Rohingya Crisis

Introduction:
―They burnt our house and drove us out by shooting. We walked for three days through
the jungle.‖ –Mohammed, who fled to Bangladesh with his family of seven, including a
baby born along the way.

The Rohingya are often described as the world's most persecuted minority. They are an
ethnic group majority of whom are Muslim who have lived for centuries in the majority
Buddhist country Myanmar. Currently there are about 1.1 million Rohingya who live in
the Southeast Asian country. The Rohingya speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that
is distinct to others spoken in Rakhine state and throughout Myanmar. They are not
considered one of the country's 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied
citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless. Due
to ongoing violence and persecution, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to
neighboring countries either by land or boat over the course of many decades.

Who are Rohingya?

Refugees are not terrorists. They are often the first victims of terrorism.
— António Guterres
The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic-minority group that has lived as a people in Myanmar
for centuries. Today, more than a million of them live in the country, most in the western
coastal state of Rakhine, where they make up around a third of the population. They
speak their own language, which isn't recognized by the state. Muslims have lived in the
area now known as Myanmar since as early as the 12th century, according to many
historians and Rohingya groups. The Arakan Rohingya National Organisation has said,
"Rohingyas have been living in Arakan from time immemorial" referring to the area now
known as Rakhine.This has led many Buddhists to consider the Rohingya to be Bengali,
rejecting the term Rohingya as a recent invention, created for political reasons.

What has been happening to them?

Violence broke out in northern Rakhine state on 25 August 2017, when militants
attacked government forces. In response, security forces supported by Buddhist militia
launched a clearance operation that has killed at least 1,000 people and forced more
than 300,000 to flee their homes. The UN‗s top human rights official said on 11
September that the military‗s response was clearly disproportionate to insurgent attacks
and warned that Myanmar‗s treatment of its Rohingya minority appears to be a textbook
example of ethnic cleansing. Refugees have spoken of massacres in villages, where
they say soldiers raided and burned their homes. The government claims the Rohingya
have burned their own homes and killed Buddhists and Hindus, a claim repeated by
some residents.

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It says that the military is targeting terrorists, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation
Army (ARSA), the group that claimed responsibility for the August attacks. Satellite
analysis by Human Rights Watch has shown evidence of fire damage in urban areas
populated by Rohingyas, as well as in isolated villages.

The background of Rohingya crisis:

Before the massacres, there were thought to be around 1.1 million Rohingya living in
the country. The Rohingya have existed in Myanmar, a Buddhist majority country for
centuries. It was known as Burma under British colonial rule (from 1824-1948) and there
was significant migration between today‗s Myanmar, India, and Bangladesh. Once
Burma won independence in 1945, the government passed the Union Citizenship Act,
which detailed the ethnicities indigenous to Myanmar. The Rohingya were not
considered to be one of the country‗s 135 official ethnic groups. That said, the Rohingya
were able to carve a place for themselves in newly independent Burma with some
serving in parliament and other high offices. And their ethnicity was included in the 1961
census. The situation quickly deteriorated for the Rohingya, however, following the 1962
military coup, when the government driven by Bamar-supremacist ideology gave less
official documentation to the Rohingya and refused to fully recognize new generations
of the Rohingya population. In 1974, all citizens in Burma were required to get national
registration cards, but the Rohingya were only allowed to obtain foreign registration
cards. By 1982, a new citizenship law was passed that prevented Rohingya from easily
accessing full citizenship, rendering many of them stateless. In 1989, the country was
renamed Myanmar. Since the late 1970s, nearly one million Rohingya are estimate to
have fled Myanmar. And just like the military, Suu Kyi has also long refused to use the
term ―Rohingya‖. The 2014 census which the UN helped conducts banned the use of
the term ―Rohingya‖.

How and why are they being persecuted?

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
— Martin Luther King Jr.

Rohingya were initially given such identification or even citizenship under the
generational provision. During this time, several Rohingya also served in parliament.
After the 1962 military coup in Myanmar, things changed dramatically for the Rohingya.
All citizens were required to obtain national registration cards. The Rohingya, however,
were only given foreign identity cards, which limited the jobs and educational
opportunities they could pursue and obtain .In 1982, a new citizenship law was passed,
which effectively rendered the Rohingya stateless. Under the law, Rohingya were again
not recognised as one of the country's 135 ethnic groups. The law established three
levels of citizenship. In order to obtain the most basic level (naturalised citizenship),
there must be proof that the person's family lived in Myanmar prior to 1948, as well as
fluency in one of the national languages. Many Rohingya lack such paperwork because
it was either unavailable or denied to them.

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As a result of the law, their rights to study, work, travel, marry, practice their religion and
access health services have been and continue to be restricted.
The Rohingya cannot vote and even if they jump through the citizenship test hoops,
they have to identify as "naturalised" as opposed to Rohingya, and limits are placed on
them entering certain professions like medicine, law or running for office.Since the
1970s, a number of crackdowns on the Rohingya in Rakhine State have forced
hundreds of thousands to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh, as well as Malaysia,
Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. During such crackdowns, refugees have
often reported raped, tortured, arsoned and murdered by Myanmar security forces.After
the killings of nine border police in October 2016, troops started pouring into villages in
Rakhine State. The killings led to a security crackdown on villages where Rohingya
lived. During the crackdown, government troops were accused of an array of human
rights abuses, including extrajudicial killing, rape and arson - allegations the government
denied.In November 2016, a UN official accused the government of carrying out "ethnic
cleansing" of the Rohingya. It was not the first time such an accusation has been made.
In April 2013, for example, HRW said Myanmar was conducting a campaign of ethnic
cleansing against the Rohingya. The government has consistently denied such
accusations.Most recently, Myanmar's military has imposed a crackdown on the
country's Rohingya population after police posts and an army base were attacked in late
August.

Rohingya crisis is considered as genocide or not:

The Rohingya crisis seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, according to the
United Nations‘ human rights chief. But it is not yet officially genocide. One can only
wonder why not, given the definition of the crime in Article of the UN‗s Genocide
Convention. It states that genocide is any of the following acts committed with intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group:

 Killing members of the group.

 Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.
 Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its
physical destruction in whole or in part.
 Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
 Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

Myanmar‗s government seems to have met at least A-C of the above criteria. So why
the reluctance to call the mass killings and forced deportations genocide?
To answer, we must look to Article of the same convention. It says, The contracting
parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a
crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish. That‗s why
the word isn‗t being used. Defining events like this as genocide requires the 147 nations
that have signed up to the convention to stop it by force if necessary. That‗s why back in
1994 the US State Department was swiftly gagged by its own lawyers during the mid-
stages of the Rwandan genocide.
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They pointed out that if the US accepted that the mass murder of around one million
was state-sponsored and ethnically-based then there was an obligation to invade the
central African nation. Instead, the US, UK, and every other country wrinkled their noses
at the mass murder of Tutsis and moderate Hutus until it was all over and any effort to
prevent the slaughter would have been too late. There‗s no appetite to invade
Myanmar. Not least because its leader Aung San Suu Kyi is a Nobel peace laureate.
And so the Rohingya, a Muslim population in a largely Buddhist nation, are being
ethnically cleansed not subjected to genocide ,not that they would be able to tell the
difference.

Why aren't they recognized as Burmese?

The government in Myanmar refuses to recognize the Rohingya as citizens, claiming

that they are Bangladeshi or Bengali. The UN and rights groups have long accused the
government of ethnic cleansing through its repressive policies. Having had such a long
history in Myanmar, the ethnicity of the Rohingya is more complex than the government
makes out. The government has argued that the Rohingya descend from farmers from
what is now called Bangladesh. Many arrived in large numbers during British rule, from
1824 to 1948, when Myanmar was considered a province of British-administered India.
The Rohingya were sent there as laborers, in what Britain considered an internal
migration. Many Rohingya, however, say they are descendants of Muslim traders who
can be traced back to the ninth century. In reality, there is likely to be a mix of ethnicities
among them. And just like the military, Suu Kyi has also long refused to use the term
―Rohingya‖. The 2014 census, which the UN helped conducts banned the use of the
term ―Rohingya‖.

How many have been killed, injured or forced to flee?

Since the late 1970s, nearly one million Rohingya have fled Myanmar due to
widespread persecution. According to the most recently available data from the United
Nations in May, more than 168,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar since 2012.Following
violence that broke out last year, more than 87,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh from
October 2016 to July 2017, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Prior to the violence that began in August, the UN estimated that there are as many as
420,000 Rohingya refugees in Southeast Asia. Additionally, it said there were around
120,000 internally displaced Rohingya. Since the violence in Myanmar's northwest
began, more than 500,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh, UNHCR said. It added
that more than 1,000 people, mostly Rohingya, may have been killed in Myanmar.
The Rohingya have faced repression since the 1970s, but more intensively since 2011,
when the government transformed from a military administration to a civilian one.

There had been hope at that time that their situation would improve, but their repression
has only intensified. They remain left off a national list of 135 recognized ethnicities in
Myanmar.

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Now, the Rohingya don't have access to the same resources and services that
Myanmar's predominantly Buddhist citizens do. Despite this lack of recognition, they are
not allowed to leave their settlements in Rakhine without government approval.
Many live in Rakhine in impoverished camps, and others spend periods in internally
displaced people's settlements in other states after fleeing violence.

Contribution to the Rohingya fled:

No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.
— Warsan Shire

 The whole refugee populations almost one million people require food aid.
 21,677 children under five have been treated for severe acute malnutrition
 315,000 children under 15 years of age have received a five-in-one vaccination,
which includes cover for diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough.
 44,493 temporary emergency latrines have been built Bangladesh military
 21,000 metric tonnes of aid has been delivered in 17 airlifts.
 Bangladesh plans to build more shelters in the Cox's Bazaar area but also wants
to limit their travel to allocated areas
 Myanmar urged displaced people to find refuge in temporary camps set up in
Rakhine state. In November Bangladesh signed a deal with Myanmar to return
hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees, but few details have been released
 The UK has pledged £59m in aid to support those fleeing to Bangladesh. UK
Prime Minister Theresa May also said the military action in Rakhine had to stop.
The UK has suspended training courses for the Myanmar military.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army:

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), formerly known as the Al-Yaqeen Faith
Movement, released a statement under its new name in March 2017 saying it was
obligated to "defend, salvage and protect the Rohingya community". The group said it
would do so "with our best capacities as we have the legitimate right under international
law to defend ourselves in line with the principle of self defense".The group is
considered a "terrorist" organisation by the Myanmar government. In its March
statement, the ARSA added that it does "not associate with any terrorist group across
the world" and does "not commit any form of terrorism against any civilian regardless of
their religious and ethnic origin". The statement also said, "We declare loud and clear
that our defensive attacks have only been aimed at the oppressive Burmese regime in
accordance with international norms and principles until our demands are fulfilled‖.
ARSA strongly encourages all concerned humanitarian actors resume their
humanitarian assistance to all victims of the humanitarian crisis, irrespective of ethnic or
religious background during the ceasefire period" the group said in a statement, adding
that it calls on Myanmar's military to also temporarily lay down arms. The Myanmar
government formally categorised the group as a "terrorist" organisation on Aug 25,2017.

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The role Myanmar Government :

State Chancellor Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the de facto leader of Myanmar, has
refused to really discuss the plight of the Rohingya. The government does not recognise
the Rohingya as an ethnic group and have blamed violence in Rakhine, and subsequent
military crackdowns, on those they call "terrorists". The Nobel Peace Prize laureate
does not have control over the military but has been criticised for her failure to condemn
indiscriminate force used by troops, as well as to stand up for the rights of the more
than one million Rohingya in Myanmar. The government has also repeatedly rejected
accusations of abuses. In February 2017, the UN published a report that found that
government troops very likely committed crimes against humanity since renewed
military crackdowns began in October 2016. At the time, the government did not directly
address the findings of the report and said it had the "the right to defend the country by
lawful means" against "increasing terrorist activities", adding that a domestic
investigation was enough. During Pope Francis' visit to Myanmar in November 2017,
Myanmar's army chief told the pope that there was "no discrimination" in the country
and praised the military for maintaining "peace and stability".

The role of Bangladesh:

Bangladesh does not consider the Rohingya to be Bangladeshi. There are varying
estimates of how many live in the South Asian country, but it is believed to be in the
hundreds of thousands. Amnesty International estimates around half a million
undocumented Rohingya live in Bangladesh.The country sometimes allows the
Rohingya to live in camps on its border, but on other occasions, it simply sends them
back to Myanmar. Those who stay live as illegal immigrants, which usually mean a life
of poverty, without the right to work or access to education.

What's Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's role?

Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, seen as a national hero in Myanmar and
the face of a free civilian government, has come under intense international criticism for
failing to openly support the Rohingya.Some have even said she should be stripped of
her peace prize. Suu Kyi has repeatedly denied accusations of human-rights abuses
against the Rohingya or that ethnic cleansing has taken place. She has refused to really
discuss the plight of the Rohingya. She and her government do not recognise the
Rohingya as an ethnic group and have blamed violence in Rakhine, and subsequent
military crackdowns, on those they call "terrorists". Some observers point out that the
Rohingya issue is so heated in Myanmar that Suu Kyi would lose her popularity, and
eventually possibly her position, if she backed the ethnic minority. The youngest-ever
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, 20-year-old Malala Yousafzai, has called on Suu Kyi to
condemn the treatment of the Rohingya."Over the last several years, I have repeatedly
condemned this tragic and shameful treatment. I am still waiting for my fellow Nobel
Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to do the same," Yousafzai wrote. "The world is waiting and
the Rohingya Muslims are waiting."
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What is being done by the International Community?
It is the obligation of every person born in a safer room to open the door when
someone in danger knocks.— Dina Nayeri

The international community has labeled the Rohingya the "most persecuted minority in
the world". The UN, as well as several rights groups such as Amnesty International and
Human Rights Watch, has consistently decried the treatment of the Rohingya by
Myanmar and neighbouring countries. In March, the UN adopted a resolution to set up
an independent, international mission to investigate the alleged abuses. It stopped short
of calling for a Commission of Inquiry, the UN's highest level of investigation. Rights
groups have criticised the government's reluctance to accept the UN investigators.

Human Rights Watch warned that Myanmar's government risked getting bracketed with
"pariah states" like North Korea and Syria if it did not allow the UN to investigate alleged
crimes. In response to the latest round of violence, UN Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres warned of the risk of ethnic cleansing, calling on Aung San Suu Kyi and the
country's security forces to end the violence. In November 2017, Pope Francis visited
Myanmar and while he did not explicitly say Rohingya, he said that there needs to be
acceptance and respect for all ethnic groups in the country.The US urged Myanmar's
troops to "respect the rule of law, stop the violence and end the displacement of civilians
from all communities" China says the international community "should support the
efforts of Myanmar in safeguarding the stability of its national development". There has
been widespread condemnation of the Myanmar government's actions but talk of
sanctions has been more muted.

Role of UN over Rohingya crisis:

A UN spokeswoman in 2009 described the Rohingya as "probably the most friendless

people in the world". UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein urged Myanmar to
end its "brutal security operation" against the Rohingya in Rakhine, calling it a "textbook
example of ethnic cleansing".The UN Security Council appealed to Myanmar to stop the
violence but no sanctions have been imposed. The UN's human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad
al-Hussein has said an act of genocide against Rohingya Muslims by state forces in
Myanmar cannot be ruled out. Both UN officials said they completely supported the
findings of the advisory commission, led by Kofi Annan, and urged the government to
fulfil its recommendations. The UN human rights office recently said for a second time
this year that abuses suffered by them could amount to crimes against humanity. It also
said that it regretted that the government had failed to act on a number of
recommendations it had provided, including lifting restrictions of movement on the
Rohingya. It has called for an investigation into the recent allegations of rights abuses,
as well as for humanitarian access to be given. The UN's refugee agency says
Myanmar's neighbours should keep their borders open if desperate Rohingya once
again take to rickety boats to seek refuge in their countries, as happened in early 2015.

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Separately, former UN-Secretary General Kofi Annan is heading another advisory
commission currently looking into the general situation in Rakhine state after being
asked in August by Ms Suu Kyi. But some have questioned how useful this commission
will be, given the exhaustive number of reports that already exist. Its report, in any case,
will not be released until later this year.

The Role of OIC in Rohingya crisis:

The heads of state and government of the member states of the OIC recently held a
meeting to discuss the current developments of the situation of the Muslim Rohingya
community in Myanmar. The meeting was held on the sidelines of the 1st OIC Summit
of Science and Technology in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan, at the initiative of Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Turkey, the current chair of the OIC
Summit, said the Foreign Ministry here. The meeting expressed grave concern over the
recent systematic brutal acts perpetrated by security forces against the Rohingya
Muslim community in Myanmar, which constitute a serious and blatant violation of
international law, and which have affected over 7000,000 Muslims who have been
forcibly displaced to Bangladesh, in addition to the burning of their houses and places of
worship. The meeting called upon the government of Myanmar to accept the UN Human
Rights Council's fact-finding mission to conduct a thorough and independent
investigation into all the alleged violations of international human rights law and bring
the perpetrators to justice, said the Foreign Ministry.They urged the government of
Myanmar to honour its obligations under international law and human rights covenants,
and to take all measures to immediately halt acts of dispersion and discriminatory
practices against Rohingya Muslims, as well as the continuous attempts to obliterate
their Islamic culture and identity, including delisting them from household lists and
demolition of places of worship, institutions and houses of Muslim minorities.

The meeting urged the government of Myanmar to eliminate the root causes, including
the denial of citizenship based on the 1982 Citizenship Act which has led to
statelessness and deprival of the rights of the Rohingya Muslim Minority, and to
continued dispossession and discrimination against them, and urged it to work towards
a just and sustainable solution to this issue.They reiterated its call to the government of
Myanmar to revive the agreement to open an OIC Office for humanitarian affairs in
Yangon after signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with the OIC to that effect.The
purpose of the OIC office was to provide pure humanitarian assistance without
distinction between the victims of violence.They called upon Myanmar to take all
necessary measures to restore peace and inter-communal harmony through dialogue
and a comprehensive reconciliation process concerning all segments of the Myanmar
society community.This includes tackling the rise of hate speech and the spread of
propaganda by right wing extremists against the Rohingya population.The meeting
urged Myanmar to take concrete steps to prevent the further deterioration of the
humanitarian situation in Rakhine and ensure the right of each individual to live and
move without fear and persecution based on their religion or ethnicity.

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They welcomed the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission headed by
Kofi Annan, and urged the Government of Myanmar to take concrete steps towards
their earliest implementation. The meeting called on Member States to provide support
for the implementation of these recommendations with a view to finding a
comprehensive and inclusive solution to the challenges in Rakhine State.The meeting
invited OIC member states to join the efforts of the international community towards
lifting all the restrictions on freedom of movement in Rakhine and ensuring an inclusive
and transparent citizenship verification process that leaves no individual unregistered
nor hinders their access to essential social services, including education and health
care.The meeting expressed concerns over the huge Rohingya influx towards
Bangladesh and its humanitarian and security consequences for the government of
Bangladesh.The meeting expressed appreciation to the member states that have taken
immediate action and deliver humanitarian aid to the camps in Bangladesh.They further
urged all member states to extend the necessary support to Bangladesh to enable it to
face the flow of refugees into its territories.The meeting acknowledged the efforts by the
member states which had provided humanitarian and development assistance for the
Rohingya people and encouraged all states to formulate development projects that will
provide education, health services and vocational training that will benefit all persons in
Rakhine, regardless of ethnicity or religion.

Role of China and India over the Rohingya crisis:

One of the reasons why the Chinese and the Indians are on the same page over the
Rohingya crisis is the heavy investments they have had pumped into the Rakhine state.
The fact that Bangladesh has offered Myanmar assistance to crackdown on ARSA
speaks volumes that the Rohingya isn‗t as innocent as human rights activists make
them to be. China‗s investment in Myanmar reached US$18.53 billion in January 2017
and the country plays a unique role in Beijing‗s Belt and Road initiative. More crucially,
Myanmar offers an utmost strategic access to the Indian Ocean for the Chinese. A
simple blockade of the Strait of Malacca by the U.S. and its alliance will cut China off
from Middle East oil supplies and from its Second Continent Africa. Therefore, oil and
gas pipelines, from the Bay of Bengal through Myanmar to Yunnan province, actually
shorten supply routes from the Middle East, allowing China to avoid the potentially
vulnerable chokepoint of the Strait of Malacca. The pipeline is part of the US$7.3 billion
Kyauk Pyu Special Economic Zone, an investment of state-run CITIC Group as part of
OBOR, in Myanmar.Although slow and pale in comparison to the Chinese investment,
India has nevertheless spent over US$1.75 billion in grants and credit to Myanmar.
Besides the completion of Sittwe power and the inland water terminal in Paletwa, India
is also building the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway, scheduled for completion by
2020.But the most critical reason why India and China have thrown their support behind
Myanmar is the fear of the emergence of terrorist violence on their doorstep, the same
way Daesh (ISIS, ISIL, IS) was established in the Middle East. India‗s military
intelligence has reported close links between the ARSA, Bangladesh‗s Jamaat-ul-
Mujahideen (JMB) and the Indian Mujahideen.India has even expelled nearly 40,000
Rohingya migrants it says have illegally settled in the country.
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That‗s why when the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first bilateral visit to
Myanmar, he publicly declared that India and Myanmar shared ―similar security interests
in the region‖ ,the ―extremist violence‖ in the Rakhine state.

Anan Commission Recommendations:

In independent commission chaired by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan made

its final recommendations to Myanmar‗s government on easing ethnic and religious
unrest in the country‗s western Rakhine state. The report titled ―Towards a Peaceful,
Fair and Prosperous Future for the People of Rakhine‖ comes amid renewed fears of
violence among the Muslim Rohingya and Rakhine Buddhist communities. The below
recommendations by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, which was set up by
Suu Kyi, are derived from the most comprehensive, international study there to date.
The Commission urges concerted action by the government and all sectors of society,
otherwise we risk the return of another cycle of violence and radicalization, which will
further deepen the chronic poverty that afflicts Rakhine State, Annan said in a
statement.

Socio-economic development
Rakhine state is among the poorest in the country, with high rates of malnutrition
and poor access to clean drinking water and sanitation. The Commission
recommends the government invest heavily in infrastructure such as roads,
electricity, drinking water and internet access to help lift both communities out of
poverty. It also calls for local communities‗ increased participation in decision-
making on issues relating to development.

Create a path to citizenship for the Rohingya
Despite living in the country for generations, Myanmar‗s 1982 citizenship law
classifies the Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, making them the
largest stateless group of people in the world. The Rakhine Commission calls for
an acceleration of the ongoing citizenship verification process and greater clarity
over the rights of people whose application for citizenship is not accepted.

Enhance freedom of movement
More than 100,000 mostly Rohingya Muslims still live in squalid encampments
for those displaced by communal conflict in the state five years ago. Conditions
are unsanitary and there is little to no access to healthcare, education or
employment. The Commission recommends closing all displacement camps and,
in the interim, ensures dignified living conditions.Muslims especially the displaced
are disproportionately affected. The Commission calls on the government to
ensure freedom of movement for all people irrespective of religion, ethnicity, or
citizenship status.

Instigate a “calibrated” approach to security
Myanmar has principally relied on security forces to counter the threat posed
from potential radicalization. But violent crackdowns have led to more than
70,000 people fleeing the state into neighboring Bangladesh, where they have
reported extrajudicial killings, gang rape, and the murder of infants at the hands
of the military.
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 The Commission calls for a calibrated response that combines political,
developmental, security and human rights approaches that address the root
causes of violence and reduce inter-communal tensions. Such measures include
streamlining policing units into one agency, providing improved training for
security forces in human rights, civilian protection and languages and diversifying
its forces to include women and ethnic minorities.

Dialogue among communities
Talks among all communities in the state should be fostered and activities that
help create an environment for such dialogue should be initiated by the
government, the Commission reports. This could take the form of joint vocational
training, cultural events and building communal youth centers.

Ensure the recommendations are actually implemented
The Myanmar government‗s response to reports of human rights abuses in
Rakhine has been severely criticized for falling short. Suu Kyi has denied that
there is ethnic cleansing in the state, her government blocked journalists from the
north of Rakhine, and in March she rejected the UN‗s proposal to send an
international fact-finding mission to the country to investigate abuses.But Suu Kyi
has expressed confidence in Kofi Annan‗s Commission to heal the wounds of our
people.In its final point, the Commission calls for the government to appoint a
minister tasked with coordinating policy on Rakhine state and implement its
directives.Now that she has the report in her hands, the world will be watching to
see if she will follow through on its recommendations.

Prime Minister's five-point proposal on Rohingya:

The five-point proposal that the prime minister Sheikh Hasina made at the 72nd UNGA
session on September 21, 2017:

1. Myanmar must unconditionally stop the violence and the practice of ethnic
cleansing in the Rakhine State immediately and forever.

2. Secretary General of the United Nations should immediately send a Fact-

Finding Mission to Myanmar.

3. All civilians irrespective of religion and ethnicity must be protected in

Myanmar. For that "safe zones" could be created inside Myanmar under
UN supervision.

4. Ensure sustainable return of all forcibly displaced Rohingyas in

Bangladesh to their homes in Myanmar.

5. The recommendations of Kofi Annan Commission Report must be

immediately implemented unconditionally and in its entirety.

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Repatriation Agreement:

Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed a timeframe for repatriating hundreds of

thousands of Rohingya who fled crackdowns from the military. Myanmar has agreed to
accept 1,500 Rohingya each week. Bangladesh says, adding that it aims to return all of
them to Myanmar within two years. Bangladeshi foreign secretary Shahidul Haque told
BBC Bangla that the government had wanted to repatriate the Rohingya more quickly.
"We asked them to take back 15,000 every week.
But they said they will take back 300 people every day, so that makes 1,500 every
week. So we compromised that we will start by sending 300 people each day, but there
will be a review in three months' time and the number will be increased.

Recommendations for Solution:

 The first and foremost imperative of the crisis is the alleviation of the suffering of
the Rohingya people. ASEAN has to play the leading role here; it needs to
formulate a mechanism to deal with the crisis by equitable distribution of the
refugees among member nations, military escort of Rohingya boats, a timeline
for return of the refugees, and pressure on Myanmar to resolve the conflict.
 The International community can also play a role by lending financial aid to the
countries who will house the refugees.
 The Muslim nations can play a critical role here by offering aid and volunteers to
look after the refugees. The OIC has a potential to be rejuvenated by the crisis as
it can be utilized to launch a diplomatic campaign to highlight Rohingya
oppression.
 The United Nations should be utilized for negotiating free and unhindered
international humanitarian access in Rakhine State.
 Individual governments should encourage the UN Secretary General to take up
this issue and give high-level support to his efforts. Governments need to assert
that future positive diplomatic relations are contingent on unhindered
humanitarian access, and abolishment of discriminatory policies and practices
against the Rohingya.
 Diplomats and UN officials should use the word Rohingya both in public and
private. This will delegitimize the Myanmar government‗s ongoing discrimination
and campaign to portray the Rohingya as illegal immigrants.
 The humanitarian crisis for the Rohingya in Burma is part of a systematic policy
of impoverishment of the Rohingya. These policies may constitute crimes against
humanity, and have helped lead to ethnic cleansing. The international community
should support the establishment of an independent international investigation
into possible violations of international law against the Rohingya in Burma.
 While external factors could alleviate this crisis, they cannot resolve it. The seeds
for the solution lie in Myanmar itself. The role of internal Myanmar forces,
especially the National League for Democracy NLD led by Aung Saan Suu Kyi,
has been extremely unsatisfactory. It is assumed their silence on the issue is due
to fear of losing Buddhist votes in the upcoming general election.
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 There is a need for national reconciliation in Myanmar not only with the Rohingya
but also with other ethnic groups engaged in conflict with the Myanmar state.
 Instantaneous removal of blockade of aid like food, medical supplies and and
other essential items by the government into the Rohingya IDP camps.
 Provide access of safe passage to humanitarian and relief agencies into
Rohingya IDP camps.
 Immediate uplifting of discriminatory policies and restrictions such as on
movement, marriage, holding property, taxation thus providing freedom and ease
to live. Myanmar‘s policy for minorities requires to be in line with international
human rights framework.
 A policy transformation in the official attitude towards the minorities by
acknowledgement of their narrative of history, upholding of respect for all forms
of diversity and accepting their legal and social rights.
 All world leaders particularly Asian leaders should call on the Myanmar army and
force them to cease their clearance operations in Rakhine State. Every world
leader who holds any meeting with Suu Kyi must emphasize on this brutal crisis
basing upon humanitarian grounds.
 Regional governments like those of China, India and Bangladesh should pledge
to the Myanmar government that they will provide full support and cooperation to
them in locating and arresting Rohingya militants if any such evidence is found.
 International humanitarian architecture should play its role to allow UN
investigation teams, aid workers, and journalists to operate freely for welfare.
 Religious scholars should also actively work for the cause as no religion allows
such coercive acts. Pope Francis who is scheduled to visit Myanmar in
November should make pleas to Suu Kyi and the Burma government and take
positive stand in favor of Rohingya Muslims.
 The Constitution of Myanmar needs arbitration and requires recognizing scores
of stateless people living within the country, and make amendments and
alterations to not only provide them citizenship status but also generate religious,
legal, social and economic space for the recognition of their basic human rights.
To fulfill the purpose, the 1982 Citizenship Law warrants immediate modification
for removal of discriminatory clauses against Rohingya Muslims and other
minorities in the region, and accord them citizenship status to enable them to
enjoy their fundamental rights in a civilized, democratic country.

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Conclusion:
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them
without doing anything.— Albert Einstein

The circumstances in Myanmar are snowballing enormously into a major humanitarian

crisis, and have begun to have ripple effects over the region in terms of rebirth of
transitional crimes, insecure state borders, social impacts on hosting countries religious,
ethnic and cultural balance etc. Despite international provisions, treaties, global
conventions and other diplomatic measures to prevent the occurrence of atrocities,
crimes and fiercely actions on civilians, violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar
continues unabated. In case of Myanmar, strengthening and rebuilding its commitment
to democratic ideals, human rights and Rule of Law, should not be under limitation of
just providing immediate security and relief to the suffering Rohingyas as it is the bare
minimum possible. It must include a long-term, permanent and accountable stratagem
that helps integrate the Rohingyas and other minorities recognizing their sacrifices and
contributions to the country thus creating spaces for every person, without
discrimination and giving full expression of speech to his or her potential, free from any
fear, resultantly leading the peace and tranquility to prevail around the globe.

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