Determination Of The Genocide Against The Rohingyas- A Step Toward Truth, Accountability, And Future

On March 21, 2022, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken formally recognized the atrocities against the Rohingyas as genocide and crimes against humanity, during his visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and a tour of the exhibit “Burma’s Path to Genocide.” As Secretary Blinken confirmed, this decision was reached based on a factual assessment and legal analysis prepared by the State Department which included a detailed documentation by a range of independent and impartial sources.The formal determination comes after several reports on the atrocities and calls from civil society organizations to do so.

The atrocities against the Rohingyas have been well documented throughout recent years. In early 2017, the OHCHR Mission to Bangladesh, having conducted interviews with the forcibly displaced Rohingya Muslims, reported that the Burmese government, one way or another, subjected the Rohingya Muslims in Burma to: “Extrajudicial executions or other killings, including by random shooting; enforced disappearance and arbitrary detention; rape, including gang rape, and other forms of sexual violence; physical assault including beatings; torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; looting and occupation of property; destruction of property; and ethnic and religious discrimination and persecution.” As a result of the atrocities, close to a million of Rohingya Muslims were forced to flee to Bangladesh. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the atrocities committed against the Rohingya Muslims in Burma as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, and the UN Special Envoy for human rights in Myanmar identified the “hallmarks of a genocide” within the horrendous crimes suffered by the Rohingya Muslims.

In November 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (ICC) authorized the Prosecutor to proceed with an investigation for the alleged crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction in the Situation in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh/ Republic of the Union of Myanmar (the situation in Bangladesh/ Myanmar). This authorization followed the request submitted in July 2019 by the Prosecutor to open an investigation.

On January 23, 2020, the International Court of Justice (the ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ordered Myanmar a number of provisional measures to protect the Rohingya Muslim minority in the country. The ruling comes after, in November 2019, The Gambia initiated proceedings against Myanmar at the ICJ. The application filed by The Gambia alleged that “from around October 2016, the Myanmar military (the Tatmadaw) and other Myanmar security forces began widespread and systematic ‘clearance operations’ – the term that Myanmar itself uses – against the Rohingya group. (…) From August 2017 onwards, such genocidal acts continued with Myanmar’s resumption of ‘clearance operations’ on a more massive and wider geographical scale.”

Commenting on the determination of the atrocities as genocide, Secretary Blinken said that “The evidence points to a clear intent behind these mass atrocities – the intent to destroy Rohingya, in whole or in part. That intent has been corroborated by the accounts of soldiers who took part in the operation and later defected, such as one who said he was told by his commanding officer to, and I quote, ‘shoot at every sight of a person,’ – burn villages, rape and kill women, orders that he and his unit carried out. Intent is evident in the racial slurs shouted by members of the Burmese military as they attacked Rohingya, the widespread attack on mosques, the desecration of Korans. Intent is evident in the soldiers who bragged about their plans on social media, such as a lieutenant in the 33rd Light Infantry Division. (…) Intent is evident in public comments by Min Aung Hlaing, the commander-in-chief of the Burmese military, who was overseeing the operation. (…) Intent is evident in the preparatory steps that soldiers took in the days leading up to the atrocities. (…) Intent is evident in the military’s efforts to prevent Rohingya from escaping, like soldiers blocking exits to villages before they began their attacks, sinking boats full of men, women, and children as they tried to flee to Bangladesh.”

Secretary Blinken further described the long process that enabled the genocide against the Rohingyas, through a steady process of dehumanization and demonization. “Rohingya were compared to fleas, to thorns, to an invasive species, just at Tutsis were compared to cockroaches, and Jews to rats and parasites.”

While long overdue, the formal recognition by the U.S. State Department is a welcome development. As Secretary Blinken explained, the analysis and determination of the atrocities against the Rohingyas is fundamental to understanding Myanmar’s current crisis. “Many of the military leaders who oversaw the genocidal campaign against Rohingya, including the general who led it, were also involved in abuses committed against other ethnic and religious minority groups. They’re the same military leaders who overthrew Burma’s democratically elected government on February 1st, 2021 and seized power.”

Now, it is time to follow up with decisive steps to ensure justice for all victims and survivors. It is time to ensure a better protection of the community and ensure their future in Myanmar. Indeed, Secretary Blinken pledged to put it at the centre of his efforts: “With today’s determination, the United States reaffirms its broader commitment to accompany Rohingya on this path out of genocide – toward truth, toward accountability, toward a home that will welcome them as equal members, that will respect their human rights and dignity, alongside that of all people in Burma.”