Rohingya genocide

Rohingya genocide
Part of the Rohingya conflict
Destroyed village in Rakhine State, September 2017
Location	Rakhine State, Myanmar
Date	9 October 2016 (2016-10-09) – January 2017 25 August 2017 (2017-08-25) – present
Target	Rohingya Muslims
Attack type	Ethnic and religious persecution, genocide, genocidal rape, ethnic cleansing, others
Deaths	25,000+ killed by 2018[1]
Victims	Destruction of many villages Tens of thousands raped 700,000+ refugees fled abroad
Perpetrators	Tatmadaw, under the leadership of Min Aung Hlaing
Motive	Anti-Rohingya sentiment, Islamophobia, ultranationalism

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The Rohingya genocide is a series of ongoing persecutions and killings of the Muslim Rohingya people by the military of Myanmar. The genocide has consisted of two phases^[2][3] to date: the first was a military crackdown that occurred from October 2016 to January 2017, and the second has been occurring since August 2017.^[4] The crisis forced over a million Rohingya to flee to other countries. Most fled to Bangladesh, resulting in the creation of the world's largest refugee camp,^[3][5][6][7] while others escaped to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of South and Southeast Asia, where they continue to face persecution. Many other countries consider these events ethnic cleansing.^[8][9][10]

The persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar dates back to at least the 1970s.^[11] Since then, the Rohingya people have been persecuted on a regular basis by the government and Buddhist nationalists.^[12] In late 2016, Myanmar's armed forces and police launched a major crackdown against the people in Rakhine State which is located in the country's northwestern region. The Burmese military was accused of committing ethnic cleansing and genocide by various United Nations agencies, International Criminal Court officials, human rights groups, journalists, and governments.^[13][14][15] The UN^[16][17][18] found evidence of wide-scale human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings; summary executions; gang rapes; arson of Rohingya villages, businesses, and schools; and infanticides. At least 6,700 Rohingya were killed in the first month of attacks, between 25 August and September 24, 2017.^[19] The Burmese government dismissed these findings by stating they are "exaggerations".^[20][21] Using statistical extrapolations which were based on surveys which were conducted with a total of 3,321 Rohingya refugee households in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, a study which was conducted in January 2018 estimated that the military and the local Rakhine population killed at least 25,000 Rohingya people and perpetrated gang rapes and other forms of sexual violence against 18,000 Rohingya women and girls. They estimated that 116,000 Rohingya were beaten, and 36,000 were thrown into fires.^[22][23][24]

The military operations displaced a large number of people, triggering a refugee crisis. The largest wave of Rohingya refugees fled Myanmar in 2017, resulting in the largest human exodus in Asia since the Vietnam War.^[25] According to UN reports, over 700,000 people fled or were driven out of Rakhine State, and took shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh as refugees as of September 2018. In December 2017, two Reuters journalists who were covering the Inn Din massacre were arrested and imprisoned. Foreign Secretary Myint Thu told reporters Myanmar was prepared to accept 2,000 Rohingya refugees from camps in Bangladesh in November 2018.^[26] Subsequently, in November 2017, the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar signed a deal to facilitate the return of Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State within two months, which drew mixed responses from international onlookers.^[27] The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, visited Bangladesh and the Rohingya camps near the border with Myanmar in early August 2022. Reports covered that Bangladesh's Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina asked the refugees to return to Myanmar. However, the UN addressed that repatriation needs to be conducted in a voluntary and dignified manner, and when the conditions on the border and also in Myanmar are safe for the process.^[28] In late August 2022, the UN special envoy held another discussion with Bangladesh leaders, acknowledging the major pressures as a host country. At the same time, the UN emphasized the importance of engaging the Rohingya in direct discussions and decisions making processes about their future and for minimizing marginalization.^[29]

The 2016 military crackdown on the Rohingya people was condemned by the UN (which cited possible "crimes against humanity"), the human rights organization Amnesty International, the U.S. Department of State, the government of neighbouring Bangladesh, and the government of Malaysia. The Burmese leader and State Counsellor (de facto head of government) and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was criticised for her inaction and silence over the issue and did little to prevent military abuses.^[30][31][32] Myanmar also drew criticism for the prosecutions of journalists under her leadership.^[33][34]

The August 2017 persecution was launched in response to Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacks on Myanmar border posts.^[3] It has been labeled ethnic cleansing and genocide by various UN agencies, ICC officials, human rights groups, and governments.^[35][36][37] The UN described the persecution as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing". In late September 2017, a seven-member panel of the Permanent Peoples' Tribunal found the Burmese military and authority guilty of the crime of genocide against the Rohingya and the Kachin minority groups.^[38][39] Suu Kyi was again criticised for her silence over the issue and for supporting the military actions.^[40] In August 2018, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights declared that Burmese military generals should be tried for genocide.^[41][42][43] On 23 January 2020, the International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to prevent genocidal violence against its Rohingya minority and to preserve evidence of past attacks.^[44]