Rohingya Must be Part of Myanmar Crisis Solution, Says U.N. Chief : Daily Current Affairs

Date: 27/08/2022

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.