Dec 3, 2020 | Reports, RM
Fact-Finding Mission Report Findings, January 2018
In the aftermath of a brutal Myanmar military crackdown, which drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh, an APHR delegation traveled to Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar in January 2018 to examine the current situation and how ASEAN can work to support a resolution. Speaking to refugees, as well as other stakeholders, APHR gathered information on human rights violations that Rohingya experienced in Myanmar, as well as rights concerns affecting Rohingya in Bangladesh.
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Nov 9, 2020 | FoRB, RM, Statements
JAKARTA – Ahead of the deadline imposed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) tomorrow for Myanmar to submit its first report in the case alleging genocide against the Rohingya, regional parliamentarians are calling on Myanmar to take immediate steps to end the discriminatory restrictions against the minority group. Authorities must also protect all civilians in the ongoing war in Rakhine and Chin states, said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
“We have still not seen any credible evidence of Myanmar improving the situation for the Rohingya at all. Those inside Myanmar are still living in apartheid conditions and subject to the same – if not worse – restrictions they have lived under for years now, including those on their freedom of movement, access to health, education, and livelihoods. After all the pressure Myanmar has faced on this issue, how are we still at this point?” said Charles Santiago, Member of Parliament in Malaysia and APHR chair.
In the preliminary ruling of the Gambia v. Myanmar case on 23 January, the ICJ ruled that there is a serious risk of genocide against the Rohingya. The court ordered Myanmar to implement provisional measures to prevent all acts of genocide including “killing members of the group,” “causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group,” “deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” or “imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group”. It also requires Myanmar to preserve evidence of crimes that could amount to genocide. These provisional measures are legally binding and require Myanmar to provide a report on their progress by 23 May, and a follow-up every six months thereafter.
On 8 April, Myanmar issued two presidential directives in response to the provisional measures. President Directive No. 1/2020 orders “all Ministries and all Regions and States Governments” to ensure that its staff, military or security forces and others under its control “do not commit” acts defined in the Genocide Convention, while Directive No. 2/2020 prohibits “all Ministries and the Rakhine State government” from destroying or removing any evidence of genocidal acts.
“The Myanmar government’s directives, while a positive start, mean nothing if there are no concrete measures being implemented on the ground to dismantle the system of apartheid and discrimination against the Rohingya. If Myanmar is serious about complying with the ICJ, an absolute start point must be lifting the government-imposed internet blackout in Rakhine and Chin states,” Santiago said.
All civilians living in Rakhine State are caught in the midst of the intensifying conflict between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army, in which hundreds have been killed and wounded, and more than 157,000 people displaced. Amid a telecommunications blackout in Rakhine, the Tatmadaw excluded Rakhine State from their recently announced four-month unilateral ceasefire aimed at tackling the COVID-19 virus.
APHR calls on ASEAN to urge Myanmar to protect civilians in the conflict, and tackle the root causes of the crisis by taking a rights-based approach that is in line with international standards. To achieve this, the recommendations from the Kofi Annan-led Advisory Commission on Rakhine State should be implemented, and ASEAN must urge Myanmar to cooperate with international accountability mechanisms to ensure justice for the Rohingya.
“We are talking about the most severe crimes under international law. After decades of oppression, violence and restrictions on the rights of the Rohingya, the international community cannot continue to watch the Myanmar authorities act with impunity. It may be years before the ICJ comes up with a final judgment, so in the meantime, ASEAN leaders must urge Myanmar to implement genuine reform,” said Chamnan Chanruang, an APHR member and former Thai MP.
Nov 9, 2020 | FoRB, Opinion Articles, RM
By Kasit Piromya, former Thai MP and Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
The deaths of more than a dozen Rohingyas on an overcrowded boat that was bound for Malaysia but capsized in the Bay of Bengal in early February highlighted the desperation that about a million refugees continue to face in the sprawling camps in southern Bangladesh. While the refugees’ plight is of high concern, it often overshadows the fact that the situation has only gotten worse for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya still in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where the refugees in Bangladesh lived before fleeing persecution and violence over recent decades.
In both Myanmar and Bangladesh, the desperate plight of the Rohingyas has no end in sight. This is particularly true for the often forgotten hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas who remain in Rakhine, where the conflict between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, keeps intensifying.
The shelling of a school in northern Rakhine’s Buthidaung Township on Myanmar’s Children’s Day last month, which injured about 20 primary school students, should have been the final straw of the violence. Instead, thousands of civilians from all communities in Rakhine continue to live in fear as the number of casualties and injuries, as well as those displaced, grows every day.
How many more people have to suffer and how many more villages need to be hit by artillery as so-called “collateral damage” before Myanmar takes its obligations seriously and protects all civilians in the restive state?
On top of the conflict-related violence, communities in Rakhine state face the added ignominy of living under one of the world’s longest-running telecom shutdowns, which has been in place in one form or another since June 2019. The internet blackout has a disproportionate impact on local civilians, hampering their access to livelihoods and to basic information, while also obstructing the work of journalists, human rights monitors, and aid organizations.
Humanitarian groups have been prevented from providing crucial aid to many areas where the Rohingyas live, leaving thousands at risk of starvation. Meanwhile, state-imposed restrictions on freedom of movement mean that the Rohingyas cannot even flee for safety if the conflict encroaches close to where they are living.
The situation in Rakhine state is troubling for all communities, but particularly so for the approximately 600,000 Rohingyas who remain trapped in an apartheid system that has been ongoing for almost eight years. Not only are their villages being caught up in the violence, but there is credible evidence that they are being used as forced laborers in Tatmadaw camps, as “guides” to find AA fighters in remote areas, and as sentries in villages. All this while continuing to face severe restrictions on their rights to citizenship, freedom of movement, and access to education, healthcare, and livelihoods.
Put simply, Myanmar authorities have done nothing to improve the situation for the Rohingyas living in Rakhine state in recent years, and in many ways the conflict and the government’s imposed restrictions mean that the situation has only gotten worse. Amid this environment, how can ASEAN and other countries even begin to talk about repatriations taking place?
ASEAN’s efforts to facilitate and promote the repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar is rushed and one-sided. It has totally embraced Myanmar’s narrative on the ongoing situation in Rakhine state and failed to consult and engage with Rohingya refugees.
The lack of progress clearly calls for ASEAN governments to do more to help resolve the protracted crisis.
Yet, despite ASEAN’s charter — the bloc’s legally binding founding agreement — claiming to adhere to “respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,” ASEAN member states have been too eager to hide behind its policy of noninterference regarding a member’s domestic affairs to avoid questioning Myanmar’s highly defensive narrative.
Instead, members of the ASEAN Plus Three grouping, comprising the bloc’s member states as well as China, Japan and South Korea, are supporting humanitarian and repatriation efforts in Rakhine state. In recent months, Indonesia and South Korea have donated half a million U.S. dollars each to support ASEAN efforts for the repatriation of the Rohingyas.
However, with conditions on the ground deteriorating, and most refugees not willing to consider moving back without guarantees for their rights and safety, ASEAN’s aid will be of little benefit to the Rohingyas if the bloc does not play a role in helping Myanmar tackle the root causes of the crisis and take steps toward restoring citizenship rights, lifting discriminatory movement restrictions, and ensuring full accountability of those responsible for the atrocities. Humanitarian aid is in dire need, but highly flawed if its access is being restricted and no measures are taken toward a sustainable solution that means that aid is no longer required.
Further, by only relying on Myanmar’s word about the situation in Rakhine state, how can ASEAN governments even be sure that their money and aid are being used to benefit all communities? ASEAN members should request access on the ground to verify and evaluate that their contributions are being spent effectively and having a positive impact — something that can only be achieved by consulting all communities, including the Rohingyas, directly.
An opportunity for progress emerged recently, when the International Court of Justice ordered Myanmar to not commit any acts of genocide and to prevent the destruction of potential evidence. Myanmar must submit a report back to the court within four months of the January 23 decision, and every six months thereafter.
The ICJ case relates to the most heinous crimes under international law, and should lead to greater urgency among ASEAN member states to prevent war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible genocide against the Rohingyas. A welcome step would be for ASEAN member states to offer assistance in helping Myanmar meet its reporting obligations for the ICJ ahead of the May 23 deadline.
Myanmar has consistently said it needs time to deal with the complex issues in Rakhine state, but ASEAN must start questioning Myanmar’s lack of progress toward improving the situation on the ground. ASEAN can be a constructive player in resolving this crisis but must recognize that helping Myanmar — a member state — to overcome the ongoing issues in Rakhine is a collective responsibility that requires more than humanitarian assistance. The impacts of the crisis are being felt across the region and will continue to do so as long as Myanmar’s government refuses to tackle the root causes of the crisis and ensure accountability.
We need to finally start seeing concrete progress in Rakhine, so that the issue moves toward a resolution, and justice for the Rohingyas can finally be served.
This article was originally published in The Diplomat
Kasit Piromya is the former foreign minister of Thailand, a former member of Parliament, and a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
