regardless of who is in power, it is crucial that Dhaka stick to its policy of not forcing refugees to return against their will. Bangladesh should ensure that any repatriation is safe and dignified. Similarly, it should continue to work with international donors and humanitarian organisations to improve conditions both in the camps in Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char. Bangladesh’s very active civil society – its universities, think-tanks and NGOs – should do its part to positively influence policy and public opinion toward the Rohingya in Myanmar by engaging counterparts in Myanmar civil society and the NUG.
Third-country resettlement should be part of the conversation about durable solutions for [the Rohingya].
With prospects for repatriation so dim and integration in Bangladesh infeasible given both public opinion toward the Rohingya and the sheer number of refugees, it seems increasingly clear that third-country resettlement should be part of the conversation about durable solutions for this population. Dhaka has previously resisted this idea, arguing that the possibility of resettlement would encourage more Rohingya to cross the border into Bangladesh and that it would reduce the pressure on Myanmar to take refugees back. These are both risks, but Bangladesh needs to weigh them against the risks created by the situation in Cox’s Bazaar and the lack of other viable plans for drawing down the numbers in the camps. After five years, the time may now be ripe for Bangladesh to review its policy and for foreign governments – particularly in the West, but also in Asia – to make clear they are ready to support Dhaka by accepting some refugees for voluntary resettlement. At the same time, other countries hosting large Rohingya populations, including Malaysia, India and Saudi Arabia, should reverse a worrying trend toward greater restrictions and even threats to send them back to either Myanmar or Bangladesh. In order to help resolve the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, these countries should be normalising their Rohingya populations, not cracking down on them.
While pushing Naypyitaw to create the conditions for repatriation to begin, Dhaka should also consider engaging the Arakan Army. To date, the Bangladeshi government has largely ignored the group’s overtures due to its policy of not engaging entities that undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of neighbouring countries. But given the insurgents’ expanding grip on Rakhine State, it will likely need their backing for any repatriation to proceed on a significant scale. This is something the Arakan Army may be willing to entertain, not least because of its desire to open a dialogue and build a relationship with Dhaka. Given the fraying ceasefire between the military and Arakan Army, this step will require some discreet, careful diplomacy, but it is important.
Apart from providing humanitarian aid – both in the Bangladesh camps and in Rakhine State – foreign governments and other outside actors should continue to support efforts to hold the Myanmar military responsible for its abuses against the Rohingya. Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court are investigating the 2017 atrocities and an Argentine court, asserting universal jurisdiction, is similarly investigating claims of genocide. But the most advanced process is at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where The Gambia has brought a case against Myanmar under the UN Genocide Convention. The first hearings got under way in December 2019, with Aung San Suu Kyi flying to the Netherlands to personally defend her country against allegations it had violated the convention. After the coup, the court allowed the military regime to appoint a new legal team to defend the case – a decision that was not without controversy, given how the regime took power – but has recently rejected the objections to the case put forward by the junta’s legal team. While hearings can now proceed, it is likely to be many years before the court reaches a verdict.
Five years after the massive exodus of 2017, it is clear there is no simple, straightforward solution to one of Asia’s largest refugee crises. Focusing on repatriation alone, or on just funding the aid response, is not sufficient. While finding a way for the Rohingya to return home should remain the goal, it is important that a range of strategies are pursued in parallel in order to bring about the best outcome for this beleaguered population and for the communities hosting them in southern Bangladesh..."
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (Belgium)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-22
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"The recent debate in the media on the status of Rohingyas have brought their intractable problem to the forefront. A look at the facts is relevant to the issue to understand its legal and security dimensions as also deep-seated hatred between the Burmese and Rohingyas.
The Rohingyas claim that they constitute an ethnic Muslim minority (predominantly Sunnis), who lived in Rakhine (earlier Arakan), speaking a distinct language since the 8th AD. There is evidence available that between 9th and 14th Century, they came into contact with Arab traders and got converted to Islam and the Mrauk U kingdom from 1429 to 1785, encouraged the settlement of Muslims in the Arakan area. According to Dr Francis-Buchanan a British geographer and physician, in 1785 Bamar- the ethnic Burmese group- occupied Rakhine and pushed out about 35,000 Rohingyas, who migrated to Bengal in British India to escape atrocities, while some others continued to stay there.
On the other hand, the Myanmar government does not recognise Rohingyas as the citizens of Myanmar and hold the view that they are Bengali Muslims, who migrated either after 1823 or after 1948 or during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The Myanmar government views that Rohingyas actually belong to Chittagong.
The rift between the Burmese and the Rohingyas worsened after Burma was annexed by the British in 1823. The British encouraged Bengalis mainly Muslims to settle in Burma to work in the paddy field and tea plantations. The Muslims were also given preference in top administrative positions as they were unhappy with the anti-colonial sentiments of Buddhists. While this improved the position of Rohingyas, the divide between Rohingyas and Burmese deepened taking a communal shape.
During the World War II, the Burmese Buddhist welcomed Japanese, while Rohingyas supported the British. When in 1948, Burma gained Independence, Myanmar refused to recognise Rohingyas as the rightful citizens. Rohingyas supported the movement to join Pakistan that was not liked by Burmese. During the 1970-71 crackdown in Bangladesh, a number of Bangladeshis took shelter in Rakhine and Myanmar government forcibly expelled 2,00,000 Muslims that included Rohingyas.
In 1982, when Myanmar government enacted the Citizenship Law, it identified 135 ethnic groups in the country that does not include Rohingyas. These 135 ethnic groups according to the Myanmar government had settled in the country prior to 1823. The Chairman of the ruling party and predominant leader Ne Win stated at the time of enactment of law that it was a means of distinguishing ‘pure blooded nationals’ from those who entered Myanmar during the colonial period, their descendants, and ‘mixed bloods’ (that is, the children of marriages between the two groups). The idea in the speech was that ‘pure blooded nationals’ should be ‘citizens’, while the others could become ‘associate citizens’ (who acquired citizenship through 1948 citizenship Law) or ‘naturalized citizens’ (who could provide “conclusive evidence” that he or his parents entered and resided in Burma prior to independence in 1948). There is no transition from associate and naturalised citizenship to full citizenship. Rohingya children born in Myanmar are denied citizenship.
In 2012, riots broke out in Rakhine between Rohingyas and Buddhists in which 78 persons were killed and 1,40,000 persons were displaced according to government sources, though the actual number was much more. The Rohingyas formed an insurgent group known as Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), earlier known as Harakah al-Yaqin, under Attaullah abu Ammar Januni in 2013. He was Karachi born and grew up in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Both Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army) and International Crisis Group accuse this group of receiving foreign funds and support. Reports indicate that in 2013, ISI had established contacts with Rohingyas to support the Indian insurgent groups based in Myanmar. Tatmadaw had also blamed China for supplying arms to both ARSA and Arakan Army, which is demanding self-determination in the state, though they term Rohingyas as Bengali Muslims.
Since its formation, ARSA intensified attacks on the Myanmar security forces. In 2016-2017, ARSA killed officers and soldiers at the border, murdered and kidnapped civilians and launched attacks on more than 30 police stations in Myanmar. Tatmadaw also pointed out that Afghans and Pak fighters had trained ARSA recruits. Crucially, Tatmadaw blamed ARSA for killing 99 Bengali Hindus in the Kha Maung Seik massacre in 2017.
The Myanmar government retaliated by burning Rohingya villages and killing Rohingyas. This followed a massive migration of Rohingyas to Bangladesh, Thailand and Malaysia. While a few entered India directly, others came via Bangladesh. Currently there are about one million Rohingyas in Myanmar but only 40,000 have been recognised as citizens. Rest of the Rohingyas are called ‘resident foreigners’ and were not included in the 2014 census. A little less than one million Rohingyas are in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar camps. They are in miserable condition. Several Rohingyas have not registered and are living separately. Rohingya refugees have also sought refuge in Thailand (92,000) and India (21,000), with smaller numbers settling in Indonesia, Nepal and other countries across the region. In India there are more than 40,000 with maximum concentration in J&K (8,500).
The Rohingya issue remains problematic. The Myanmar constitution does not consider them as legal citizens. With the formation of ARSA, Rohingyas are posing serious security challenges to Myanmar. Any hope of changing the Myanmar constitution in favour of Rohingyas appears to be a pipe-dream. Tatmadaw’s hold in Arakan and Kachin areas is not very strong and therefore the insurgents continue to operate there. Over the period, the religious divide between Burmese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims has widened and reconciliation between them appears difficult.
Bangladesh has consistently demanded that Rohingyas should be repatriated. However, voluntary repatriation is not possible as Rohingyas do not find the situation conducive for their return to Myanmar. As there is overcrowding in the Cox bazar camps, Bangladesh is relocating Rohingyas to Bhasan Char (Char Piya) island. At present there are 19,000 Rohingyas and Bangladesh is planning to send another 80,000 Rohingyas to Bhasan Char. While refugees are not permitted to work in Bangladesh, 30% of children ages 15-17 are working informally putting them at risk of exploitation. Bangladesh has also indicated that criminal activities are increasing involving Rohingyas. The UNHCR is trying to provide life-saving assistance but the funds are insufficient: in 2018 it was estimated that only 32% of the need is available. Its ability to create conditions conducive for the return of Rohingyas is negligible at present.
For India, it is important that they are repatriated at the earliest. India does not have a refugee policy though refugees from neighbouring countries have come and are staying. The Foreigner’s Act of 1946 does not address the refugee policy. India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. India views that these only include political and civil rights and not economic rights and if the latter is included it would create a heavy burden on the country. The linkages of Rohingyas with external elements is a serious security concern particularly with their concentration in a sensitive state like J&K. They may easily be pushed to get involved in anti-national activities. Besides they have the potential to exacerbate the communal situation.
While the best way is to repatriate Rohingyas, India does not wish to push them forcibly though they are termed as illegal migrants. Steps need to be taken in consultation with Tatmadaw. India needs the support of Naypyidaw not only for controlling North-East insurgents but also to push forward its policy of Act East for economic development. Immediately India should ensure that Rohingyas are not able to come illegally from Bangladesh. They should also be relocated to a place where their activities can be closely watched. Simultaneously, Myanmar should be nudged to take back Rohingyas, though it may take quite some time..."
Source/publisher:
"Times of India"
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-22
[field_licence]
Type:
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Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in India, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Sub-title:
“Failing meaningful and safe return to Myanmar, I worry what the future holds. How long can people live with so little basic protection and hope?”
Description:
"I have spent nearly 30 years exposed to emergencies and humanitarian crises. Yet, standing at our “Hospital on the Hill” in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, now the world’s largest refugee camp, I was taken by the sheer scale of this makeshift setting. A jumble of humanity packed together in precarious bamboo and plastic shelters, all contained within kilometers of razor wire fencing.
As we mark five years since the brutal campaign of violence meted out at the hands of the Myanmar military, I remember a Rohingya mother of six who said, “The military were brutally killing Rohingya and burning our houses… now, we live here in the refugee camps. It is five years of living in distress…”
The plight of the Rohingya – persecuted in Myanmar, living in containment in Bangladesh, trafficked and living illegally in Malaysia and elsewhere – is fast becoming a pressure cooker that no one seems inclined to take off the stove.
The approach to assistance in Bangladesh, the only country to open its borders and offer sanctuary to now over 1 million Rohingya, is increasingly unsustainable, with funding harder to secure. Five years on, the humanitarian response must transition from a minimum provision of emergency services to one better suited to a long-term resettlement reality.
For Bangladesh, this policy shift remains unacceptable. With good reason, Dhaka wants the Rohingya to return to Myanmar, which stripped them of their citizenship 40 years ago. This is also what nearly every Rohingya I have spoken with wants. But the country has been at war with itself since the military seized power in February 2021, and in Rakhine, tensions between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army are increasing. Our teams on the ground know firsthand the conditions for those that remain in Rakhine are unacceptable, and safe repatriation to this region is simply not a responsible option yet.
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Additionally, across the region, Rohingya are treated as illegals and exploited by those who seek to benefit from their precarious status. In Malaysia and Indonesia, those who arrive by boats are turned away at sea, with some left adrift for months and others dying due to heat and starvation. In April this year, more than 500 Rohingya escaped from a detention center in Malaysia allegedly due to poor living conditions and lack of access to medical services.
Bangladesh feels the weight of responsibility is unfairly on them alone. I agree with Bangladesh. Regional states are becoming part of the problem, favoring securitization of their own borders over persevering to find solutions together. It feels like ASEAN has run out of steam, with nothing new to try and no one willing to champion what has become a fraught political problem.
The latest scabies outbreak in the camps and the increasing number of dengue fever cases are symptomatic of the emergency health needs of the population, while year-on-year increases in mental health and non-communicable disease consultations at Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) facilities are indicative of the protracted nature of the crisis. In Cox’s Bazar, our mental health professionals told me how emotionally draining it is to know that they cannot change the root cause of people’s mental health conditions. At the end of a psychosocial session, our patients return to an existence devoid of prospects, in overcrowded camps that are becoming increasingly unsafe.
It is easy to argue this response has been a success. It has reduced loss of life, alleviated the worst suffering, and created order out of chaos. But we must ask ourselves: Are we becoming complicit in a system of containment (or repression) for a population with nowhere else to go?
The reality is we are substituting for the failures of Myanmar to redress its wrongs. We are also trying to cope with the cost of political inaction, an impotent failure of collective progress from regional states and the international community to find durable or even temporary solutions but better ones.
In all of this, the Rohingya remain extremely grateful to Bangladesh for giving haven, as hopeless as their situation appears to be. They don’t consider themselves to be stateless, but rather, denied the right to citizenship in a state and region they historically identify as their own. The majority say they want to return, but they will not risk a repeat of history where their children may be taken at any moment, never to be seen again.
Looking out from Doctors Without Borders’ Hospital on the Hill, I realize we must all push back against the overwhelming sense this cannot be fixed. There are things that can be done. A good start would be ending draconian refugee policies practiced across the region.
Australia’s new government could set the tone for humanity and solidarity, starting with the Rohingya. They can seek to open resettlement pathways for Rohingya from Malaysia and Bangladesh. Australia could recalibrate its anti-human trafficking support across the region to be more accommodating of people who qualify as refugees and deserve extra protections.
Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia must be more accommodating of refugees. They cannot be treated as irregular economic migrants. While both are extraordinarily vulnerable, refugees seek refuge from persecution and require special protection.
Diplomatic channels with Myanmar must remain open, and a stronger, coherent regional and international approach with Myanmar must be hammered out, with China at the forefront. China can lead in negotiating the safe return of Rohingya from Bangladesh, but it must consider how Rohingya will be compensated for lost property and livelihoods within those negotiations. Returns must be more than a political façade and must solve the issues of the Rohingya themselves.
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Failing meaningful and safe return to Myanmar, I worry what the future holds. How long can people live with so little basic protection and hope? Trauma is cumulative. After 40 years of statelessness and injustice, I worry the care we provide only manages to keep people alive to live in hopelessness..."
Source/publisher:
"The Diplomat" (Japan)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-22
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Bangladesh’s leader has told a visiting U.N. official that hundreds of thousands of ethnic minority Rohingya refugees living in camps in Bangladesh must return home to Myanmar, where they had fled violent persecution
Description:
"DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Bangladesh's leader told a visiting U.N. official on Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of ethnic minority Rohingya refugees living in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh must return home to Myanmar, where they had fled waves of violent persecution.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made the comment to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka. Bachelet arrived on Sunday and visited Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar district near the border with Myanmar.
“The Rohingya are nationals of Myanmar and they have to be taken back,” Hasina was quoted as saying by her press secretary, Ihsanul Karim.
Muslim Rohingya face widespread discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where most are denied citizenship and many other rights. More than 700,000 fled to Bangladesh starting in late August 2017 when the Myanmar military launched a “clearance operation” against them following attacks by a rebel group. The safety situation in Myanmar has worsened following a military takeover last year.
Currently, Bangladesh is hosting more than 1 million Rohingya refugees.
The refugees will mark the fifth anniversary of their latest influx in Bangladesh amid botched attempts to send them home. Earlier this month, Bangladesh sought cooperation from China in repatriating Rohingya to Myanmar during a visit by Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China had brokered a November 2017 agreement with Myanmar aimed at sending them back.
Hasina and several Cabinet ministers earlier expressed frustration over what they called Myanmar's inaction in taking them back under the agreement. The U.N. and Bangladesh authorities have tried at least twice to began repatriations, but the refugees refused to go, citing safety concerns in Myanmar.
When Bachelet visited the camps on Wednesday, refugees urged the U.N. to help improve safety inside Myanmar so they can return.
The U.N. said in a statement that the refugees described “their grievances, their pains” to Bachelet.
“When our rights are respected, we can have our livelihoods again, and we can have land, and we can feel that we are part of the country,” it quoted refugees as telling her.
Bachelet emphasized the importance of ensuring that safe and sustainable conditions exist and that any returns be conducted in a voluntary and dignified way, it said.
“The U.N. is doing the best we can to support them. We’ll continue doing that,” she said. “But we also need to deal with the profound roots of the problem. We need to deal with that and ensure that they can go back to Myanmar -– when there are conditions for safety and voluntary return.”
In March, the United States said the oppression of Rohingya in Myanmar amounts to genocide after authorities confirmed accounts of mass atrocities against civilians by Myanmar’s military in a widespread and systematic campaign against the ethnic minority..."
Source/publisher:
"ABC News" (Sydney)
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-17
[field_licence]
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Individual Documents
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Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"KUALA LUMPUR – During her two-day mission to Kuala Lumpur at the invitation of His Excellency Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer expressed her appreciation to the people and Government of Malaysia as host of the largest Rohingya refugee population in ASEAN.
Special Envoy Heyzer had very productive discussions with His Excellency Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the Foreign Minister on the situation in Myanmar. The Special Envoy echoed the United Nations Secretary-General’s strong condemnation of the executions of pro-democracy leaders by the military as a blatant violation to the right to life, liberty and security of person. The discussions touched on the setback of the executions on ASEAN’s efforts, including the Five-Point Consensus, and also focused on concrete areas of cooperation with the United Nations Special Envoy, as requested by the ASEAN Heads of State and Foreign Ministers. Moving forward, the urgency for inclusive engagement was stressed.
During her meeting with the Foreign Minister, the Special Envoy focused on education to prevent a “lost generation” of Rohingya refugees and other displaced persons from Myanmar and the importance of legal employment and protection for Myanmar migrant workers and refugees in Malaysia.
Nearly five years after the mass forced displacement of Rohingya and other communities from Rakhine State in Myanmar, the Special Envoy highlighted the need for innovative thinking to break the impasse and strengthen support for the Rohingya and host communities from countries in the region and across the international community. She stressed that ultimately it was Myanmar’s responsibility to address underlying issues affecting the Rohingya and establish durable solutions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of all refugees and forcibly displaced persons.
The Special Envoy recognized Malaysia’s major role within ASEAN, as a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and in the Vice Presidency of the 77th Session of the General Assembly. Ahead of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in early August, the Special Envoy also acknowledges the important role of the ASEAN Secretary-General as part of the regional bloc’s commitment on Rakhine. She called for ASEAN Foreign Ministers to keep the Rohingya issue high on the ASEAN agenda and to support the implementation of the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.
Ahead of her visit to Bangladesh in late August, the Special Envoy also highlighted the important cooperation with His Excellency Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh A. K. Abdul Momen, reflected in his recent visits to Cambodia as chair of ASEAN as well as to Indonesia. Special Envoy Heyzer acknowledged the challenges faced by host countries compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic conditions, with Bangladesh as host of 1.2 million refugees bearing a disproportionate burden that the international community regionally and abroad has a responsibility to help to alleviate, including through support for quality and inclusive education for refugees and host communities.
“As the UN Secretary-General has said, education is a pre-eminent public good,” Special Envoy Heyzer said. Quality and inclusive education, including vocational training and lifelong learning, has the potential to transform people’s lives and lifelong opportunities as well as to enable them to build societies to become more just, peaceful and prosperous for all.
Ahead of the Transforming Education Summit in New York on 19 September 2022, the Special Envoy emphasized that education was a fundamental right of Rohingya people with long-term ramifications for the region. “As I discussed recently with Permanent Representatives of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Contact Group on the Rohingya crisis and highlighted in my briefing to the General Assembly on 13 June, we need swift measures to prevent a lost generation by providing Rohingya and others education opportunities, including abroad,” she said.
In line with her role to maintain communication and engage intensively with all relevant parties in Myanmar, the Special Envoy continues to consult directly with affected Rohingya communities and their representatives. She is engaging with a wide range of diverse groups currently residing in Malaysia who had been forcibly displaced from Myanmar to hear their perspectives and ways forward to improve the situation. Recognizing women’s crucial role in communities and the gendered dimension of the conflict, Special Envoy Heyzer is encouraged by the resilience of women leaders in her engagement to ensure that Myanmar-led solutions include women’s voices and concerns.
Amid halting progress over the past five years, the desperate situation continues to drive Rohingya people to undertake perilous sea and land journeys, including refugees and people still facing hardship in Rakhine State, despite some community efforts to build social cohesion. There is an urgent need for innovative strategies and concrete pathways aligned with the needs and will of the Rohingya people. The region and the world must renew solidarity to ensure that the Rohingya remain high on the ASEAN and international agenda, provide support for host communities, and continue to work towards durable solutions based on voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable repatriation.
“We must not allow the Rohingya people’s sense of being forgotten and abandoned to take root,” Special Envoy Heyzer said. “Their right to live in dignity as human beings must be supported and safeguarded by all, including the international community.”..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
ASEAN-Burma relations, Rakhine (Arakanese) periodicals, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"Today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is expected to rule on a case that could bring a small measure of justice within reach for my people, the Rohingya. The case, The Gambia v. Myanmar, alleges what we Rohingya know to be true: that military leaders committed acts of genocide in a systematic attempt to destroy us.
The Myanmar government has challenged the ICJ’s right to hear the case, saying it has no jurisdiction. If the Court finds that it has jurisdiction, my people will get the opportunity to hold accountable those who authorized and carried out unspeakable atrocities for decades. If, however, the Court agrees it has no jurisdiction, it will be another blow for the Rohingya people who have already suffered so much.
More than 900,000 Rohingya refugees are languishing in camps in Bangladesh including in Cox’s Bazar and on Bhasan Char, a remote island in Bengal Bay prone to extreme flooding and cyclones. Many fled Myanmar after the military junta escalated their violent campaign against us in August 2017. These refugees joined more than 300,000 others who have fled persecution since the 1990s.
The same Burmese military that killed Rohingya indiscriminately, burnt villages, and raped women without consequence is now using these same tactics against civilians throughout the country. After years of international outcry and advocacy, last March the U.S. government finally determined these atrocities amounted to genocide – a welcome, if long overdue, step in our fight for justice and accountability. That was followed by fresh sanctions by the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom against senior officials and entities connected to the military regime. However, little has been done in practical terms to help those suffering daily humiliations. It is past time for concrete actions. Just as the international community has rallied to help Ukraine, the United States and world leaders must take meaningful steps to help the Rohingya, targeted religious and ethnic communities, and all those suffering under the yoke of the military in Burma.
Bangladesh opened its borders to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people fleeing for their lives after the military crackdown in 2017. However, over time, conditions in the refugee camps there have deteriorated – and grow worse with each passing day. Overcrowding and underfunding has led to squalid conditions including inadequate food, water, and shelter. Fencing in the camps restricts movement, leaving refugees especially vulnerable to flooding, landslides, and fire. There is a lack of proper medical care and promises to educate children (around half of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh under age 18) have gone unfulfilled. I have visited these camps, heard their stories. A whole generation of Rohingya children are growing up in hopeless conditions. There is no security, no opportunity, and no dignity in these places.
The international community must respond to these hopeless conditions by immediately increasing funding for the refugee camps in Bangladesh. According to the United Nations (U.N.), humanitarian groups need more than $880 million to support refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char. As of May 2022 however, the Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis is only about 14 percent funded. Bangladesh should also allow the refugees to run schools, markets, and civil society organizations, as Rohingya are able to meet some of their own needs if given the opportunity to do so.
But providing resources for refugees in Bangladesh will not sustainably protect the Rohingya. As the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi noted while visiting these camps this past May, “[T]he Rohingya refugees I met reiterated their desire to return home when conditions allow. The world must work to address the root causes of their flight and to translate those dreams into reality.”
The United States and international community can help “address the root causes” by joining or supporting the three pending international investigations and cases against the military regime. They include the aforementioned case brought by The Gambia and an ongoing investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into crimes against humanity targeting the Rohingya people. That investigation however is limited to violations committed on Bangladesh territory, since Myanmar has not ratified the Rome Statute. The third is a petition filed in November 2021, after the Argentinian judiciary agreed to launch a universal jurisdiction case against senior Myanmar officials brought by my organization, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK). It marked the first time that another country’s domestic courts have agreed to investigate these allegations. BROUK and our legal team are supporting six women who have accused the military of gross human rights violations. In the coming months, the court will hear directly from these women, another first on the long road to justice.
Beyond driving accountability for past wrongs, we Rohingya also want to have a voice in shaping the future of our country. The United States and other allies should make it clear that there can be no normalized relations with Burma without the full and equal participation of the nation’s many minorities, including the Rohingya. First, we need the restoration of our full citizenship rights, which were stripped away with the Burma Citizenship Law of 1982. This measure rendered us stateless and triggered policies that restricted access to health care, education, and jobs (I left my homeland in the 1990s for the United Kingdom after being blocked from going to university simply because I am Rohingya.) Encouragingly, Burma’s government in exile has made commitments to reverse these discriminatory practices should the war against the junta be successful.
I am hopeful for the day when the Rohingya can return home peacefully. Until it is safe to do so, we also need international support to increase resettlement opportunities. Sadly, many Rohingya who have fled Burma for other countries face tremendous difficulties beyond the poor conditions noted above. Just recently, India started deporting Rohingya genocide survivors back to Burma, where they face continued persecution and violence – a policy which may violate international refugee law. We will be forever grateful to Bangladesh for hosting us in our time of need, but we need lasting sustainable support to find homes in other nations – like what the international community did for the more than 100,000 Lhotshampas who fled Bhutan in the 1990s after the government moved to strip Nepali-speakers of their citizenship and civil rights. And we have all read about the many States that have committed to help Ukrainian refugees in recent months. Similar steps can and should be taken to resettle Rohingya refugees who have waited for decades to find a permanent home.
While the path forward for Rohingya refugees is complicated, it is not impossible. There has been meaningful progress along the way, including the genocide determination by the United States, sanctions against the military leadership, and the adoption this month of a resolution by the U.N. Human Rights Council that underscored the need for transparent investigations and called on Burma to allow us to return home safely. Indeed, the world has seen what can be achieved when the international community purposefully rallies to support a community in crisis. The Rohingya people need similar support from the United States and allied leaders, now more than ever..."
Source/publisher:
Justice Security
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"In 2012, when violence erupted between Rohingya and Rakhine communities, Zaw Rina’s home in Pauktaw town was burned down. She was forced to flee with her family to a camp in Ah Nauk Ywe, on an island in the remote western part of the state. The impermanence of the fragile bamboo structure she lives in now belies the decade she has spent in the camp.
Flimsy shelter next to flimsy shelter line narrow, muddy pathways through the overcrowded camps in which more than 5,000 people live. Drainage is insufficient, with puddles of stagnant water a breeding ground for mosquitos and disease. There are too many people for too few toilets, while low water supplies, particularly in the dry season, means the facilities are typically filthy. Privacy is almost impossible to find.
Violence in 2012 that saw Zaw Rina’s home destroyed and killed hundreds, drove some 140,000 people, both Rohingya and Kaman Muslims, into these camps. Most remain there today where they have limited freedom of movement, denying them access to paid work, education and healthcare. Many embark on perilous journeys over sea and land to Bangladesh and Malaysia in the hope of a better life.
The impact on mental health
The day-to-day existence for Zaw Rina and thousands of others like her living in Rakhine state is underlined by fear, struggles to afford food, and feelings of hopelessness. This protracted status quo has drastic consequences on mental health.
The stress of living in these conditions was compounded when Zaw Rina’s 20-year-old daughter attempted suicide after her husband asked for a divorce.
“She was having a lot of serious fights with her mother-in-law and her husband turned around and said ‘I don’t like you and I want to get divorced, I did not marry you because I loved you’,” says Zaw Rina.
Across Myanmar, there are huge gaps in mental healthcare services. Rakhine state is no different, leaving people like Zaw Rina and her daughter with few options. There is one dedicated private mental health clinic in Sittwe, but it is too expensive for most people, while psychiatry services at the public hospital are hugely limited.
Exacerbating their challenges, the city is some 10 kilometres across the Kaladan River from the camps in Pauktaw township - both the distance and movement restrictions make it incredibly difficult for Rohingya living in camps to even reach these facilities.
Through our clinics in the camps, we are able to come to Rohingya to provide vital mental healthcare support, with counsellors and doctors offering one-on-one appointments, group sessions and home visits. These services are available to anyone who comes to our facilities, no matter their ethnicity or religion.
Both Zaw Rina and her daughter received counselling from MSF, helping them better manage their symptoms. “I really felt lost and didn’t know where to ask for help until I met with the [MSF] counsellor,” she says. “I am feeling better now in terms of my mental health, a lot better, and for my daughter too.”
Struggling to earn an income from Sittwe’s ghetto
Although Daw Than Than was born to Buddhist parents in Mandalay, she married a Kaman Muslim, changed her religion and now lives together with Rohingya and Kaman in Aung Mingalar, a Muslim ghetto in the centre of Sittwe.
This is where the remnants of Sittwe’s Muslims, which used to number almost half the city’s 200,000 residents, live. The rest fled during the violence in 2012 or were forced into camps like the one where Zaw Rina lives. For 10 years, Muslims in downtown Sittwe have been confined to this small neighbourhood, denied freedom to move and with police outposts guarding it day and night.
Daw Than Than is widowed. She has no children or family to support her. When she can, she cooks and cleans in people’s homes. But unable to come and go from the neighbourhood she often struggles to earn an income. Although movement restrictions into and out of the ghetto have eased in the past year, allowing her to move around Sittwe, her physical health worsened, preventing her from working.
“I feel sad because I struggle alone in my life. I feel lonely and sad because I have no one to support me when I feel sick. I can’t afford to go to a private hospital,” she says, adding how she does not have enough money to eat properly, often subsisting on rice and green tea.
Every Friday, MSF opens a clinic in Aung Mingalar where people from within the ghetto come to receive basic healthcare, mental health support and treatment for non-communicable diseases. “When I speak [to MSF counsellors], I feel some relief. They help me with breathing exercises, which are really helpful for relaxing. During counselling sessions, I cannot control my feelings though, and I cry,” says Daw Than Than
Violence exacerbating Rohingya women’s mental health
The challenging, stressful conditions in which Rohingya are detained in cramped camps, with limited economic opportunities and reliant on humanitarian assistance leaves women and girls at greater risk of abuse, sexual harassment and domestic violence.
Khin Phyu Oo first came to MSF’s Sin Thet Maw clinic after having a seizure. When staff from the clinic told her to be careful around the stove when she is cooking because of her condition, her husband was frustrated she could not do her house chores and beat her. This was one of a number of incidents of her husband attacking her, which left her feeling suicidal. This was when she began to receive counselling from MSF, alongside her seizure treatment.
“I have no one to open up to [in the community]. Nobody wants to listen to me. I am happy to come here and say everything that is on my mind,” she said.
“I feel happier. I think getting treatment is good for me. I can open up to the doctors here and they motivate me, give me suggestions [about how to make myself feel better]. The doctors also gave my husband mental health education.”
Overcoming the root causes of mental health
Rohingya will continue to struggle with their mental health while the root causes of their distress remain unresolved.
“I have hope my children can get an education one day,” says Zaw Rina.
“And I want a good shelter so I can live a normal and enjoyable life, like I had back in Pauktaw town. When I lived in my own house, I felt secure.”
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working in Myanmar since 1992, assisting people affected by conflict and struggling to access healthcare. Today, over 1,000 staff provide basic healthcare, HIV, hepatitis C and tuberculosis treatment, and referrals to hospitals for emergency and specialised treatment across Kachin, Rakhine, Shan, Tanintharyi and Yangon states and regions. In Rakhine, MSF teams support communities displaced by conflict, including Rakhine Buddhists, and Rohingya and Kaman Muslims..."
Source/publisher:
Médecins Sans Frontières
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-14
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Sub-title:
It has the capacity to negotiate with Myanmar
Description:
"While addressing the 54th ASEAN Day event organised virtually, Bangladesh's foreign minister urged ASEAN member states to intervene and help in the Rohingya repatriation process. The foreign minister reminded the member states of the economic, environmental and socio-political costs that Bangladesh has had to bear by sheltering about a million Myanmar nationals who fled a military crackdown in Rakhine state in 2017. Given that Myanmar is a member of the ASEAN and has continued to become isolated on the international stage ever since the military coup of February 2021, ASEAN is well-placed to intervene in the matter.
The foreign minister during his address brought up an excellent point. The continued limbo that the Rohingya are stuck in and its ramifications threaten not only Bangladesh's security, but that of the whole region as well. We have seen how the violence inside Myanmar has forced Rohingya refugees to flee to other ASEAN states such as Thailand and Malaysia. How long will the ASEAN states—as well as other regional countries—continue to overlook this? When Myanmar has consistently ignored the calls from ASEAN member states as well as its neighbours to stop persecuting its own citizens and has showed a complete lack of good faith in negotiating and repatriating the Rohingya from Bangladesh, how long can the member states afford to allow Myanmar such leeway to change its way of its own accord?
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
So far, the ASEAN member states have issued some statements from time to time, urging the authorities in Myanmar to facilitate the return of the Rohingya from Bangladesh to Rakhine. However, the ASEAN as a whole has not publicly recognised the underlying causes that have led to the Rohingya refugee crisis, neither has it condemned the Myanmar military's human rights violations against the Rohingya strongly enough. Without exerting any strong pressure, it would be unwise to expect the Myanmar authorities to act any differently from the past—that much is clear.
We hope the ASEAN member states recognise this reality. The need for a concrete plan for addressing the crisis that the Rohingya are facing inside Myanmar, as well as abroad, has never been more acute. And ASEAN has never been better-placed to play a key role in solving the issue. Not only will the Rohingya community and Bangladesh be greatly appreciative of such attempts, but it will also demonstrate ASEAN's commitment to protecting human rights and maintaining stability in the region..."
Source/publisher:
"The Daily Star" (London)
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-09
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), ASEAN-Burma relations
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Sub-title:
A degree of public sentiment toward the large refugee settlements has turned slowly against the Rohingya
Description:
"Last week in Bangladesh, tens of thousands of Rohingya in the squalor of Cox’s Bazar rose in protest under the banner of “Go Home.” They chanted slogans, distributed leaflets and raised placards in different languages, each centering on this core message.
The activists brought attention to 19 points of demand, including principally the large-scale repatriation of the Rohingya stateless population back to their homeland in Myanmar.
Among the other important demands were more active involvement of the international community in a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the region and the full restoration of the rights of citizenship to the Rohingya that were stripped by the military junta in Myanmar in 1982.
The hard reality is that it is unlikely that the Rohingya will be allowed to be securely repatriated any time soon. Since the mass exodus from Rakhine state of more than 700,000 Rohingya across the border in 2017, there have been a couple of attempts by the Bangladeshi government to negotiate with Myanmar to start such a process, but with few results.
Even the trickle of refugees who were being allowed back has halted since the coup by the military in Myanmar last year, and conditions on the ground are still prone to conflict and not conducive for safe return.
What is important to note this time is the background that has prompted the current protests.
First, there is increasing international pressure on the military junta since the cessation of democratic rule. Second, the administration of US President Joe Biden in March took the important and overdue step of officially recognizing the genocide of the Rohingya. Last are the changing dynamics of the Bangladeshi government regarding its management of the Rohingya refugee crisis.
The Bangladeshi government was universally praised in the early days after the large influx of Rohingya refugees for taking on this humanitarian crisis. But there are signs that the government and sections of the public are showing signs of weariness as the crisis has dragged on and with an increasing concern over the capacity of the state to handle the needs of such a population.
A degree of public sentiment toward the large refugee settlements has turned slowly against the Rohingya, who are seen as taking away resources and jobs from the locals.
The fact that the protests could take place at all is also notable, given that since the last protest by more than 100,000 Rohingya in 2019, such displays were ostensibly banned by the Bangladeshi administrators of the area.
Yet in this case, it seems the current round of protests were conducted with the tacit support and encouragement of the local authorities, who perhaps see it in their interests to ensure that the momentum for repatriation is sustained, particularly in light of an upcoming election next year in Bangladesh.
The burdens of and pressures on host countries sheltering such large refugee populations must be considered. Still, moving forward, it is critical to ensure that the standards expected for repatriation are not beholden solely to political considerations that could result in the Rohingya being involuntarily forced back in conditions that are dangerous and without any meaningful guarantee of rights provided by the Myanmar government..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-30
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Sub-title:
No Justice for Crimes Against Humanity Committed Since 2012
Description:
"The Myanmar authorities have detained over 135,000 Rohingya and Kaman Muslims arbitrarily and indefinitely in Rakhine State for a decade, Human Rights Watch said in a web feature released today. Drawing on interviews with Rohingya and humanitarian workers from 2012 to the present, Human Rights Watch documents how the authorities have capitalized on the ethnic cleansing campaign launched in June 2012 to segregate and confine a population they had long sought to remove from daily life in the predominantly Buddhist country.
Through individual accounts, images, and video, “‘Nothing Called Freedom’: A Decade of Detention for Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State” illustrates the Myanmar authorities’ crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and imprisonment that have deprived Rohingya of their liberty and threatened their lives and livelihoods.
“The Myanmar junta’s unyielding oppression of the Rohingya people is the foreseeable result of the military facing no consequences for its decade of ethnic cleansing and system of apartheid,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Concerned governments should now be doing what they should have done in 2012 – pursuing all avenues to hold Myanmar officials accountable for their grave crimes and delivering justice to the victims of their abuses.”
Following the June 2012 violence, township and border guard officials began forcing Rohingya to move to camps that were soon sealed off with barbed wire fencing and military checkpoints. Severe constraints on movement, livelihoods, and access to humanitarian aid and health care have only worsened over the past decade, compounded by inhuman living conditions. Accounts from the camps and humanitarian agency documents reveal a growing tally of preventable deaths.
The 2012 violence and resulting displacement coincided with Myanmar’s nascent transition to democratic civilian rule. Increased oppression in both policy and practice inflamed anti-Muslim sentiment throughout the country, which laid the groundwork for the more brutal and organized military atrocities of 2016 and 2017. Foreign governments, rather than seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the violence and ensuing apartheid state, began lifting sanctions and positioning themselves for the country’s political and economic opening-up.
Instead, in February 2021, the security forces staged a coup and detained the country’s civilian leaders, thrusting Myanmar back under military rule. The junta has responded to broad-based opposition with a brutal nationwide crackdown that reflects the tactics long employed in Rakhine State.
The coup has brought new movement restrictions and aid blockages to the Rohingya camps. Rising tensions and fighting in Rakhine State between the Myanmar military and the ethnic-Rakhine Arakan Army have left the Rohingya caught in the middle.
The United Nations Human Rights Council and UN member states, at the June 15, 2022 panel discussion and in the proposed resolution on the Rohingya, should advance a strategy for accountability in Myanmar that dismantles the military’s longstanding impunity for grave abuses.
“A decade is a grim milestone for the 135,000 Rohingya detained in Myanmar’s camps whose accounts of deprivation receive scarce international attention,” Bauchner said. “Sharing these stories and images is a way to remind governments of the staggering human cost of apartheid and persecution.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-15
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya
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3.15 MB (35 pages) - Original version
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"The Myanmar military junta is using identity documents to facilitate the Rohingya genocide, mirroring tactics used in the Holocaust and Rwandan genocides, according to a new report released today by Fortify Rights. U.N. member states should deny the Myanmar junta access to weapons, finances, and political legitimacy, and the U.N. Security Council should immediately refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“Perpetrators have long used identification documents in the commission of genocide,” said Dr. Ken MacLean, co-author of the report, Senior Advisor to Fortify Rights and Clark University Professor at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. “Evidence from the Holocaust and Rwandan genocides show striking similarities with the ongoing erasure of the Rohingya identity in Myanmar by the junta.”
The 63-page report, Genocide by Attrition: The Role of Identity Documents in the Holocaust and the Genocides of Rwanda and Myanmar, reveals how the Myanmar junta is continuing to force Rohingya to obtain National Verification Cards (NVCs) that effectively strip Rohingya of access to full citizenship rights and protections. The report provides new information about the junta’s ongoing targeting of Rohingya and includes case studies from the Holocaust and Rwandan genocides to illustrate how authoritarian regimes instrumentalized identification documents to systematically identify, persecute, and kill targeted populations on a widespread and massive scale.
As demonstrated by the Holocaust and Rwandan contexts, the new report finds that identification cards contributed to “genocide by attrition” or the gradual destruction of a protected group by reducing their strength through sustained, indirect methods of destruction.
In Myanmar, a genocide by attrition has long been underway and it continues today, said Fortify Rights.
Drawing on historical research from past genocides, interviews with more than 20 Rohingya-genocide survivors, leaked Myanmar junta documents, and a post-coup media analysis of junta-backed news outlets, the new report finds that, like other genocides, the pernicious use of identity documentation plays a role in the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar and must be addressed.
Since the Myanmar military launched its coup d’état on February 1, 2021, soldiers led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing have murdered and imprisoned thousands of people throughout the country while intensifying attacks on ethnic armed organizations and the People’s Defence Force—civilian-led militias organized to defend against the military’s attacks.
Amid these attacks, Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State told Fortify Rights how the junta continues using NVCs to prevent them from identifying as “Rohingya,” restrict their movement, and block livelihoods, creating conditions of life designed to be destructive.
“[The junta officials at immigration] insisted that I write ‘Bengali’ in an NVC application,” said a 26-year-old Rohingya woman who lost her husband, her home, and all her family identification documents during the 2016 military-led attacks on Rohingya in Rakhine State, leading her to apply for an NVC in October 2021. “So, I wrote ‘Bengali.’ They know I am a Rohingya, but they said we just know Bengali, no Rohingya.”
“They want to make us illegal immigrants and Bengali people as a strategy to exclude us from citizenship and ethnicity [in Myanmar],” a 19-year-old Rohingya man from Minbya Township in Rakhine State told Fortify Rights. “Accepting [an] NVC means you identify yourself as a ‘Bengali immigrant.’ We [Rohingya] don’t have any options. We need documents to travel to other cities, like Sittwe or other cities specifically for medical emergencies or business.”
Fortify Rights also documented the junta’s continued restrictions on freedom of movement for Rohingya, including through “Form-4”—a temporary travel permit, which is required for Rohingya in Rakhine State to travel between townships or, in rare cases, outside of Rakhine State. Rohingya must apply for Form-4 approvals, which are not always granted. For example, an internal administrative order issued by the junta-run General Administration Department of Buthidaung Township in Rakhine State on November 25, 2021, states, “Bengali people can only travel after obtaining legal permission (Form-4)” and breaching the order will result in “strong action being taken as per the existing law.”
The junta, like other genocidal regimes, claims such restrictions are necessary to protect “security and the rule of law.”
The United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention found that “increased politicization of identity” and discriminatory “measures or legislation” targeting protected groups serve as indicators in creating “an environment conducive to the commission of atrocity crimes.” Genocidal states often use legal and administrative tools to facilitate the destruction of a targeted group. This was the case during the Holocaust of the Jewish population and the Rwandan genocide of the Tutsi population.
For example, the Holocaust would not have been logistically feasible on such a rapid and massive scale without the initial definition and registration of Jews. The Nazis’ process of using official identification processes and documents enabled them to successively strip Jews of citizenship, expropriate their property, spatially restrict them to ghettos and camps, and then commit mass murder.
Similarly, identity documentation and verification also contributed to the Rwandan genocide. In some cases, Hutu perpetrators relied on the Rwandan national identification card that included the holder’s ethnic identity to target Tutsis and carry out their killings. For example, Hutu militias constructed barricades in urban areas and demanded travelers show their national identification cards, massacring Tutsi-identified cardholders as well as all those without documents.
The continuing use of the NVC in Myanmar poses a similar threat to Rohingya.
“Rohingya continue to face existential threats under the military junta, an illegitimate regime responsible for far-reaching atrocities,” said John Quinley, Senior Human Rights Specialist at Fortify Rights and co-author of the report. “The ongoing denial of Rohingya ethnicity and citizenship are indicators of genocide. The National Unity Government has committed to ensuring Rohingya citizenship and inclusion. The junta, however, is still using coercive measures to force Rohingya to identify as foreigners, erasing records of their existence.”
Over several years, the connection between identification documents and international crimes has been well-recognized. Yet, even amid genocidal attacks against Rohingya, some U.N. officials, embassies, and others in Myanmar not only failed to condemn the use of NVCs in targeting Rohingya but, in some cases, explicitly endorsed NVCs as a pragmatic solution to Rohingya “statelessness.”
Tolerance for discriminatory laws, policies, and practices affecting Rohingya, including the NVC process, is waning, however. Notably, on June 3, 2021, the National Unity Government (NUG)—the government established in April 2021 by elected parliamentarians who evaded arrest following the coup—announced its commitment to “abolishing” the NVC process, describing the NVC as “a process that the military has used against the Rohingya and other ethnic groups coercively and with human rights violations.”
The violations documented in Genocide by Attrition demonstrate links between the NVC process and genocidal acts and should be a focus of ongoing investigations and legal proceedings, said Fortify Rights.
Genocide is defined as an act or acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group. Under Article 2 of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, three of the five qualifying “acts” of genocide are directly relevant to “genocide by attrition” and are especially relevant in the context of the ongoing genocide of Rohingya in Myanmar. These enumerated crimes include: “(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; [and] (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”
Dating back to 2015, Fortify Rights has comprehensively documented the military-led genocide against the Rohingya.
A 2015 report by Fortify Rights and the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School found sufficient evidence to establish the elements of the crime of genocide against Rohingya in Myanmar.
Following the 2016 and 2017 Myanmar military-led attacks on Rohingya civilians, Fortify Rights and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum published a joint report documenting how Myanmar state security forces and civilian perpetrators committed mass killings in dozens of villages in Maungdaw Township in the first wave of violence in 2016 and in villages throughout all three townships of northern Rakhine State after August 25, 2017.
In a 160-page report in 2018, Fortify Rights exposed how the Myanmar military and civilian perpetrators made extensive and systematic preparations for genocidal attacks against Rohingya civilians in 2017, providing new details on massacres of Rohingya, systematic rape of women and girls, and the razing of hundreds of Rohingya villages in northern Rakhine State in the span of weeks.
A 102-page report by Fortify Rights in 2019 exposed how Myanmar authorities, including the military, forced or coerced Rohingya to accept NVCs as part of a systematic campaign to erase the Rohingya identity.
“The Myanmar military junta poses an undeniable threat to international peace and security,” said John Quinley. “U.N. member states must wake up and act now to deny the junta the resources it craves and to hold it accountable for all of its crimes including genocide.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights"
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-08
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf pdf pdf
Size:
15.59 MB 163.55 KB 15.58 MB 156.93 KB
Local URL:
2022-06-08-Genocide-by-Attrition-Fortify-Rights-Report-en.pdf- 2022-06-08-UN-Member-States-Hold-Myanmar-Military-Accountable-for-Ongoing-Crimes-bu.pdf
- 2022-06-08-Genocide-by-Attrition-Fortify-Rights-Summary-Report-bu.pdf
- 2022-06-08-UN-Member-States-Hold-Myanmar-Military-Accountable-for-Ongoing-Crimes-Thai.pdf
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Description:
"Executive Summary:
Rakhine State has avoided the violence that has engulfed the rest of Myanmar since the February 2021 coup. The quiet owes in part to an informal ceasefire, which ended two years of fighting between the military and the Arakan Army, a pro-Rakhine ethnic armed group, and which came into force a few months before the military seized power in Naypyitaw. The Arakan Army has spurned the growing de facto alliance between the National Unity Government (NUG)-led opposition and other ethnic armed groups, focusing on getting control of much of Rakhine State. Until recently, the military has been too distracted to try loosening the Arakan Army’s grip, but tensions have started rising. The parties could soon find themselves back in conflict. While each side has reason to be leery of a formal ceasefire, both would also have reason to welcome the breathing space it would create. Most importantly, Rakhine’s people would benefit. In parallel, the Arakan Army should rein in demands on humanitarian actors, which should coordinate their interaction with it, and Dhaka and Naypyitaw should engage the group on Rohingya repatriation.
The two-year war that engulfed Rakhine State between late 2018 and 2020 significantly eroded Naypyitaw’s control of the region. Police and many other civil servants were often reluctant to leave major towns during the conflict due to the risk of attack or abduction and they remain wary of venturing into the countryside. Many local administrators resigned during this period due to threats either from the armed group or from the Myanmar military, which suspected them of collaborating with the enemy. The Arakan Army has since either replaced them with its own administrators in the areas it controls or co-opted the new appointees that the military regime has sent since the coup. As a result, the Arakan Army now directly or indirectly controls most rural areas in the centre and north of the state, while exerting significant influence in urban areas; it has also begun expanding farther south, as well as north toward the border with Bangladesh.
Over the past year, the Arakan Army has further consolidated its control by rolling out a suite of public services through its administrative branch, the Arakan People’s Authority. These include a judicial system and police force, which operate parallel to the state’s, and some health-care services (including the provision of COVID-19 vaccines). As a result, many residents are turning to Arakan Army mechanisms, rather than those run by Naypyitaw, for basic services and to resolve disputes. The service provision strategy has deepened public support for the group and its governance, but it is not without risk: it could be a major drain on the armed group’s resources, harm its popularity if the services do not live up to expectations and attract pushback from Naypyitaw.
The impact of these developments in Rakhine State has not been limited to the ethnic Rakhine community. The rise of the Arakan Army has brought positive changes for some hitherto ostracised Rohingya. While the overall situation for the Rohingya remains dire, some communities have improved access to public services and some are enjoying greater freedom of movement because of the Arakan Army’s non-enforcement of restrictions imposed by Naypyitaw. These testimonials should be considered in context, however; although Rohingya sources Crisis Group spoke to largely praised the Arakan Army and its administration, the community as a whole remains vulnerable and its members are generally not in a position to criticise the group for fear of reprisal.
Myanmar’s military regime … made only token efforts to counter the Arakan Army’s expanding control.
Myanmar’s military regime, which calls itself the State Administration Council, is focused on subduing resistance to the coup elsewhere in Myanmar and until recently made only token efforts to counter the Arakan Army’s expanding control. Part of the reason may be that locally based government and military officials, hunkered down in large towns, have little choice but to accept the facts on the ground. As a measure of the group’s growing influence, many state-run schools, which are still nominally under Naypyitaw’s control, have started playing an Arakan Army-written Rakhine anthem instead of the national anthem. There are even examples of active collaboration, such as Naypyitaw-controlled police working with the Arakan Army to resolve crimes and administrators from the two sides holding regular informal consultations.
But cooperation is certainly not the state’s default posture. The junta has in some instances sought to scare both Rakhine and Rohingya communities away from working with Arakan Army mechanisms and institutions. Recently, it has adopted more aggressive tactics, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles, reinforcing troops, increasing patrols and detaining people it suspects of supporting the group.
The military is still too stretched to give much attention to Rakhine State, but there is a clear risk of a return to conflict. If the Arakan Army seeks to expand its influence consistent with its ambitious political aspirations – for example, into border areas or in southern Rakhine – it risks provoking the Myanmar military, which refers to itself as the Tatmadaw, into action. Similarly, a partnership with the NUG-led opposition – something many in Myanmar would welcome – could spark a return to war. While it would be difficult for the Tatmadaw to win this fight, the collateral effects of renewed conflict could be terrible for Rakhine State’s population, which is already reeling from neglect, a poor economy, communal violence and the earlier two-year war.
Although there is no clear path toward peace and stability for Rakhine State, one step that could offer both the parties and the region an extended respite from fighting might be to formalise the informal ceasefire that has largely kept the peace for the past eighteen months. Such an arrangement would focus primarily on maintaining the peace, in particular by demarcating territory and establishing formal communication channels to help de-escalate in the event that tensions begin to build once again.
Both the government and the Arakan Army have reason to be wary of such a step in that it would give the other party a chance to gather strength and prepare for renewed confrontation down the road. But each also has reason to embrace it. The military is preoccupied with the spiralling consequences of the coup that it launched over a year ago; a formal ceasefire would be a measure of insurance that it will not face another conflict that will stretch it further. As for the Arakan Army, such an arrangement could allow it to further consolidate its authority over the territories already under its control and gain recognition from outside actors, including both humanitarian organisations and neighbouring Bangladesh. While the extended respite could give the parties the chance to fortify themselves for further clashes, it would also create the possibility of a durable, peaceful solution emerging in the future – something outside actors could encourage.
If the parties agree to solidify the current ceasefire into a formal agreement, it will also be important to improve certain other ad hoc arrangements with implications for people in Rakhine. For example, humanitarian organisations are increasingly concerned that they may soon face parallel sets of requirements to operate in Rakhine State – some imposed by Naypyitaw and others by the Arakan Army – which could create both administrative burdens and operational difficulties. The group should work to ensure that those in need are not cut off from humanitarian assistance because of paralysing new rules and humanitarian organisations should come together to present a united front should such rules become overly burdensome. Dhaka and Naypyitaw should additionally engage with the Arakan Army on the possible return of Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh.
While a formal ceasefire would offer neither party precisely what it wants, there would be enough in it for both sides that it could conceivably work. That in turn would allow Rakhine State residents to get what they need most: a continued break from violence and the corresponding opportunity to build toward a more peaceful future, one in which Rakhine and Rohingya can live in relative safety side by side..."
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (Belgium)
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-01
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Format :
pdf
Size:
1.01 MB
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Sub-title:
Following Eid, Authorities Ramp Up Restrictions, Crackdo
Description:
"On May 7, a 62-year-old Rohingya refugee was returning to her shelter in Kutupalong camp after collecting food rations when she was stopped at a checkpoint with other Rohingya by officers from Bangladesh’s Armed Police Battalion, or APBn, who refused to let them through. “The police officers suddenly became angry and started beating us with bamboo sticks.” She remembers falling. “Some people were hurt. I injured my waist. I was finally able to flee but lost my rations and ID.”
Human Rights Watch spoke with five Rohingya refugees who described being beaten by APBn officers and other officials at camp checkpoints over the past few days.
In two camps, Bangladesh authorities have introduced a draconian permission application for movement within the camp areas, which some refugees compared to the oppressive conditions they faced back in Myanmar. The authorities are reportedly planning to institute the policy across all camps.
The crackdown follows the temporary detention of 656 Rohingya on May 4 and 5 for celebrating the Eid ul-Fitr holiday outside the camp confines, as well as months of worsening restrictions on Rohingya’s freedom to move, work, and study.
“We live in camps surrounded by barbed wire fencing, with no options for celebration, so we went [to a nearby beach] to celebrate Eid,” a Rohingya refugee said. “But they detained us, and then charged us each 200-500 BDT [US$3-6] for transportation back to camp.”
Two Rohingya said the police beat them when they tried to get critical medicine for their parents. “My mother has ‘kala jaundice’ [hepatitis C],” one told us. “Yesterday, I was stopped by APBn when I went to the Lambasia checkpoint with her medical documents and prescription. The only way to buy the medicine is from a pharmacy outside the camp, but they didn’t allow me to leave. The APBn beat me, and I fled in fear.”
Governments have an international legal obligation to ensure medical care for refugees at least equivalent to that available to the general population.
The checkpoint harassment is seemingly part of the authorities’ efforts to coerce refugees to relocate to the remote island of Bhasan Char or to return to Myanmar. Donors funding the refugee response, including the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, should urge Bangladesh to reverse these harsh restrictions before the refugees’ lives closely mirror the constraints and harassment they fled..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-26
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Local URL:
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Description:
"Geneva, Dhaka (16 May 2022) – The United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (“IIMM” or “Mechanism”), completed a working visit to Bangladesh Saturday. Assistant Secretary-General Nicholas Koumjian, the Head of the Mechanism, deemed the mission highly successful, and thanked the Government of Bangladesh for its pledge of full cooperation with the Mechanism. He stated that “the highly professional and practical approach of the Bangladeshi Authorities is greatly appreciated. We were able to agree to practical arrangements that will allow the Mechanism to advance its evidence gathering activities in Bangladesh while ensuring the security and privacy of all with whom we interact.”
The delegation, led by Mr. Koumjian, visited Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar from 7 to 14 May 2022. This was the second official visit of the Mechanism to Bangladesh. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mechanism had not been able to return to Bangladesh since its first mission to Cox’s Bazar in November 2019.
In Dhaka, the delegation met with representatives of the Government of Bangladesh to discuss Bangladesh’s ongoing cooperation with the Mechanism. Mr. Koumjian also delivered a lecture on international justice mechanisms at BRAC University and met with civil society representatives at the Liberation War Museum.
In Cox’s Bazar, the delegation engaged with relevant authorities and civil society organizations. The delegation conducted six interactive dialogues with over 150 Rohingya representatives to raise awareness about the Mechanism’s purpose and methods of work.
In an effort to explain the Mechanism’s work and what it can and cannot do, Mr. Koumjian spoke with representatives from different groups of Rohingya, including women’s organizations, and gave an interview to Radio Naf, which broadcasts in the Rohingya language. He expressed appreciation to the camp authorities for facilitating these meetings and to all those who took the time to attend.
Mr. Koumjian stressed that the Mechanism places great importance on engaging with the Rohingya forcibly displaced from Myanmar and now present in Cox’s Bazar. “We want to assure victims that the Mechanism is working to contribute to proceedings, including at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice, to ensure justice and accountability for the crimes that were committed against them,” he said. “We also want to listen to their concerns and to let them know that their safety and security are of paramount importance to us. We will never share their information without their informed consent.
Mr. Koumjian explained that “My team and I were very moved as we listened to the Rohingya representatives recount the suffering their people endured. Many speakers explained that their hope and desire is to return to the country where they were born, rebuild their communities and enjoy all normal and basic rights. These words inspired my team and I to redouble our efforts to gather compelling evidence to contribute to judicial processes that we hope will bring some measure of justice to the Rohingya and instill confidence that will enable their safe and voluntary return to their homes in Myanmar.”
The Mechanism was established by the Human Rights Council in September 2018 to collect, consolidate, preserve, and analyze evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. The Human Rights Council also directed the Mechanism to prepare files that will facilitate fair and independent criminal proceedings in national, regional or international courts or tribunals that have, or in the future may have, jurisdiction over these crimes..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations ( New York )
Date of entry/update:
2022-05-18
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Malaysian authorities must conduct a transparent inquiry and allow independent observers to conduct interviews and inspect detention facilities, after more than 500 Rohingya refugees reportedly fled a temporary immigration centre in Penang, leading to the deaths of some of those fleeing, said the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK). According to media reports, six of the refugees were killed, including two women and two children, as they tried to cross a busy highway.
“Even before this incident, many of these refugees would have already been undergoing huge trauma, having escaped a genocide against them in Myanmar,” said Tun Khin, BROUK President. “Malaysian authorities must not only treat them with compassion, but also get to the bottom of what triggered the incident. Rights groups have for years called for an end to the detention of refugees in Malaysia, who are typically held in overcrowded and under-resourced detention centres, causing untold distress to the men, women and children being held there.”
Media reports said that 528 Rohingya escaped the Sungai Bakap immigration detention centre in the early hours of April 20 after a “riot” took place. Videos shared on social media showed mainly women and children along the side of the road, while others showed groups of people squatting on the side of the road after being detained by police.
As of the morning of April 21, 448 of those who escaped have been re-detained and are being held in four detention centres across three states. It has since emerged that all of those who fled the immigration centre had been held there since 2020.
As of January 2022, there were 103,560 Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers registered in Malaysia with UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency. However, Malaysia is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, and refugees in the country do not have access to fundamental rights including legal status, safe and lawful employment, formal education and equal protection of the law. In addition, their lack of legal status means that refugees are at risk of arrest, detention and exploitation.
“Malaysia must take the opportunity to show itself a leader when it comes to human rights and rule of law in the region and immediately sign the Refugee convention, and improve conditions inside its detention centres,” Tun Khin said. “It is very possible for Malaysia to protect its own interests, while treating these vulnerable people in a dignified and humane way.”..."
Source/publisher:
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-22
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
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Sub-title:
Authorities Demolish Shops, Close Schools, Curb Movement
Description:
" Bangladesh authorities have, in recent months, intensified their restrictions on Rohingya refugees’ livelihoods, movement, and education, Human Rights Watch said today. Officials have arbitrarily destroyed thousands of shops while imposing new obstacles on travel within the camps in Cox’s Bazar, denying the Rohingya the ability to live freely and independently.
Bangladesh authorities should lift the new restrictions, allow markets and schools to reopen, and facilitate donors’ efforts to improve refugees’ access to livelihoods, health care, and education.
“Bangladesh is understandably burdened with hosting nearly one million Rohingya refugees, but cutting them off from opportunities to work and study is only compounding their vulnerability and dependence on aid,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Bangladesh government should formalize and expand employment opportunities to bolster the Rohingya’s self-reliance and enable them to support their families and communities.”
Human Rights Watch, in February and March 2022, spoke with 13 Rohingya refugees who described how the new restrictions have prevented them from being able to provide for their families, give their children an education, or build communities. At the same time, Bangladesh officials have pressured the refugees to relocate to Bhasan Char island or return to Myanmar. The worsening conditions in the camps raises concerns that authorities are acting deliberately to coerce refugees to leave, Human Rights Watch said.
Even prior to the shop demolitions, Rohingya reported that access to employment was their greatest concern in the camps, according to a 2021 survey by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Although refugees are not officially permitted to work, over half the Rohingya and 30 percent of children ages 15 to17 reported doing informal work, putting them at risk of exploitation and arrest.
The informal marketplaces set up by Rohingya became vital sources of income for covering basic needs and supplementing aid rations. But beginning in October 2021, officials began bulldozing shops in several camps, often without notice. More than 3,000 shops have been destroyed, affecting tens of thousands of refugees.
Mohammed Ali, 37 (all refugees are identified by pseudonyms), ran a clothing shop that was demolished without notice, destroying 300,000 BDT (US$3,500) worth of clothes and leaving him in debt. “I had to take loans to build up the products in my store,” he said. “Now it’s become impossible for me to pay them back.”
A shopkeeper, Abdul Amin, 28, said that shop owners had tried to negotiate with the Camp-in-Charge (CiC, a Bangladesh official) when they heard other markets were being demolished. “They didn’t hear our requests,” he said. “They didn’t even allow us to take the remaining products from our shops. They just came and demolished with bulldozers. My loss is worth about a million BDT ($11,600).”
Abdul Amin said that 40 refugees depended on his business, including his 15 family members and the families of his four employees. “Now I cannot buy extra food needed for my family,” he said. “I cannot afford medicine needed for my mother. I cannot give my children education.… My workers have been continually telling me how tough it has become for them also to support their families.”
Refugees said that the income from the shops helped them supplement the limited food rations of oil, rice, and lentils. “The ration we get as aid isn’t enough for a whole family,” said Mohammed Ali, who had earned about 30,000 BDT ($350) a month at his clothing shop to support his family of 10.
Amir, 37, ran a mobile phone repair shop earning about 500 BDT ($6) a day, which allowed him to buy vegetables, fish, and necessary supplies for his six-person family. “Now the authorities won’t even allow me to run my business from my shelter,” he said. “I really don’t understand how our simple initiative to live slightly better lives in the camps harms Bangladesh.”
A grocery shop owner, 35, said his family of 11 and the families of his two employees were dependent on the store income. “The demolition of the marketplace destroyed my shop and so many like mine,” he said. “Now we’ve turned into beggars again.”
Bangladesh’s deputy refugee commissioner, Shamsud Douza, said the shops were demolished because they were “illegal.” A senior government official told the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, “Livelihood opportunity is not the responsibility of Bangladesh.”
Many refugees said their attempts to continue operating their businesses from their shelters had also been shut down. “Since the demolition, authorities won’t allow us to run another business,” Mohammed Ali said. “They said it’s prohibited, and that we are not living in our own country, we are living in another country, and we cannot earn money in another territory.”
The nearly one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh lack recognized legal status, which puts them on precarious footing under domestic law and makes them vulnerable to rights violations. However, as a party to core international human rights treaties, Bangladesh is obligated to ensure everyone in its jurisdiction, including refugees, has access to fundamental rights, including freedom of movement, livelihoods, education, and health care, Human Rights Watch said.
Rohingya also described new arbitrary restrictions on movement within the camps in recent months, including threats, frequent curfews, and harassment at checkpoints. “Before, we used to move freely around the camps to visit friends and families,” Amir said. “But now we face a lot of questioning by the authorities whenever we’re outside our shelter.”
One refugee, 43, said that in the past, he had been able to travel freely within the camps, but in December, officers of the armed police battalion (APBn) stopped him at a checkpoint on his way to visit family in another camp, claiming he did not have the camp official’s permission. “This time, they made me wait at their checkpoint until my family members bribed the APBn officials,” he said. “Since then, I stopped going outside of my shelter.”
Another refugee, 22, said that majhis (Rohingya community leaders) told his block that camp officials had ordered Rohingya not to leave their shelters at night. In February, two police officers stopped him at a checkpoint in the late afternoon while he was returning to his shelter after visiting relatives. “One of them started slapping me, saying that I was lying,” he said. “They took me to the APBn police barrack in Camp 12 and kept me there overnight.” He was released the next day after paying a 30,000 BDT ($350) bribe.
The authorities began building fencing in the camps in 2019, ostensibly to ensure the refugees’ safety. Instead, the fencing denies them freedom of movement while placing them at serious risk during emergencies, such as fires, which has led to preventable deaths. Six fires have broken out in 2022 thus far, which Save the Children called “avoidable,” urging officials to create additional openings in the fencing.
New restrictions have also been placed on education, depriving Rohingya children of the opportunity to learn and build self-reliant futures. In December, Bangladesh authorities banned Rohingya-led community schools, affecting about 60,000 students.
Refugees and humanitarian groups fear the recent dire restrictions are part of the government’s efforts to coerce refugees to relocate to Bhasan Char or repatriate to Myanmar. Bangladesh authorities have already moved about 22,000 Rohingya to the remote, flood-prone island, where they face severe movement restrictions, food and medicine shortages, and abuses by security forces. Many have been transferred without full, informed consent, and have been prevented from returning to the mainland.
The Bangladesh government has also renewed efforts to repatriate the Rohingya, declaring its top priority “is immediate repatriation of the Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar.” In January, Bangladesh officials held the first meeting of a new task force formed with Myanmar junta officials, announcing joint plans to “expeditiously complete the verification process.”
Two prior repatriation attempts failed, with Rohingya refugees unwilling to return due to the ongoing risk of persecution and abuse in Myanmar. In December, the special rapporteur on Myanmar reported that “conditions for the safe, sustainable, dignified return of the Rohingya to their homeland currently do not exist,” given the frequent atrocities by the Myanmar junta and ongoing crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution faced by the Rohingya.
Refoulement, the forcible return of refugees to places where their lives, physical integrity, or freedom would be threatened, occurs not only when the authorities directly expel refugees, but also when indirect pressure is so intense that it leads people to believe they have no option but to return to a country where they face a serious risk of harm.
The 2022 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis, which is requesting US$875 million, is thus far unfunded. Donors, including the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Australia, should increase funding to meet the massive needs of the Rohingya refugee population while urging Bangladesh to reverse its restrictions on livelihoods, movement, and education, Human Rights Watch said.
“The US, UK, and other donors should help ensure that Rohingya refugees have access to education, employment, and other necessary tools for rebuilding their lives,” Ganguly said. “It’s critical for governments to work together to address these issues and show solidarity with the Rohingya in the face of the Myanmar junta’s mounting crimes.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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Sub-title:
Protect Refugees; End Forced Returns
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"The Indian government’s forced return of an ethnic Rohingya woman to Myanmar on March 22, 2022 highlights the life-threatening risks facing Rohingya refugees in India, Human Rights Watch said today. International law prohibits the forced return of refugees to places where their lives or freedom would be threatened.
Rohingya Muslim refugees in India face tightened restrictions, arbitrary detention, violent attacks often incited by political leaders, and a heightened risk of forced returns. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has reported that at least 240 Rohingya in India are currently detained on charges of illegal entry. In addition, about 39 are being detained in a shelter in Delhi while 235 others are detained in a holding center in Jammu.
“The Indian government gains nothing by forcibly returning a Rohingya woman to Myanmar, while she is separated from her children and put at grave risk,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government’s decision to expel Rohingya refugees despite mountains of evidence that their lives and freedoms would be at risk in Myanmar shows cruel disregard for human life and international law.”
An estimated 40,000 Rohingya are in India, at least 20,000 of whom are registered with UNHCR. Since 2016, ultranationalist Hindu groups have targeted Rohingya refugees in Jammu as part of growing attacks on Muslims in India and called for their expulsion from the country. Since October 2018, the Indian government has deported 12 Rohingya to Myanmar, claiming that they left voluntarily. However, the government denied repeated requests by UNHCR to gain access to them to independently assess whether the decision was voluntary.
Hasina Begum, 36, and her husband and three children are all registered as refugees with UNHCR. She was among the Rohingya detained by Jammu and Kashmir authorities on March 6, 2021, when the authorities sent them to a holding center as part of a verification process, saying that the government planned to deport them. Her husband told Human Rights Watch that he and his children have not seen her since she was detained over a year ago.
The authorities forcibly returned her to Myanmar despite a March 21, 2022 order by the Manipur State Human Rights Commission putting the deportation on hold. The commission said that the plan to deport her appeared on its face to violate the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by the Indian constitution and article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the principle of nonrefoulement, or nonreturn.
Hasina Begum’s husband, Ali Johar, 37, after learning that she might be deported, wrote to UNHCR, appealing for the agency to intervene. He said he had not received a response. UNHCR officials told Human Rights Watch that they had contacted the Indian authorities about the case.
A public anti-Rohingya campaign by ultranationalist Hindu groups, claiming that the Rohingya Muslims are “terrorists,” has incited vigilante-style violence, including arson attacks on the homes of Rohingya in Jammu and Delhi. In 2018 following a fire in a Rohingya settlement in Delhi that burned at least 50 homes, a leader from the youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party applauded the action on Twitter, saying “Well done by our heroes…Yes we burnt the houses of Rohingya terrorists.”
In Myanmar, about 600,000 Rohingya remain confined to camps and villages in Rakhine State under the military’s system of apartheid, persecution, and severe deprivation of liberty. Restrictions and other abuses have worsened since February 1, 2021, when the military leadership, responsible for the 2012, 2016, and 2017 mass atrocity crimes against the Rohingya, carried out a military coup. Nearly a million Rohingya Muslims are now refugees in Bangladesh, unable to return to Myanmar.
“We can’t go there,” Johar told Human Rights Watch. “They [the Myanmar military] will kill us. If the conditions get better, we will go back.”
In January 2020 the International Court of Justice unanimously ordered Myanmar to protect the Rohingya from genocide while it adjudicates alleged violations of the Genocide Convention. Despite these binding measures, the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar reported in September 2021 that the “Rohingya remain at grave risk of mass atrocity crimes.” In December, he reported that “conditions for the safe, sustainable, dignified return of the Rohingya to their homeland currently do not exist,” given the ongoing crimes against humanity and daily atrocities being committed by the Myanmar junta against the Rohingya and others.
However, Indian authorities have said that they will deport Rohingya irregular immigrants not holding valid travel documents required under the Foreigners Act. Although India is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, the prohibition of refoulement has become a norm of customary international law that India is bound to respect.
The Indian government should halt the deportation of all Rohingya to Myanmar because of the serious risk they face of persecution, Human Rights Watch said. Indian authorities should provide anyone at risk of deportation with the opportunity to see a lawyer, to meet with UNHCR, and to present their arguments against deportation before an impartial adjudicator. The authorities should prohibit any deportation that amounts to refoulement.
“The Indian authorities are increasingly adopting discriminatory policies against religious minorities, especially Muslims, and their policy toward the Rohingya appears to reflect that bigotry,” Ganguly said. “The Indian government should not abandon its long history of providing refuge to the persecuted to allow religious beliefs to dictate who deserves protection.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-04-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Local URL:
more
Description:
"မြန်မာစစ်တပ်ခေါင်းဆောင်များကို တရားစွဲဆိုရမည်
နောက်ကျပြီးမှဖြစ်သော်လည်း ၂၀၁၇ ခုနှစ် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်တွင် ရိုဟင်ဂျာလူမျိုးများအပေါ် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်မှ ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သည့် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများက လူမျိုးတုံးသတ်ဖြတ်မှုနှင့် လူသားမျိုးနွယ်အပေါ် ဆန့်ကျင်သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများ မြောက်ကြောင်း တရားဝင်အသိအမှတ်ပြုသည့် အမေရိကန်အစိုးရ၏ ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်ကို မြန်မာအရပ်ဘက်လူထုအဖွဲ့အစည်းများ၊ နှင့် ဒေသတွင်းနှင့် နိုင်ငံတကာ မိတ်ဖက်အဖွဲ့အစည်း ပေါင်း ၃၅၇ ဖွဲ့တို့က ကြိုဆိုလိုက်သည်။
ဤဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်သည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာများ၏ လေးနှစ်ကျော်ကြာအောင် မလျှော့သော ဇွဲလုံ့လ ကြိုးပမ်းအားထုတ်မှုနှင့်အတူ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံနှင့် ကမ္ဘာတစ်ဝှမ်းရှိ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးအဖွဲ့များ၏ သွေးစည်းညီညွတ်သော ပံ့ပိုးကူညီမှုတို့ကြောင့် ဖြစ်ပေါ်လာခြင်း ဖြစ်သည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများသည် ၎င်းတို့အတွက် တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် တာဝန်ယူမှု တာဝန်ခံမှု ရှိလာစေရေး၊ နှင့် ၎င်းတို့၏ နိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်မှု ပြန်လည်ရရှိရေး၊ လွတ်လပ်စွာသွားလာလှုပ်ရှားခွင့်နှင့် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်တွင်ရှိသော ၎င်းတို့၏ နေအိမ်များသို့ ဘေးကင်းလုံခြုံစွာဖြင့် ၎င်းတို့သဘောဆန္ဒအလျောက် ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိစွာ နေရပ်ပြန်နိုင်ရေး တို့အပါအဝင် ၎င်းတို့၏ အခွင့်အရေး ပြန်လည်အသိအမှတ်ပြုခံရရေးအတွက် ဆက်လက်ကြိုးစားလုပ်ဆောင်နေကြသည်။
ထိုရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများအပေါ် ကာလရှည်ကြာစောင့်စားနေခဲ့ရသည့် အမေရိကန်အစိုးရ၏ ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်နောက်တွင် ထိုရာဇဝတ်မှုများအတွက် ရာဇဝတ်ဆိုင်ရာတရားစွဲဆိုမှုများ ပြုလုပ်ရေး ဦးတည်သော အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်မှုများ အရေးတကြီးလုပ်ဆောင်ရန် လိုအပ်သည်။ သို့မဟုတ်ပါက ဤဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်သည် စကားလုံးသက်သက်အဖြစ် အရာမရောက်ဘဲ ရှိနေမည့်အပြင် ၎င်း၏ လူမျိုးတုံးသတ်ဖြတ်မှုဆိုင်ရာ မူဝါဒများ ဆက်လက် အကောင်အထည်ဖော်ဆောင်နေခြင်းနှင့် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်တွင် ကျန်ရှိနေသေးသော ရိုဟင်ဂျာလူဦးရေ ၆၀၀,၀၀၀ အပေါ် ဖိနှိပ်ခြင်း လုပ်ဆောင်နေရုံသာမက နိုင်ငံတစ်ဝှမ်းရှိ ပြည်သူများအပေါ်တွင်လည်း စစ်ရာဇ၀တ်မှုများနှင့် လူသားမျိုးနွယ်အပေါ် ဆန့်ကျင်သော ရာဇ၀တ်မှုများ ကျူးလွန်နေသာ မြန်မာစစ်တပ်ကို ပိုမို၍ပင် အတင့်ရဲလာစေမည် ဖြစ်သည်။
ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအပေါ် လူမျိုးတုံးသတ်ဖြတ်မှု ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သည့် ယင်းစစ်တပ်ကပင် ဒီမိုကရေစီကာကွယ်ရာတွင် ရဲရင့်ပြတ်သား စည်းလုံးညီညွတ်သော မြန်မာပြည်သူများ၏ စုပေါင်းခုခံဆန့်ကျင် မှုကြောင့် ကျရှုံးနေသော ၎င်းတို့၏ အာဏာသိမ်းရေး ကြိုးပမ်းမှုနောက်ပိုင်းတွင် အရပ်သားပြည်သူများအပေါ် အစုလိုက်အပြုံလိုက် သတ်ဖြတ်မှုများ၊ လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှုများ၊ ဥပဒေမဲ့သတ်ဖြတ်မှုများ၊ မတရား အစုလိုက်အပြုံလိုက် ဖမ်းဆီးမှုများ၊ လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာနှင့် ကျား-မ ကွဲပြားမှုအပေါ်အခြေခံသည့် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများ၊ ကလေးသူငယ်များအပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများနှင့် အစုလိုက် အပြုံလိုက် နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်ရ စေမှုများကို ကျူးလွန်နေသည်။
ကုလသမဂ္ဂလူ့အခွင့်အရေးကောင်စီ၏ ၄၉ ကြိမ်မြောက် ပုံမှန်အစည်းအဝေးတွင် အရပ်သားပြည်သူ များအပေါ် လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှုများနှင့် အရှင်လတ်လတ် မီးရှို့သတ်ဖြတ်မှုများကို ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ ပစ်မှတ်ထားလုပ်ဆောင်မှုများ အပါအဝင် မြန်မာစစ်အုပ်စု၏ စနစ်တကျ ချိုးဖောက်မှုများသည် စစ်ရာဇဝတ်မှုများနှင့် လူသားမျိုးနွယ်အပေါ် ဆန့်ကျင်သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများ မြောက်နိုင်ဖွယ်ရှိသည်ဟု ကုလသမဂ္ဂလူ့အခွင့်အရေးမဟာမင်းကြီးက ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုခဲ့သည်။ မြန်မာစစ်တပ်မှ ရရှိနေသော ပြစ်ဒဏ်ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့်ကို အဆုံးသတ်ရမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး ယင်းကို မြန်ဆန်တင်းကျပ်သော တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် တာဝန်ယူမှု တာဝန်ခံမှု ဖော်ဆောင်ခြင်းတို့မှတစ်ဆင့်သာ ရရှိနိုင်မည် ဖြစ်သည်။
အမေရိကန်အစိုးရမှ အောက်ပါအချက်များကို လုပ်ဆောင်ရန် မိမိတို့မှ တောင်းဆိုလိုက်သည် –
မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ၏ အခြေအနေကို နိုင်ငံတကာရာဇဝတ်ခုံရုံး (ICC) သို့ လွှဲပြောင်းပေးရန်အတွက် ကုလသမဂ္ဂလုံခြုံရေး ကောင်စီမှ ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်တစ်ခု ချမှတ်ရေး အကြံပြုတိုက်တွန်းရန်၊
၂၀၀၂ ခုနှစ် ဇူလိုင်လ ၁ ရက်နေ့မှစတင်၍ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံပိုင်နက်အတွင်း ကျုးလွန်ခဲ့သော နိုင်ငံတကာရာဇ၀တ်မှုများနှင့် စပ်လျဉ်း၍ ရောမသဘောတူစာချုပ် အပိုဒ် ၁၂(၃)အရ ICC တရားရုံး၏ တရားစီရင်ပိုင်ခွင့်ကို လက်ခံကြောင်း တင်သွင်းသော မြန်မာအစိုးရဖြစ်သည့် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ (NUG) ၏ ကြေညာစာတမ်းကို လက်ခံရေး ICC တရားရုံးအား တိုက်တွန်းရန်၊
ဂမ်ဘီယာနိုင်ငံမှ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအပေါ် နိုင်ငံတကာတရားရုံး (ICJ) တွင် လက်ရှိစွဲဆိုထားသည့် အမှုအား ငွေကြေးနှင့် ဥပဒေဆိုင်ရာ ပံ့ပိုးကူညီမှုများ အပါအဝင် တရားဝင် ထောက်ခံအားပေးရန်၊
စစ်တပ်အား တင်းကျပ်သော တာဝန်ယူမှု တာဝန်ခံမှု ရှိလာစေခြင်းမှတစ်ဆင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ စုပေါင်းညီညွတ်ရေးဆိုင်ရာဥပဒေ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် (BURMA Act 2021) ကို အတည်ပြုပြဌာန်းနိုင်ရန်အတွက် ကွန်ဂရက်အား တောင်းဆိုရန်၊
မြန်မာ့ရေနံနှင့် သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့လုပ်ငန်း (MOGE)၊ စစ်တပ်နှင့် ဆက်နွယ်နေသော စီးပွားရေးမိတ်ဖက် များနှင့် လက်နက်ရောင်းဝယ်သူ ကွန်ရက်များအပေါ် ပစ်မှတ်ထား အရေးယူပိတ်ဆို့မှုများ အပါအဝင် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်နှင့် ၎င်း၏ ခေါင်းဆောင်များအပေါ် ပစ်မှတ်ထား အရေးယူပိတ်ဆို့မှုများ ပိုမိုလုပ်ဆောင်ရန်၊
လူမျိုးတုံးသတ်ဖြတ်မှုမှ အသက်ရှင်ကျန်ရစ်သည့် ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ်နိုင်ငံနှင့် အခြားနိုင်ငံများရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအတွက် အကူအညီအထောက်အပံ့များ တိုးမြှင့်ပေးရေး၊ နှင့် ရိုဟင်ဂျာ ကလေးသူငယ်များအတွက် ပညာရေး လက်လှမ်းမီစေရေး အပါအဝင် ရိုဟင်ဂျာဒုက္ခသည်များ လက်ခံထားရေးနှင့်ပတ်သက်၍ ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ်နိုင်ငံအနေဖြင့် ရေရှည်တည်တံ့သော မူဝါဒများ ချမှတ်လာစေရေး စည်းရုံးလှုံ့ဆော်ရန်၊
စစ်တပ်၏ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများနှင့် လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှုများကြောင့် ထိခိုက်အလွယ်ဆုံးသော ပြည်တွင်း နေရပ်စွန့်ခွာထွက်ပြေးတိမ်းရှောင်ရသူ (IDP) ၈၈၉,၀၀၀ ကျော်ထံသို့ အကူအညီများ ရောက်ရှိစေရန်အတွက် နယ်စပ်ဖြတ်ကျော် လမ်းကြောင်းများတစ်ဆင့် အပါအဝင် လူသားချင်းစာနာ ထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာ အရေးပေါ်အကူအညီ ပံ့ပိုးနိုင်ရေး ကြိုးပမ်းမှုများ ညှိနှိုင်းဆောင်ရွက်ရန်အပြင် COVID-19 တိုက်ဖျက်ရေးအတွက် တိုင်းရင်းသားနှင့် လူထုအခြေပြု လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှု ဆိုင်ရာ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများနှင့် အရပ်ဘက်လူထုအဖွဲ့အစည်းများကို အရင်းအမြစ်များ ထောက်ပံ့ပေးခြင်းနှင့် အဓိပ္ပါယ်ပြည့်ဝစွာဖြင့် တန်းတူသောမိတ်ဖက်များအဖြစ် ပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်ရန် USAID အား ညွှန်ကြားရန်၊
မြန်မာစစ်တပ်အပေါ် ကမ္ဘာလုံးဆိုင်ရာ လက်နက်ခဲယမ်းရောင်းချမှု ပိတ်ဆို့ရေး ချမှတ်နိုင်ရန်အတွက် ညှိနှိုင်းဆောင်ရွက်ရန်၊ နှင့်
မြန်မာစစ်တပ်၏ လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှုကို ရပ်တန့်စေရန်အတွက် လေယာဥ်ဆီတင်ပို့ရောင်းချမှုကို ပိတ်ဆို့ရန်။..."
Source/publisher:
357 Civil Society Organizations
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-29
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Ethnic Cleansing, Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, International Criminal Court (Myanmar), International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
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236.97 KB 269.77 KB
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"Last week, the Biden administration formally announced its determination that violence committed against the Rohingya by Myanmar’s military (the Tatmadaw) amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity. In response, the following statement is attributable to Lindsey Green, MA, program officer, Program on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zones, at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR):
“PHR welcomes the Biden administration’s formal determination that violence perpetrated by the Tatmadaw against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority constitutes genocide and crimes against humanity. The U.S. government’s acknowledgement of and future action on this issue are important steps toward justice for the Rohingya and a commitment to ensure meaningful accountability for crimes committed in Myanmar.
“It is past time the international community acknowledge the systematic violence perpetrated against the Rohingya as a coordinated effort to expel them from their homeland, and that the Rohingya see justice and accountability for those most responsible. For 15 years, PHR has used science and medicine to document and call attention to human rights abuses in Myanmar. Through medical evaluations and first-hand accounts from Rohingya survivors, we have corroborated evidence of widespread and systematic violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, burning of villages, shootings, and beatings, targeting the Rohingya in northern Rakhine state since August 2017. Thousands have been killed and more than 740,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to years of persecution, abuse, and ethnic violence.
“The need for intervention by the international community to stop the ongoing military coup and end violence against all people in Myanmar, including the Rohingya, is paramount. This determination is a major step, not only in further validating the crimes committed against the Rohingya, but also because it initiates a number of more severe consequences and policy actions that the United States is obligated to pursue. PHR urges the U.S. government to hold Myanmar’s security forces accountable for their brutal crimes by passing the BURMA Act, continue to issue robust political and economic sanctions against military leaders and their affiliated entities, and supporting international efforts for justice and accountability for genocide.
“Most critically, the Rohingya community must lead in the process of determining what remedies, including repatriations, rehabilitation, and mental health and trauma-related support are owed to them for the violations they have endured. No one government or intergovernmental organization can accurately assess the severe trauma, life-changing disabilities, and immeasurable losses the Rohingya have experienced. It is imperative their voices be centered in this process now and in the future.”..."
Source/publisher:
Physicians for Human Rights (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-28
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Local URL:
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Sub-title:
Stronger Economic Measures, Arms Embargo Needed Against Military
Description:
" Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day on March 27, 2022, is an opportunity for foreign governments to take stronger action against the military’s widespread abuses, Human Rights Watch said today.
Concerned governments should strengthen economic sanctions against junta members and other senior military officers, as well as military-owned conglomerates. The United Nations Security Council should urgently adopt a global arms embargo against Myanmar and refer the country situation to the International Criminal Court.
“Governments joining Myanmar’s Armed Forces Day celebrations are celebrating the military’s brutal suppression of its own people,” said Manny Maung, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Governments should instead participate by enacting targeted sanctions against the generals and military businesses.”
On March 26, 2021, the state MRTV news channel announced that anti-coup demonstrators “should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot to the head and back” and warned that “parents should also talk their children out of it [joining protests], let’s not waste lives for nothing.” This language was widely interpreted to signal that the security forces were planning to respond with force to planned protests on March 27.
The next day, Myanmar security forces killed as many as 163 anti-coup protesters in deadly crackdowns. It was most likely the deadliest single day since country-wide protests broke out against the February 1, 2021 military coup.
Since the coup, security forces have killed over 1,600 people and detained more than 12,000. Over 500,000 people have been internally displaced and the junta is deliberately blocking aid to populations in need as a form of collective punishment. Human Rights Watch has documented the military’s numerous abuses against the population that amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes.
A joint report by Fortify Rights and the Schell Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School, released on March 24, 2022, identifies 61 senior military and police officials who ordered abuses or are otherwise directly implicated in crimes committed against the population in the first six months after the coup.
In recent weeks, there have been increasing reports of Myanmar military airstrikes and use of heavy weapons causing civilian loss of life and property. The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, in his February report on government sales of weapons to the Myanmar military, said that jet aircraft, attack helicopters, armored vehicles, light and heavy artillery, missiles, and rockets were being used against civilians. More than 400 of the attacks reported occurred in Sagaing Region in northwestern Myanmar, where most civilian fatalities have recently occurred. The report identified Belarus, China, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia, South Korea, and Ukraine as having transferred arms to Myanmar since 2018 that could be used to attack civilians.
Other countries such as Japan have not ended military ties and continue to provide training to the Myanmar military despite its long record of human rights abuses. Since 2015, Myanmar military cadets and officers have received academic and military training at Japan’s National Defense Academy and Japan Self-Defense Forces facilities. The Japanese government should immediately suspend the program and cut other military ties, or risk being complicit in the military’s atrocities.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned Myanmar security forces’ violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in a March 15 report, and said the military was deliberately targeting civilians, many of whom were shot in the head, burned to death, arbitrarily arrested, tortured, or used as human shields.
On March 21, the US government formally determined that the Myanmar military committed the crime of genocide and crimes against humanity against ethnic Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. The US and like-minded governments should seek justice for grave international crimes against the Rohingya and other ethnic groups, as well as against the anti-coup protesters, and impose stronger economic measures against the military leadership, Human Rights Watch said.
The UN Security Council – largely because of concerns of a Chinese or Russian veto – has not taken substantive action in response to the Myanmar military’s atrocities. Nevertheless, the council should impose an arms embargo on Myanmar and refer the situation in Rakhine State to the International Criminal Court.
“The UN Security Council should act to help end the suffering of Myanmar’s people,” Maung said. “UN member countries should not keep waiting for the Security Council, however, and should take all possible action at the UN General Assembly and unilaterally to promote justice for Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-25
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"24 March 2022: The international community must ensure that leaders of the Myanmar military are prosecuted for genocide in international courts without further delay, following the United States (US) government determination that genocide was committed against the Rohingya, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
SAC-M welcomes the important US government determination that genocide and crimes against humanity were committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar. The determination could not be more urgent, having been delayed for three and a half years after the State Department’s own report documenting the atrocity crimes was first released, and as the military continues to commit massive violations against peoples across Myanmar.
“It is now incumbent on the US and the wider international community to ensure that leaders of the Myanmar military are held to account through criminal prosecutions in international courts,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “Accountability for the Myanmar military’s crimes against the Rohingya is urgently needed in addition to the proceedings seeking to determine Myanmar’s State responsibility for genocide before the International Court of Justice.”
One million Rohingya refugees continue to live in restricted camps in Bangladesh, with thousands more living precariously in other countries neighbouring Myanmar. Rohingya that remain in Myanmar are confined either to internment camps or remote villages and face ongoing violence and persecution from the military and security forces.
“Ensuring accountability for the grave crimes committed against the Rohingya is not only an obligation of the international community and an issue of justice for the victims. Without justice and accountability, there is no chance of ending the massive oppression and horrific violence still faced by the Rohingya and other peoples across Myanmar,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “The military will continue to commit atrocities unless and until its leaders are made accountable.”
SAC-M also welcomes the US government’s commitment of funding to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), which is tasked with collecting evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law in Myanmar, and with preparing files for criminal proceedings. However, at present, there remains no court willing and able to take such proceedings. Without a court able to act, the work of the IIMM is in vain.
The National Unity Government of Myanmar has accepted the full jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in Myanmar dating back to 2002, as well as that of the International Court of Justice in the case brought by The Gambia under the Genocide Convention, but these efforts have so far been ignored by the courts.
“If the international community will not engage with Myanmar’s democratically elected representatives in their efforts to secure justice and accountability, then the obligation falls to the international community itself to ensure – without further delay – that there is a tribunal with necessary jurisdiction where leaders of the Myanmar military can be prosecuted for genocide. If the International Criminal Court fails to undertake prosecution of Myanmar military leaders, this may require the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “The US Genocide determination is another important step towards justice for the Rohingya, but we cannot stop there.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-24
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, International Criminal Court (Myanmar), Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
91.16 KB
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Description:
" Thank you very much, and good morning, everyone. Stu, thank you for those very kind words, but also thank you for so many decades of extraordinary service to this country and to its ideals.
This is something of a sacred place for me. Every time I walk through these doors, it has the same impact. And so I’m grateful to Sara and her leadership of this institution; Naomi, who walked us through the extraordinary exhibit on the story, the plight of the Rohingya that we’ll be talking about today. I urge everyone: Come, see this. Experience this. It will speak incredibly powerful to you.
To the entire team behind this essential institution, behind the exhibit, thank you for your enduring efforts to teach us the darkest parts of history – and the work you’re doing to strive that the past does not become prologue. It’s your efforts that make this museum a living memorial. That is the incredible enduring power of this institution.
One of the unsettling truths of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is that there’s never a time I visit here when its lessons do not feel deeply resonant. But I have to tell you, I can recall few times when that history felt so urgent, or the responsibility it imparts on all of us so pressing.
As we meet, the Russian Government continues to wage its unprovoked, brutal war on Ukraine. Each day brings more harrowing attacks, more innocent men, women, and children killed.
That includes the five people who were killed in a strike on March 1st, on a TV tower and the surrounding area on the outskirts of Kyiv, the same site where, just over 80 years ago, 33,771 Jews were killed by the Nazis in just 2 days. Babyn Yar.
Ukraine is home to nearly 10,000 Holocaust survivors, including an 88-year-old woman, Natalia Berezhnaya of Odessa. Here’s what she said in a recent interview, and I quote: “It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that in 1941, I had to hide in the basement of this building, and that I’m going to have to do that again now.”
The Kremlin has tried to justify this war by falsely claiming that it’s intervening to stop genocide, abusing the term that we reserve for the gravest atrocities, disrespecting every victim of this heinous crime. Yet even as we are working to increase international pressure on the Kremlin to end this unjustified war, we know there are many other places in the world where horrific atrocities are being committed. Over recent weeks, as I’ve spoken with diplomats from around the world about Ukraine, I’ve also heard a constant refrain. Many of them say, “Yes, we stand with the people of Ukraine. But we must also stand with the people suffering atrocities in other places.”
Like Xinjiang, where the Chinese Government continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups. Like the atrocities committed in the conflict in Ethiopia by all parties to that conflict, as well as by Eritrean forces. And like the recent flare-up in Darfur, Sudan, which raises alarming echoes of past acts of genocide by Bashir’s government forces and the Janjaweed. Standing with victims of atrocities is what brings me here today.
One of my responsibilities as Secretary is determining, on behalf of the United States, whether atrocities have been committed. It’s an immense responsibility that I take very seriously, particularly given my family’s history.
Beyond the Holocaust, the United States has concluded that genocide was committed seven times. Today marks the eighth, as I have determined that members of the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya.
It’s a decision that I reached based on reviewing a factual assessment and legal analysis prepared by the State Department, which included detailed documentation by a range of independent, impartial sources, including human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as our own rigorous fact-finding.
Among those sources was a joint report, published in November 2017, by the museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide and the human rights group, Fortify Rights; and the museum’s determination, in December 2018, that there is compelling evidence that Burmese military committed crimes against humanity and genocide against Rohingya.
Given the gravity of this determination, it was also important that this administration conduct its own analysis of the facts and the law. (Inaudible) instances, the military used similar tactics targeting Rohingya: the razing of villages, killing, rape, torture, and other horrific abuses.
The military’s attacks in 2016 forced nearly 100,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. In 2017, attacks killed more than 9,000 Rohingya, and forced more than 740,000 to seek refuge in Bangladesh.
Let me take a moment to share some findings of this report, because they are a key part of how I arrived at my own determination.
The report was based on a survey of more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees living in Bangladesh, all of whom were displaced by the violence in 2016 or 2017. Three-quarters of those interviewed said that they personally witnessed members of the military kill someone. More than half witnessed acts of sexual violence. One in five witnessed a mass-casualty event – that is, the killing or injuring of more than 100 people in a single incident.
These percentages matter. They demonstrate that these abuses were not isolated cases. The attack against Rohingya was widespread and systematic, which is crucial for reaching a determination of crimes against humanity.
The evidence also points to a clear intent behind these mass atrocities – the intent to destroy Rohingya, in whole or in part. That intent has been corroborated by the accounts of soldiers who took part in the operation and later defected, such as one who said he was told by his commanding officer to, and I quote, “shoot at every sight of a person,” end quote – burn villages, rape and kill women, orders that he and his unit carried out.
Intent is evident in the racial slurs shouted by members of the Burmese military as they attacked Rohingya, the widespread attack on mosques, the desecration of Korans.
Intent is evident in the soldiers who bragged about their plans on social media, such as a lieutenant in the 33rd Light Infantry Division who, as he was deployed to Rakhine State in August 2017, wrote on his Facebook page, and I quote: “If they’re Bengali, they’ll be killed.” His unit is among those reported to have committed atrocities.
Intent is evident in public comments by Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Burmese military, who was overseeing the operation. On September 1, 2017, as soldiers were razing villages, killing, torturing, raping men, women, and children, he said this, and I quote: “The Bengali problem was a longstanding one that has become an unfinished job… The government in office is taking great care in solving it,” end quote.
This is the same man who, in 2021, would lead the military coup to overthrow Burma’s democratically-elected government, and who currently heads its repressive regime.
Intent is evident in the preparatory steps that soldiers took in the days leading up to the atrocities. In the village of Maung Nu, for example, soldiers started by confiscating Rohingyas’ kitchen knives and machetes. Then they imposed a curfew. Then they tied pieces of red cloth outside the homes of Rohingya and at a local mosque. And then, only then, did the killing start.
Intent is evident in the military’s efforts to prevent Rohingya from escaping, like soldiers blocking exits to villages before they began their attacks, sinking boats full of men, women, and children as they tried to flee to Bangladesh. This demonstrates the military’s intent went beyond ethnic cleansing to the actual destruction of Rohingya.
Percentages, numbers, patterns, intent: these are critically important to reach the determination of genocide. But at the same time, we must remember that behind each of these numbers are countless individual acts of cruelty and inhumanity.
Nura, a mother of four, begged soldiers not to rape her in front of her children, but she said, “They did what they wanted to my body.”
Harsa’s 12-year-old son was torn from her arms and forced to lie face down in front of her before soldiers began to stomp on his head and neck.
It’s painful to even read these accounts. And I ask you, I ask each and every one of you listening, put yourself in their place. Imagine this was your own child. Imagine. These stories force us to reckon with the immeasurable pain wrought by every heinous abuse.
That pain ripples outward, from the individual victims and survivors to loved ones, to friends, to entire communities. That is something I saw with my own step-father, Samuel Pisar, who carried with him the loss of his mother, his father, his little sister, and the horrors he’d experienced in the Holocaust, for the rest of his life.
We also must remember these individuals as more than victims, but rather as whole human beings, as mothers, as fathers, as sons, daughters.
People like Jomila and her 15-year-old son, Jahingir, whose story is part of the exhibit that I saw just a little while ago. Jahingir was one of dozens of Rohingya executed by soldiers in August 2017. (1) He was a boy with bright, inquisitive eyes, a dedicated student, who always had a book in his hand.
When soldiers arrived at his village, he hid his books, fearing soldiers would steal them. After he was killed, his mother carried those books with her as she fled to Bangladesh. She still carries them today.
Jomila is one Rohingya mother who lost a child. Out of thousands.
There’s another fundamental lesson in the Holocaust Museum’s powerful exhibit, which is found in its title: “Burma’s Path” – Burma’s Path – “to Genocide.” That’s the groundwork for genocide, the fact that it is laid far in advance, over years, even decades, through a steady process of dehumanization and demonization.
For example, tomorrow, March 22nd, is the day that the Nazis opened their first concentration camp, in Dachau, just 10 miles from Munich. That occurred in 1933, a dozen years – a dozen years – before my stepfather would be sent to that camp after his time in Majdanek and Auschwitz.
The museum’s exhibit that I toured shows us the long path to genocide in Burma, how Rohingya, who had been an integral part of Burma’s society for generations, saw their rights, saw their citizenship methodically stripped away.
In 1962, when the military staged its first coup, it canceled all Rohingya-language programming on the state-run broadcasting service.
In 1978, when the military used a nationwide campaign to register so-called foreigners as a pretext to terrorize Rohingya, forcing more than 200,000 to flee to Bangladesh.
In 1991, when soldiers carried out killings, rapes, massive destruction of Rohingya communities as part of the military’s so-called “Clean and Beautiful Nation,” driving an additional 250,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh.
The path is a familiar one, mirroring in so many ways the path to the Holocaust and other genocides.
We see it in the segregation of Rohingya into internally displaced persons camps in Rakhine State, the requirement that all Rohingya households register with the government.
We see it in Burma’s 1982 citizenship law, which effectively excluded Rohingya from citizenship and denied them full political rights, echoing the 1935 Nuremberg Laws that stripped Jews of their German citizenship.
We see parallels in the dehumanizing hate speech. Rohingya were compared to fleas, to thorns, to an invasive species, just at Tutsis were compared to cockroaches, and Jews to rats and parasites.
Understanding the contours of this path is a core part of the Holocaust Museum’s mission. It’s crucial to all of us who are committed to living up to the maxim of “Never again.” By learning to spot the signs of the worst atrocities, we’re empowered to prevent them.
And while today’s determination of genocide and crimes against humanity is focused on Rohingya, it’s also important to recognize that for decades the Burmese military has committed killings, rape, and other atrocities against members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. Reports of these abuses are widespread; they’re well documented. They’ve occurred in states across Burma. That history, and the determination we’re making today, are fundamental to understanding Burma’s current crisis.
Many of the military leaders who oversaw the genocidal campaign against Rohingya, including the general who led it, were also involved in abuses committed against other ethnic and religious minority groups. They’re the same military leaders who overthrew Burma’s democratically elected government on February 1st, 2021 and seized power. Since the coup, we’ve seen the Burmese military use many of the same tactics, only now the military is targeting anyone it sees as opposing or undermining its repressive rule: student protestors, pro-democracy activists, striking workers, journalists, health workers.
Twenty-two-year-old Thinzar Hein was a nursing student who went to protests to provide medical care to the wounded. On March 28, 2021, she was tending to three injured people at a protest in Monywa when soldiers approached and shot her in the head.
On December 24th, 2021, the military massacred at least 35 people, including women, children, two humanitarian aid workers in Kayah State, and then burned their bodies. According to a doctor who examined the bodies, almost every victim’s skull was fractured.
Since seizing power, the military has killed more than 1,670 men, women, and children, and unjustly detained at least 12,800 more in abysmal conditions.
The similarities in these atrocities underscore a fundamental truth of this museum and of history: People who are willing to commit atrocities against one group of people can swiftly be turned against another. This is the warning of the well-known poem by Martin Niemöller on the walls of this museum, which begins, as so many of us know, “First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out…”
And for those who did not realize it before the coup, the brutal violence that has followed has made clear that there is no one the Burmese military won’t come for. No one is safe from atrocities under its rule. And so more people in Burma now recognize that ending this crisis, restoring the path to democracy, starts with ensuring the human rights of all people in the country, including Rohingya.
The similarities also matter for the purpose of truth and accountability, something the United States has been working toward since the abuses occurred and continues to do to this day. The passage of time does not diminish this responsibility; if anything, it only makes our quest more urgent.
We strongly supported the UN Fact Finding Mission for Myanmar, and we’re doing the same for its successor, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, as it collects, preserves, and analyzes evidence of the most serious international crimes in Burma. We’re providing a wide range of support, including information, resources. And today, I can announce that we’re also contributing nearly a million dollars in additional funding.
We have also shared information with The Gambia in connection with the case it has filed against Burma under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice for the atrocities committed against Rohingya.
Even as we lay the foundation for future accountability, we’re also working to stop the military’s ongoing atrocities, press for the release of all those unjustly detained, support the people of Burma as they strive to put the country back on the track to democracy.
Alongside allies and partners, we’re imposing significant costs on the leaders who bear the greatest responsibility for atrocities. We’ve imposed targeted sanctions on 65 individuals, including top military commanders, senior officials, their family members. We’ve applied sanctions or export controls on 26 entities that were either implicated in human rights abuses or generate revenue for the military and its leaders. And we’ve prevented the regime from plundering Burma’s overseas reserves.
In June 2021, we’ve led efforts at the UN General Assembly to pass a resolution calling on member states to stop the flow of arms into Burma, which 119 countries supported and only one voted against. And in January, we joined 35 nations in calling for an end to the provision of all arms, materiel, and technical assistance to the Burmese military. All governments have a responsibility to keep the pressure on – a report released last month by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma found that China, Russia, and Serbia have all continued to supply the regime with weapons used against civilians since the coup.
We’re working closely with our allies and partners – in Asia, around Europe, at the G7, the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – to deny the regime the international access and credibility it craves.
We’re supporting ASEAN’s efforts to end the regime’s violence and seek a peaceful resolution to the crisis through its Five-Point Consensus, and we appreciate the work of ASEAN’s special envoy, Cambodia’s Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, who arrived in Burma today for his first visit as envoy. The foreign minister’s experience – and that of his country in enduring a genocide – gives crucial perspective on the issues at hand.
The United States also continues to provide significant support to help meet the immediate humanitarian needs of Rohingya and all affected by their persecution – nearly $1.6 billion since 2017 for everything from shelter and education, specialized mental health and psychosocial support for the victims of trauma.
I want to recognize the exceptional generosity of Bangladesh in hosting over 900,000 Rohingya refugees, including its recent efforts to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya as part of its national COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
I’ve spoken today about the path to genocide. But let me close by saying something about the path out of genocide.
Today’s determination is one step on that path as it tells Rohingya, and victims in particular, that the United States government recognizes the gravity of the atrocities committed against them. And it affirms Rohingyas’ human rights and dignity, something the Burmese military has tried to destroy.
In the wake of the coup, we’ve seen growing solidarity with Rohingya across Burma, including an important commitment by the “National Unity Government” to ensure that the human rights of Rohingya – and of all ethnic and religious minority groups – are respected.
Of course, the path out of genocide also runs through justice. And while today that justice may feel elusive, to look around this room is to get a sense of just how determined people are to end the Burmese military’s decades-long impunity. And there are many of us.
Rohingya activists who have dedicated their lives to defending the rights of members of their community, several of whom are here today. And thank you for being with us.
Local and international human rights organizations, which have spent years documenting atrocities against Rohingya and other ethnic and religious groups in Burma.
Members of the United States Congress, who have demonstrated sustained bipartisan leadership in condemning the atrocities committed against Rohingya, providing humanitarian assistance, supporting the democratic aspirations of the people of Burma.
And of course, the courageous Rohingya survivors who have been willing to come forward to share their stories, to provide accounts of what they experienced.
The case files are growing. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar alone has collected more than 1.5 million items of evidence and information, including witness testimonies, documents, messages, photos, videos, geospatial imagery, social media pages.
Efforts are moving forward, not only at the International Court of Justice, but also through the International Criminal Court and through the domestic courts of Argentina, in a case brought under universal jurisdiction.
The day will come when those responsible for these appalling acts will have to answer for them.
Ultimately, the path out of genocide also leads home. Last week, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees released a report based on interviews with thousands of Rohingya refugees across the region. It found that, despite all they have endured, despite decades of being told they do not belong, two out of three Rohingya refugees still want to be able to return home to Burma one day – as long as they can do it safely, with dignity, with human rights, which is not possible now.
And so, with today’s determination, the United States reaffirms its broader commitment to accompany Rohingya on this path out of genocide – toward truth, toward accountability, toward a home that will welcome them as equal members, that will respect their human rights and dignity, alongside that of all people in Burma..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of State
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-23
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Individual Documents
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Human Rights and international relations, Atrocities against Groups - documents, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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"The Arakan Rohingya National Organisation welcomes the US decision to recognise the Rohingya genocide. ARNO has been advocating in its discussions with the US Government for the genocide declaration since 2014 given the significant actions that have been taken since the 1960’s against the Rohingya. The 2017 genocidal purge in the Arakan was the latest in a long line of events that finally caught the international community’s attention in a manner that propelled many different processes into action.
The US decision to recognize the Rohingya genocide comes at an important time not only as the Rohingya people continue to languish in Burma, but also for all our brothers and sisters in the Karen, Kachin, Chin, and Shan communities which are daily targets of violence at the hands of the Burmese military (Tatmadaw).
Given the US position on the Rohingya genocide, ARNO welcomes the following actions by the US:
First, the US should push the United Nations or similar actors to create a Burma/Myanmar Truth and Clarification Commission, as ARNO has repeatedly requested over the last few years, in order to document and clarify the historical and current record of the depth and nature of the Rohingya genocide.
Since the February 2021 coup, it has become clear that the Truth and Clarification Commission should be broadened so that all ethnic minority groups in Burma can participate and work on the same challenges that they are facing at the hands of the Tatmadaw.
ARNO encourages the United States to support a Truth Commission as it did for the Guatemala Historical Clarification Commission in the 1990s.
Second, ARNO encourages the US to pursue a complete and total arms embargo on the Tatmadaw and known associates and allies which are also selling arms to the Tatmadaw.
Finally, ARNO encourages the US to exercise Universal Jurisdiction through all possible avenues to prosecute the Tatmadaw and all known entities which have allowed for racism, corruption, and all avenues to exist which have and continue to enable the genocide.
ARNO is grateful for continued US aid to the Rohingya in camps in Bangladesh, for its advocacy of Rohingya people throughout the world, and is grateful for its commitment to granting Rohingya people status in the United States to live a life that has enabled them and people within ARNO to continue advocating for their people..."
Source/publisher:
Arakan Rohingya National Organisatioo
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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Sub-title:
Youth groups made up of Rakhine and Rohingya members are coming up with solutions to shared challenges in Myanmar’s ethnically divided Rakhine State.
Description:
"On a blue-sky winter’s day in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, hundreds of people from two neighbouring villages – one populated by ethnic Rakhine people and the other by the minority Rohingya ethnic group – stream into an open field. The atmosphere is cheerful and festive as crowds gather around a large makeshift sports ground.
As a football match between teams made up of Rakhine and Rohingya players commences, Myint Swe looks on with pride. “It took several weeks of planning for us to organize this event,” says the 32-year-old from Pyar La Chaung, the Rakhine village.
Also watching from the sidelines is 20-year-old Maung Kyaw Maung from Pyin Chay, the Rohingya village that is 10 minutes away by foot from the Rakhine one. “Youths from both villages came together to make this possible,” he says.
The duo is part of an eight-member youth group that organized the event. Officially called the Youth Development Committee, it is made up of four young people from the two villages who were elected by their respective communities to come up with solutions to shared challenges and to organize joint activities like the football match.
Stories of collaboration across ethnic lines are relatively rare in Rakhine State, where ethnic and religious divisions have long impacted intercommunal relations. While the region has been largely spared the violence experienced in other parts of Myanmar following the military takeover of 1 February 2021, historical wounds from previous conflicts have yet to fully heal.
There have been several waves of violence and displacement since the early 1990s. Among the most significant were intercommunal violence in 2012 and, five years later, the crisis that forced more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee across the border to Bangladesh. In total, some 1.6 million Rohingya are living as refugees, mainly in Bangladesh, Malaysia and India. Another 148,000 out of 600,000 Rohingya remaining in Myanmar are displaced across Rakhine State.
See also: UNHCR steps up aid for displaced in Myanmar as conflict intensifies
Their prospects for being able to return home in the near future remain slim. In addition to the continued insecurity affecting both the Rohingya and the Rakhine communities, Rakhine State is a region with limited economic opportunities.
The Rohingya live in particularly precarious conditions after decades of being denied basic rights, including citizenship, freedom of movement and access to basic services such as education and health care. While improvements to living conditions have been made in the last decade, there has been no tangible progress in the areas of citizenship and documentation.
As part of efforts to address these challenges, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has been working with partners to foster greater social cohesion between the two ethnic groups, and reduce the likelihood of future intercommunal violence.
The successful organization of the sports day event involving the Rakhine and Rohingya villages is the culmination of a year-long rural youth empowerment project run by ACTED, an international NGO and partner of UNHCR.
“Youths play a special role in shaping intercommunal dynamics,” explains Htin Kyaw Min, a project manager at ACTED. “They can act as changemakers in strengthening dialogue, decision-making, and conflict resolution, not only within, but also between their communities.”
“We have a lot in common.”
The Youth Development Committee Maung Kyaw Maung and Myint Swe are part of, is one of six established by ACTED under the project. Members of each group are given training on leadership, peacebuilding, business development, vocational skills and first aid, among other things. They then work with village elders and administrators to identify needs and implement joint solutions benefitting both communities.
The training has inspired members to come up with income-generating activities that serve both their communities. “The business development training gave us the idea to buy tables and chairs which are used for community events like today’s sports day. When not in use, we plan to rent them out to other villages to generate some income,” says Myint Swe. “We want to use the money earned to finish construction of a road linking both our villages.”
By promoting social integration and economic empowerment for both the Rakhine and Rohingya communities, the youth empowerment project aims to foster conditions that will help restore the fundamental rights of the Rohingya and pave the way for them to return home safely.
“We have a lot in common,” says Myint Swe, noting that both villages lack education, but especially the Rohingya one. “We try our best to help one another gain more skills. Knowledge is very important and helps to maintain peace.”
“Previously, interaction between our villages was less frequent,” says Maung Kyaw Maung. “Now, we are on friendlier terms with each other.”..."
Source/publisher:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-23
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
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Description:
"Today, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken announced that the United States has determined that the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya people.
All of us are grateful for the committed and forceful advocacy of Rohingya survivors of this genocide---survivors who have already demonstrated unimaginable resilience and bravery in the face of horror---as well as a range of organizations who have worked to document the Burmese military's crimes. Genocide is the intentional attempt to destroy a group of people, and the evidence that the Burmese military sought to eradicate the Rohingya is extensive and searing. As a result of the military's atrocities, women were forced to gather their families and flee under cover of darkness. Young children witnessed their families slaughtered, and their parents assaulted. From Burma to Bangladesh, hundreds of thousands of survivors have left behind the lives they knew, forced to choose the uncertainty of escape over the certain death of staying behind.
Today's genocide determination is an important step in bringing accountability on behalf of Rohingya survivors and victims. As Secretary Blinken noted, the United States is supporting the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and sharing information with The Gambia to support the case it is pursuing against Burma under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice. The United States is also the world's leading donor in providing the survivors of this genocide with life-saving assistance. We provide urgent humanitarian assistance to nearly one million Rohingya refugees who currently live in Bangladesh---in the world's largest refugee settlement in Cox's Bazar district---as well as the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya and millions of other conflicted-affected people who remain in Burma.
Working alongside our partners, USAID and the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration will continue to provide food, livelihoods, nutrition, and protection services, among other assistance, to millions of refugees, IDPs and host community members throughout Burma and across the Cox's Bazar district. And we will continue to do everything possible to support the 620,000 ethnic Rohingya who remain in Rakhine State in Burma where their lives continue to be severely restricted.
In recognizing these atrocities as genocide, we acknowledge not just the horrific nature of the violence perpetrated by the Burmese military, but our obligation to support the Rohingya in their pursuit of justice..."
Source/publisher:
US Agency for International Development (Washington, D.C.) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-22
[field_licence]
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Individual Documents
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Description:
"The Biden administration has declared that Myanmar's military has committed genocide against the Rohingya minority.
The US has seen evidence pointing to a clear intent to destroy the Rohingya, with reports of killings, mass rape and arson, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday.
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar since the military crackdown that began in 2017.
More than 6,000 people were killed in the first month of the onslaught.
Speaking at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC, Mr Blinken called the attacks against Rohingya "widespread and systematic".
He said said the administration's determination was based on a review by the US state department that included documents gathered by organisations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as independent research by the US.
Mr Blinken announced the US would provide $1m (£758,000) in new funding for the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which continues to examine atrocities.
A case against Myanmar, also called Burma, was opened at the International Court of Justice in 2019.
"The day will come when those responsible for these appalling acts will have to answer for them," Mr Blinken said.
Myanmar: What has been happening since the coup?
A civilian government was in charge when the military launched its campaign, but in 2021 the military took power in a coup. Mr Blinken said that since the coup, the military continues to use the same tactics.
"For those who did not realise it before the coup, the brutal violence unleashed by the military since February 2021 has made clear that no one in Burma will be safe from atrocities so long as it is in power," he said.
The Rohingya, who numbered about one million in Myanmar before the attacks on them, are one of the many ethnic minorities in the country.
Rohingya Muslims represent the largest percentage of Muslims in Myanmar, with the majority living in Rakhine state.
But the government of Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, denies the Rohingya citizenship and even excluded them from the 2014 census, refusing to recognise them as a people.
When US President Joe Biden took office 14 months ago, Mr Blinken pledged to conduct a fresh review of the issue.
Two previous US investigations failed to reach a conclusion.
A ruling of genocide does not automatically lead to punitive action by the US, but it is hoped it will put pressure on the Myanmar military.
"It's going to make it harder for them to commit further abuses," a senior State Department official told Reuters.
There has so far been no comment from the military authorities in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
BBC News (London)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-22
[field_licence]
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Description:
"The Biden administration has formally determined that Myanmar's military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, a US official told CNN on Sunday.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will publicly announce the determination, which human rights groups have been advocating for years, at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, on Monday.
Reuters first reported on the administration's recognition of genocide.
Until now, the US had stopped short of declaring the atrocities -- including mass killings and rape -- committed in 2017 against the Muslim minority Rohingya population a genocide. The violence forced nearly a million people to flee, and the United Nations recommended that top military officials face genocide charges.
"I applaud the Biden administration for finally recognizing the atrocities committed against the Rohingya as genocide. While this determination is long overdue, it is nevertheless a powerful and critically important step in holding this brutal regime to account," Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement Sunday.
America, the Oregon Democrat said, "must lead the world to make it clear that atrocities like these will never be allowed to be buried unnoticed, no matter where they occur."
A US State Department report released quietly in 2018 found that violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar's northern Rakhine State was "extreme, large-scale, widespread, and seemingly geared toward both terrorizing the population and driving out the Rohingya residents."
The State Department has sanctioned a number of Myanmar military officials, including commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing, for their role in committing those human rights abuses.
This story has been updated with comments from Sen. Jeff Merkley..."
Source/publisher:
CNN Politics
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-21
[field_licence]
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"The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) welcomes today’s determination by the United States’ Department of State that genocide has been committed against the Rohingya people.
“The US determination of the crime of genocide against us is a momentous moment and must lead to concrete action to hold the Burmese military accountable for their crimes,” said Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK.
In 2018, United States investigators produced a 15,000 page investigation documenting atrocities committed in 2017 against the Rohingya, which included more than 13,000 instances of “grave human rights violations”, including gang rapes, crucifixions, mutilations, and of children being burned or drowned, and of families being locked inside homes that had been set alight.
Also in 2018 the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar published the results of its investigation, finding that the human rights violations committed against the Rohingya amounted to genocide. In 2019 the Fact-Finding Mission stated that the genocide was ongoing.
“This designation lets Rohingya know that their voices have been heard amid the cruel suffering they continue to endure,” said Tun Khin. “In Burma the Rohingya face denial of our identity, our rights and denial of the human rights violations committed against us. Rohingya faced genocide, one of the most terrible crimes imaginable, and then faced the international community not even acknowledging it had happened. Today the US has gone a long way to correcting that.”
Since the attempted military coup on 1st February 2021, the Burmese military has used deadly force across the country. Half a million people have been displaced and around 12,000 people arrested. 600,000 Rohingya remain in Burma and there are concerns that the military may once again whip up nationalist prejudice against the Rohingya in an attempt to deflect people from resistance to military rule.
“There is no doubt that being allowed to get away with genocide of the Rohingya encouraged the military to think it could get away with holding a coup as well,” said Tun Khin. “Accountability for Rohingya genocide will not just help protect the Rohingya, it will help protect all the people of Burma.”
The Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK calls for the US and other countries to follow this determination with concrete action against the military. This should include:
Sanction Myanmar Oil & Gas Enterprise (MOGE), Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank and other entities facilitating the flow of gas revenue to the military.
Join the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
Systematically sanction military, state-owned and private Burmese companies helping to finance the Burmese military.
Sanction Burmese companies involved in the supply and manufacture of arms for the military.
Sanction the supply of aviation fuel to Burma to help stop airstrikes against civilians.
Apply pressure on countries supplying arms to the Burmese military to persuade them to stop.
Support in principle for the referral of Burma to the International Criminal Court.
Significantly increased aid to genocide survivors in Bangladesh and other countries, and advocate for Bangladesh to adopt long-term policies for hosting Rohingya refugees, including immediate access to education for all Rohingya children..."
Source/publisher:
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Ethnic Cleansing, Human Rights and international relations
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Description:
"Responding to reports that the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to announce that Myanmar’s military has committed genocide and crimes against humanity during its violent campaign against the Rohingya minority, Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s Interim Regional Director, said:
“Nearly five years after 740,000 people were driven from their homes at gunpoint in 2017, Rohingya families and survivors have yet to receive justice for the unimaginable horrors inflicted upon them. Momentum for international justice must be accelerated to end the rampant culture of impunity in Myanmar, where no senior figures have ever faced the consequences of their appalling campaign against the Rohingya people.
“Without accountability, Myanmar’s military will continue to believe it has a blank check to murder innocent people, bomb their homes, and destroy their families. Amnesty International supports the call for the investigation and prosecution of senior military officials for crimes under international law in Myanmar, which include crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
“The same generals who implemented the authorities’ brazen campaign of bloodshed against the Rohingya seized power in a 2021 coup. In response to a nationwide protest movement, they then turned their weapons on youth protesters in Myanmar’s biggest cities, deploying violent tactics previously used to target ethnic minorities for decades.”
Background:
The administration of US President Joe Biden is set to formally declare on 21 March that the Myanmar military’s 2017 campaign against the Rohingya amounted to genocide and crimes against humanity. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to make the announcement at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Myanmar’s military drove out more than 740,000 Rohingya from Rakhine State into Bangladesh in a brutal campaign of extrajudicial killings, arson and sexual assault. An estimated one million Rohingya refugees now live in Bangladesh, and many of their homes back in Rakhine State have been wiped from the map.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar previously called for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other senior officials to be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Min Aung Hlaing seized power in a coup in the early hours of 1 Feb. 2021.
There are multiple international efforts to provide justice to the Rohingya people, including a genocide case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). A separate case is ongoing in Argentina under the concept of universal jurisdiction.
Amnesty International has called on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.
In 2017, Amnesty International’s research in Rakhine State detailed a vicious system of institutionalized discrimination and segregation that severely restricted the human rights of the minority Rohingya Muslims. This system – amounting to apartheid – threatens and undermines freedom of movement, ability to access adequate food and healthcare, and right to an education..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-21
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar
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Description:
" Violent repression of the largely Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar amounts to genocide, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, a declaration intended to both generate international pressure and lay the groundwork for potential legal action.
Watch the briefing in the player above.
Authorities made the determination based on confirmed accounts of mass atrocities on civilians by Myanmar’s military in a widespread and systematic campaign against the ethnic minority, Blinken said in a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
It is the eighth time since the Holocaust that the U.S. has concluded a genocide has occurred. The secretary of state noted the importance of calling attention to inhumanity even as horrific attacks occur elsewhere in the world, including Ukraine.
“Yes, we stand with the people of Ukraine,” he said. “And we must also stand with people who are suffering atrocities in other places.”
The government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, is already under multiple layers of U.S. sanctions since a military coup ousted the democratically elected government in February 2021. Thousands of civilians throughout the country have been killed and imprisoned as part of ongoing repression of anyone opposed to the ruling junta.
The determination that a genocide has occurred could lead other nations to increase pressure on the government, which is already facing accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
“As we lay the foundation for future accountability, we’re also working to stop the military’s ongoing atrocities, and support the people of Burma as they strive to put the country back on the path to democracy,” Blinken said.
Rohingya, from Muslim Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, faced systematic persecution at the hands of the Buddhist majority for decades under both the military junta that ruled the nation for decades as well as the democratically elected government.
WATCH: Meet the new generation driving Myanmar’s resistance
More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar to refugee camps in Bangladesh since August 2017, when the military launched an operation aimed at clearing them from the country following attacks by a rebel group.
The status of the plight of the Rohingya had been under extended review by U.S. government legal experts since the Trump administration, given potential legal ramifications of such a finding. The delay in the determination had drawn criticism from both inside and outside the government.
“While this determination is long overdue, it is nevertheless a powerful and critically important step in holding this brutal regime to account,” said Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley.
Human rights groups also welcomed the determination, which is similar to findings already made by other countries, including Canada, France and Turkey.
“The U.S. determination of the crime of genocide against us is a momentous moment and must lead to concrete action to hold the Burmese military accountable for their crimes,” said Tun Khin, president of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK.
Human Rights Watch said the U.S. and other governments should seek justice for crimes carried out by the military and impose stronger sanctions against its leadership.
“The U.S. government should couple its condemnations of Myanmar’s military with action,” said John Sifton, the group’s Asia advocacy director. “For too long, the U.S. and other countries have allowed Myanmar’s generals to commit atrocities with few real consequences.”
A 2018 State Department report documented instances of Myanmar’s military razing villages and carrying out rapes, tortures and mass killings of civilians since at least 2016. Blinken said evidence showed the violence wasn’t isolated, but part of a systematic program that amounts to crimes against humanity.
“The evidence also points to a clear intent behind these mass atrocities, the intent to destroy Rohingya, in whole or in part, through killings, rape, and torture,” he said.
Previous determinations of genocide by the U.S. include campaigns against Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities in China as well as in Bosnia, Rwanda, Iraq and Darfur..."
Source/publisher:
PBS News Hour
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-21
[field_licence]
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Individual Documents
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Description:
"Please see below statement from Refugees International Deputy Director for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East Daniel P. Sullivan:
“The United States will finally recognize the crimes committed against the Rohingya people for what they are: genocide and crimes against humanity. The U.S. genocide declaration is a welcome and profoundly meaningful step. It is also a solid sign of commitment to justice for all the people who continue to face abuses by the military junta to this very today.
Rohingya refugees and diaspora have long called for this recognition, with the support of Members of Congress, legal experts, and advocacy groups like Refugees International alike. This is a day to celebrate a significant victory. But it is also time to redouble efforts to hold the perpetrators of that genocide accountable and to prevent future atrocities.
The United States must now use the momentum of this genocide determination to spur concrete actions. While several steps have been taken to increase pressure on the Burmese junta since its coup in February 2021, effective global coordination is lacking. The United States must use the gravity of the genocide determination to lead a new diplomatic push, including with Myanmar’s neighbors in Southeast Asia, for further targeted sanctions, an arms embargo, and support for evidence collection and accountability efforts before the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.
The United States can also show solidarity with Rohingya survivors by maintaining humanitarian assistance for the million Rohingya who have sought refuge in Bangladesh and by working with Bangladesh to offer resettlement to Rohingya refugees in the United States.”
Refugees International has urged U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to make a Rohingya genocide determination, including through a joint letter from 95 organizations. The letter builds on Refugees International’s efforts with the previous U.S. administration as part of the #CallitGenocide campaign, which included a nearly 9,000-signature petition and a legal and human rights experts letter (signed by two senior officials in the Biden administration). Refugees International’s analysis on why the attacks on the Rohingya constitute genocide can be found here..."
Source/publisher:
Refugees International via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-20
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာ သတင်းလွှာ အတွဲ(၁)၊ အမှတ် (၈)
ထုတ်ပြန်ခြင်း ( ၈ မတ် ၂၀၂၂)
"လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာ သတင်းလွှာအား နှစ်ပတ်တစ်ကြိမ်ထုတ်ပြန်ပါမည်။"
- နယ်သာလန် သည်ဟ်ဂ်မြို့က ရိုဟင်ဂျာအရေး သတင်းစာ ရှင်းလင်းပွဲ
- နိုင်ငံတဝန်းရှိ ဖမ်းဆီး၊သတ်ဖြတ်၊ ဖိနှိပ်နေမှုများ
- စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်းအတွင်း ဖမ်းဆီး သတ်ဖြတ်ခံရမှုများ
- နယ်မြေရှင်းလင်းရေး၊ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုတိုက်ဖျက်ရေးများစသည့် စကားလုံးများ သုံးနေစေကာမူ လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ချိုးဖောက်မှု့များကို မည်သို့မျှ ဖုံးကွယ်၍ မရနိုင် Op-Ed
- Code of Conduct..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Human Rights
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-12
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Discrimination against the Rohingya, National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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1.74 MB
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"On Feb. 21, the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) held a fresh round of hearings into the genocide case brought by Gambia against Myanmar in 2019 concerning the military operations against the Rohingya in 2017.
The ICJ allowed the junta to represent Myanmar despite objections from international organizations and Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government (NUG), which said the move risked legitimizing the junta’s unlawful seizure of power in a coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
Ahead of the planned court hearings, the NUG government released a statement saying it “accepts the jurisdiction of the court and withdraws all preliminary objections in the genocide case” and unsuccessfully urged the international body to cancel the planned hearings.
Junta-appointed representatives led by its international cooperation minister U Ko Ko Hlaing and advocate general Daw Thidar Oo presented four points at the hearings insisting that the case was inadmissible because the court lacks jurisdiction.
Human rights lawyer and Legal Aid Network founder U Aung Htoo recently talked to The Irrawaddy about the latest developments in the case.
Both Myanmar and Gambia have presented arguments at the ICJ. What is your overall assessment of the case? Do you think the junta-appointed defense team has made a better or worse defense than the team of the ousted National League for Democracy (NLD) government led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?
Overall, the regime’s lawyers were not able to present new facts. Most of the facts they presented were old ones [presented by the NLD government’s team]. So I assume Gambia’s rebuttals are more legally plausible. I don’t know how the court will decide. But in my opinion, the court will decide that it has jurisdiction over the case.
The ICJ accepted the regime as the representative of Myanmar at the hearings in February. Many raised objections to that. Is it fair to say that the regime has an advantage due to the court’s acceptance of it as representing Myanmar?
The regime might have calculated so. It is possible that the court’s acceptance [of the regime’s representatives] could have a political impact on the NUG’s bid for legitimacy on the international stage. The NUG might be concerned about that. But there are many legal problems on the side of the ICJ, I think.
Firstly, the ICJ is a part of the United Nations [UN], so it must comply with the principles and norms of the UN. The ICJ needs to acknowledge that the UN retains U Kyaw Moe Tun [who has declared his support for the NUG] as Myanmar’s representative to [the UN]. What the NUG has pointed out is correct. The ICJ is responsible for seeing that fact.
Secondly, international law states that there must be a fair and public trial. The ICJ is well aware that the defense team was led by [civilian leader] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi when Myanmar offered its defense before the coup, that the Myanmar military has since seized power in a coup, and that the new representatives of Myanmar are appointed by the junta. The NUG has proposed sending its own representative to the court hearings. The ICJ however did not make enquiries in response to the NUG’s request, and allowed the junta-appointed representatives to speak at the court hearings on Feb. 21. This is contrary to a fair and public hearing, which is the established norm of international law.
Section 31 of the ICJ’s Rules of Court state that “the President shall ascertain the views of the parties with regard to questions of procedure, and for this purpose he shall summon the agents of the parties to meet him as soon as possible after their appointment.” But in the case of its latest hearings on Myanmar, the president did not apply that procedure. He made the decision on his own [to accept the junta as representing Myanmar].
The ICJ has violated the norm of a fair and public trial. At the same time, the prosecution, Gambia, did not point that out. It unquestioningly accepted the junta as representing Myanmar at the Court. This has prompted us to examine its intention in accepting it. Gambia knows that the military seized power in a coup, and Myanmar’s legal defense team has changed. But, it did not complain, and did not even bother to mention it.
The NUG has asked the ICJ to allow it to represent Myanmar at the court. But it did not explain why the jurisdiction of the court should be accepted. Perhaps Gambia is worried that the way the NUG is approaching the case might not move in its desired direction.
To what extent will the regime’s post-coup atrocities impact the case at the ICJ?
The nature of the court is to seek justice. In so doing, a court has to take into consideration the events that happened before, during and after said crime. The ICJ will however not consider the events that happened after the coup in Myanmar, which is sad for Myanmar. It does not view [post-coup atrocities] as evidence [of the Myanmar military’s previous crimes]. Moreover, it unquestioningly accepted junta representatives without following standard court procedures. This clearly shows that post-coup events will not influence the court in its decision.
To what extent can Rohingya refugees expect justice in this case?
This concerns the entire Myanmar people. Firstly, the whole [population] need to change their mindset and stance. There are two views: One is to uphold the principle of national interests, and another is justice based on humanity. Before the military coup, many viewed the case from the perspective of national interests. It was about defending Myanmar and its national interests—Myanmar must win and Gambia must lose. Frankly speaking, that stance is not correct.
Today, we need to reconsider that stance. We need to change our stance in favor of justice based on humanity for the Rohingya people. If we do so, there will be real hope for Rohingya people to get justice.
Considering the delays and inconsistencies that are typical of international courts, are Myanmar people wrong to hope that international mechanisms can achieve justice in regards to oppression in the country?
It is a good question. In short, it is not a false hope. It can in no way be a false hope. Mostly it depends on how you approach the international judicial mechanism.
Since the end of the pro-democracy uprising in 1988, [opposition forces in Myanmar] have approached every issue from the perspective of national reconciliation, instead of punishing the military, which has committed serious crimes. Political leaders have never tried to take action against Myanmar’s military. The perpetrators were never punished. Even if the perpetrators of serious crimes could not be punished for the sake of national reconciliation, something should have been done. Reforms should have been undertaken of the judicial and security organizations to prevent military leaders from committing similar crimes in the future. I mean institutional reforms should have been carried out within the military, military intelligence, police and so on. But, it has not been possible to do those things for reasons of national reconciliation.
Secondly, restorative justice has not been done for victims of serious crimes. As a result, successive military leaders have become more daring in committing national crimes, believing they can do anything with impunity.
I mean we have failed to effectively stop the military from enjoying impunity, and we support it indirectly by covering up its crimes. So, military leaders have continued to commit crimes flagrantly. This ultimately resulted in the exodus of more than 700,000, or perhaps 1 million, Rohingya people. [Political leaders] continued to defend the Myanmar military even after it committed such serious crimes.
Before the coup on Feb. 1, 2021, Myanmar people, major political parties and political leaders did not rely on or effectively cooperate with international judicial mechanisms.
At the same time, the military elites led by Min Aung Hlaing—who is as evil as can be—do not deserve the loving-kindness of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She wants to see peaceful change in the country. She paved the way for military leaders and defended them. But the traitors are ungrateful. They don’t want to see peaceful change in the country. What they care about is maintaining their grip on power. Even a dog does not bite the hand that feeds it, but they don’t just bite, they actually harm the person [who protects them] as well as the entire country.
The junta’s lawyers claimed during the ICJ court hearings that Gambia is too reliant on the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission (UNFFM) report, and that they failed to assess the correctness of the report. In fact, the UNFFM report contains sufficient evidence to build a case. But the regime’s lawyers argued that the report alone is not enough to charge Myanmar. Such cases are quite unpredictable. [The case] may be dropped if the prosecution side can’t provide sufficient evidence to convince the court that the defendant had genocidal intent in committing those crimes.
So, we have to look for the reverse of what we had expected before. If Myanmar wins the case [at the ICJ], it amounts to putting a lethal weapon in the hands of a fool. So, we need to help Gambia win the case. Who will support that?
The military regime will never follow provisional measures adopted by the ICJ. So, the NUG, which has sought to represent Myanmar at the ICJ, can follow the provisional measures. At the federal level, there is the NUG. In Rakhine State, there is the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA). There is the [parallel] government formed by the ULA/AA in Rakhine. It is very good. So if the federal-level NUG and state-level ULA/AA governments work together and follow provisional measures, the truth will emerge, which is good for the international judicial mechanism and the Rohingya, as well as Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-10
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar, Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG)
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"Media release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
The Argentinian judiciary has asked the social media giant Facebook to clarify its role in fuelling the ongoing genocide against the Rohingya people and to share evidence crucial to holding the Myanmar military to account, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) said today.
In an order issued on 24 February, but only recently shared with BROUK, the Federal Court in Buenos Aires requested Facebook to share evidence of anti-Rohingya hate speech on its platform, including from accounts linked to senior Myanmar military officials.
The move is part of the universal jurisdiction case on the Rohingya genocide that was opened in Argentina last year after a petition from BROUK.
“For years, Facebook has put profit before the lives of the Rohingya people. When military forces rampaged through Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017, Facebook turned a blind eye to the hatred that was being spewed on its own platform,” said Tun Khin, President of BROUK.
“This order by the Argentinian judiciary is a crucial step towards accountability for a genocide that is still going on today. Facebook must come clean about what evidence it has gathered and what steps it has taken to ensure that its platform will never again be used to facilitate some of the worst crimes known to humanity.”
In 2016 and 2017, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military) launched vicious operations in Rakhine State which killed thousands of Rohingya women, men and children, and drove close to 800,000 to flee into Bangladesh.
There is much evidence that Facebook, the overwhelmingly most popular social media platform in Myanmar, was used to vilify the Rohingya before, during and after the campaigns. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar in 2019 concluded that “Facebook is the leading platform for hate speech in Myanmar” and that the company has a responsibility to tackle its spread.
While Facebook has since taken some positive steps – including strengthening monitoring in Myanmar language and banning military-linked accounts – activists and human rights groups have consistently said that the company’s efforts fall short of what is required.
The Argentinian judiciary now plans to reach out to Facebook to ask for evidence of which accounts and pages have been blocked or deleted since 2016 for spreading anti-Rohingya propaganda. The order further asks which pages belong to specific senior military and civilian officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, the Tatmadaw Commander in Chief and architect of the military coup in Myanmar in February 2021.
Facebook will also be asked to spell out how its own algorithms might have facilitated the spread of hatred against the Rohingya, and what steps the company has taken to prevent the dissemination of hate speech in the future.
The request from the court order will proceed under the treaty signed by the Governments of Argentina and the USA on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters in 1990.
“This order by the Argentinian judiciary is crucial in demonstrating that Facebook must do much more to stem the flow of hatred, not only against Rohingya but against repressed people all over the world,” said Tun Khin.
“Facebook must also be transparent and share what information it has collected about anti-Rohingya propaganda on its platform. Such evidence will be key in holding the Myanmar military to account for its crimes against the people of Myanmar. Only justice can break the cycle of violence in Myanmar, and Facebook must play its part in making this a reality.”
Background
On 13 November 2019, BROUK petitioned Argentinean Courts to open an investigation into the role of Myanmar’s civilian and military leaders in committing genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya. Under the principle of universal jurisdiction, such crimes can be investigated anywhere in the world regardless of where they were committed.
On 28 November 2021, the Argentinian judiciary took the historic decision to accept the case and begin the first-ever universal jurisdiction trial anywhere in the world regarding the Rohingya..."
Source/publisher:
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-07
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"BIREUEN, Indonesia, March 6 (Reuters) - Over 100 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar arrived by boat on the shores of Indonesia's Aceh province in the early hours of Sunday, an NGO group at the scene said.
Authorities were unsure for how long the 114 refugees, including 35 children, had been at sea, but some needed medical assistance when they arrived in Bireuen, Aceh, Nurul Yana Daba, a volunteer for the NGO Aksi Cepat Tanggap, told reporters.
"One female refugee got swellings on her arms and legs and is unable to stand or walk, while one man, maybe because they've been at sea for too long, is a bit malnourished," Nurul said.
Mukhtar, a local villager, said the Rohingya refugees walked into his village to seek help.
"They were asking for protection. We will leave it to the government. We are taking them in because it's the humane thing to do," he said.
Local official Alfian said villagers arranged food for the refugees but did not expect they would stay long at his village.
In December, the Indonesian navy rescued more than 100 Rohingya refugees who were adrift on a sinking boat off the western coast of Indonesia. After initial resistance to let them disembark, the authorities relented and subsequently bowed to international pressure to give them refuge.
Indonesia is not a signatory to the 1951 U.N. Convention on Refugees and is predominately seen as a transit country for those seeking asylum to a third country.
More than 730,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar after a military-led crackdown in 2017, and were forced into squalid camps across the border in Bangladesh. U.N. investigators concluded that the military campaign had been executed with "genocidal intent".
Some have fled by sea, sailing to countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia between November and April when the seas are calm. Hundreds of them came to Aceh in intervals in recent years..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-06
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Local URL:
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Description:
"Jennifer Leigh, Alexander Blum, Agnes Petty, Andrea Woods, Parveen Parmar & Chris Beyrer
Conflict and Health volume 16, Article number: 9 (2022)
Abstract
Background
Documenting perpetrators of human rights violations enables effective prosecution and can help prevent future atrocities. Doing so calls for collecting reliable data using verifiable and transparent methodology. We present methods used to document crimes and identify alleged perpetrators implicated in the 2017 attacks against Rohingya civilians in Myanmar. The findings and lessons-learned have relevance to contemporary crises with widespread atrocities.
Methods
A mixed-methods assessment conducted from May to July 2018 included: (1) cross-sectional quantitative surveys among leaders of affected hamlets in northern Rakhine State, (2) qualitative interviews to record hamlet-level accounts, and (3) clinical evaluations of survivors of violence. Survey respondents who reported violence and destruction in each hamlet were asked to identify perpetrators of those acts, including known role or affiliation. The reported names were reviewed for clarity and divergent spellings, repeated references were aggregated, and the names and roles were analyzed and classified by location and affiliation.
Results
143 individuals were implicated in atrocities committed across three Northern Rakhine townships. Each was independently identified by at least three separate survey respondents as directly committing violence or destruction in their hamlet of origin, or as witnessed while fleeing to Bangladesh. Two-thirds (69%) of identified perpetrators were reported by four or more participants and 47% by five or more. Some form of additional identifying information, was provided for 85% of names. The most common affiliations were: Myanmar army (n = 40), Border Guard Police (n = 32), Village Tract Administrators (n = 17), and extremists (n = 25).
Conclusions
The methodology presented here yielded a unique record of individuals purported to have directly committed acts of violence and destruction in Rakhine State in August 2017, forming the most extensive record of individuals implicated in ground-level perpetration of those crimes. This methodology can play a key role in accountability mechanisms for the Rohingya, and in other settings in which perpetrators are many and documentation of their crimes is difficult. The use of survey methods and standardized data collection amongst affected populations to comprehensively characterize crimes committed and to identify individuals implicated in those crimes can serve as a key tool in documentation and an important component of accountability..."
Source/publisher:
BioMed Central (London) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2022-03-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Human Rights and international relations, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
953.78 KB
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