The Perpetual Plight of the Rohingyas
Over 1.1 million refugees from Myanmar reside across crowded camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. The Rohingya crisis poses a long-term threat to geopolitical stability in the Asia-Pacific.
By Aftab Ahmed
THE UNITED NATIONS HAS DESCRIBED THE ROHINGYAS as amongst the world’s least wanted and most persecuted minorities. As a Muslim minority in the Buddhist majority Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), the Rohingyas have historically resided in Rakhine — a Burmese province which borders southern Bangladesh. The Burmese Government considers the Rohingyas as illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, and have historically denied the population basic access to legal, social, economic and political rights, since the inception of Myanmar as an independent country in 1948. The negation of citizenship status has resulted in the Rohingyas being deemed stateless — with waves of refugees having found shelter in Bangladesh since the 1970s, first as a means to discover economic opportunities, and more recently, to survive from hardline military operations and ethnic clashes.
In late 2016, the Burmese military cracked down on what it described as national security threats in Rakhine, and initiated the mass killing, persecution and what is now internationally accepted as the genocide of the Rohingyas. The international community found credible evidence of wide-scale extrajudicial killings, ethnic cleansing, gang rapes and broader humanitarian crimes perpetrated against the Rohingyas. Over 24,000 killed, 18,000 raped and 36,000 thrown into live fires — these numbers represent an appalling tale of targeted human rights violations by a draconian military regime, towards a marginalized population living within Burmese territory. Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina formally opened her nation’s borders in response to this crisis in 2017, leading to over 1.1 million refugees seeking asylum in densely populated camps in Southern Bangladesh.
As it stands, the eighth most populous country hosts the largest refugee camp in the world, and does so without much choice. Repatriating the Rohingyas back to Myanmar in the current political climate would result in an egregious failure of international security. Allowing them to reside in refugee camps, on the other hand, is a policy challenge for which Bangladesh is clearly not prepared — something which their diplomats have repeatedly warned of in recent times. Yet with the Russia-Ukraine War being on top of the global political agenda, advocacy and diplomatic focus with respect to the Rohingya crisis remains limited.
Across the refugee camps, the Rohingyas continue to face a myriad of challenges, ranging from monsoonal rains and cyclones, fires and recent efforts by government officials to relocate populations to island establishments. Infectious diseases, malnutrition and a lack of access to reproductive health, in addition to troubling cases of human trafficking, makes their lives a hellish nightmare. Furthermore, the government of Bangladesh does not allow refugee children to receive a formal education. While UNICEF and other private entities try and provide basic educational services across the camps, the long-term literacy concerns for refugee children remains unaddressed.
The Canadian response to the Rohingya crisis saw Ottawa leveraging various soft-power tools within its diplomatic arsenal, and similar approaches have been taken by other Western nations. In 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated the intention of the Canadian government to support Bangladesh in managing the massive influx of refugees. Based on a comprehensive report by Bob Rae, a seasoned politician and diplomat, the Trudeau government instituted a 3-year strategy (2018 to 2021). From directing $300 million in international assistance to mobilizing diplomatic channels across global forums, Canadian diplomats worked extensively with humanitarian organizations and Bangladeshi stakeholders across the refugee camps, to support the development of healthcare, educational and social infrastructure. A second phase of the 3-year strategy (2021 to 2024) which promises additional funding and peacebuilding efforts, has been set in motion.
On diplomatic fronts, Canada continues to have targeted sanctions in place against the Burmese regime. As an early co-sponsor for the 2018 UN Human Rights Council Resolution on Myanmar and an advocate of the formation of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, the Federal Government has further indicated its willingness to intervene with the Netherlands in supporting Gambia’s efforts to try the military regime at the International Court of Justice for suspected violations of the Genocide Convention. The Canadian parliament formally recognized the situation as a genocide in September 2018 and simultaneously revoked the honorary citizenship of the once celebrated Burmese democracy icon and Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Her unwillingness to condemn the actions of the military and her silence regarding the crimes committed against the Rohingyas, was seen globally as an act of betrayal towards the principles of democracy and human rights.
But as is the case with humanitarian catastrophes, the victim population faces instability on multiple fronts and a resulting absence of permanent safety. As a result, Rohingyas struggle to hope for an enduring solution with respect to their future.
It is fundamental that the international community, continues showcasing the struggles of the Rohingyas across platforms and in forums which can shape a collective movement to ensure a stable future for this population. Secondly, avenues of international law must be mobilized and accelerated to try the Burmese military for conducting genocide against their own people. Pushing Myanmar to showcase tangible reforms in cultivating the safe repatriation of the Rohingyas needs to be on top of the international agenda. Thirdly, providing international financial support and technical assistance to Bangladesh must continue, with the aim of encouraging them to undertake this burden for the foreseeable future, and to inspire them to do so in a manner which protects the indispensable rights of the Rohingyas.
While the war in Ukraine has diverted global attention away from the Rohingya crisis, it is crucial that this issue gets policy traction in the international arena. Especially, in the context of lobbying China and India to take a more proactive role in ensuring the sustained security and safe repatriation of the Rohingyas, in the service of regional stability.
Aftab Ahmed is the Chief Editor of the Bell Newsletter. Aftab is a Master’s of Public Policy candidate at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill. He is a regular columnist for two major Bangladeshi media platforms and his interests lie in global affairs, international development and political trends in the Asia-Pacific.
If you have any questions or comments, please write to us at maxbellnewsletter@gmail.com