Date: 27/08/2022

Relevance: GS-2: International Relations, Global Bodies, Refugee Crisis.

Key Phrases: Rohingya, United Nations, Genocide, War Against Humanity, Myanmar Crisis.

Background

• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Myanmar's military-installed government to include ethnic Rohingya in a solution to the country's political crisis.
• The community observed the fifth anniversary of the start of a mass exodus to Bangladesh to escape a military crackdown in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state.

Who are Rohingya?

• The Rohingya are an ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslim, who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar.
• They speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that is distinct to others spoken throughout Myanmar.
• Rohingya have faced decades of systematic discrimination, statelessness and targeted violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar.
• They are not considered one of the country’s 135 official ethnic groups.
• They have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless.
• Nearly all of the Rohingya in Myanmar live in the western coastal state of Rakhine and are not allowed to leave without government permission.
• It is one the poorest states in the country, with ghetto-like camps and a lack of basic services and opportunities.

What was the clearance campaign of 2017 in Rakhine?

• The long-simmering conflict with the Rohingya exploded on August 25, 2017, when Myanmar's military launched what it called a clearance campaign in Rakhine.
• This campaign was in response to attacks on police and border guards by a Rohingya militant group.
• More than 7,00,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh as troops allegedly committed mass rapes and killings and burned thousands of homes.

How have world bodies react to the Rohingya crisis?

• In January 2020, the International Court of Justice, the U.N.'s top court, ordered Myanmar to do all it could to prevent genocide against the Rohingya.
• Even an independent commission set up by Myanmar's government concluded there were reasons to believe security forces committed war crimes against the Rohingya — but not genocide.
• In March 2022, the United States said the oppression of the Rohingya amounts to genocide after authorities confirmed accounts of mass atrocities against civilians by Myanmar's military.
• UN has said that perpetrators of all international crimes committed in Myanmar should be held accountable.

Where are the Rohingya seeking refuge?

• There are 9,80,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in neighboring countries.
• Approximately 9,19,000 Rohingya refugees are living at the Kutupalong and Nayapara refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar region.
• These camps have grown to become some of the largest and most densely populated camps in the world.
• Approximately 75 percent of those living in the Cox’s Bazar region arrived in September 2017.
• They joined more than 200,000 Rohingya who had fled Myanmar in previous years.
• More than half of those who have arrived are women and children.

What are the issues related to repatriation of Rohingya?

• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has told U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet that some 1 million Rohingya refugees living in overcrowded camps in Bangladesh must return home to Myanmar.
• However, according to the United Nations, there are no immediate prospects for the Rohingya to return.
• It has noted that more than 1,50,000 Rohingya are still confined in camps in Myanmar's Rakhine state.
• China brokered a 2017 agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar to repatriate the Rohingya.
• But Ms. Hasina and other Bangladeshi officials have expressed frustration at what they call Myanmar's inaction in taking them back.
• The Rohingya have balked at returning without having their longstanding grievances addressed.

How has recent military takeover deppened the crisis?

• Myanmar's army ousted the country's elected government in February 2021 as Aung San Suu Kyi's party was about to start a second term in office.
• The military takeover was met with widespread public opposition.
• It has since turned into armed resistance that some U.N. experts have characterised as civil war.
• Critics of the military have accused it of carrying out widespread human rights abuses.
• Following the military takeover, the humanitarian, human rights and security situation in Myanmar has deteriorated.

What is the solution of the Rohingya crisis?

• The full and effective participation of the Rohingya people is an inherent part of a Myanmar-led solution to the crisis.
• Justice for victims will contribute to a sustainable and inclusive political future for the country and its people.
• It is critical that the international community continue to seek comprehensive, durable and inclusive solutions to the crisis.
• Greater access to affected areas for U.N. humanitarian and development officials and their partners is crucial.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. The full and effective participation of the Rohingya people is an inherent part of a Myanmar-led solution to the crisis. Explain.