Preventing genocide against the Rohingya muslim minority in Myanmar

Abstrakt

Although Myanmar appeared to make positive steps towards the realization of its human rights obligations since the end of a lengthy military rule, General Thein Sein marked a new era of overt discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities. The national authorities are both perpetrating gross human rights abuses and failing to hold violators accountable. On August 20, 2015, Parliament approved the “Protection of Race and Religion” bills, effectively legalizing discriminatory practices against ethnic and religious minority groups, particularly the Rohingya Muslims in the western state of Rakhine120. Facing discrimination, polarization, and persecution by a predominantly Buddhist government and populace, the Rohingya are in desperate need of protection against gross human rights abuses. The time to act is now. National elections in November 2015 led to a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, resulting in Htin Kyaw replacing Sein as President121. Though the military still holds twenty-five percent of Parliamentary seats, as required by the Constitution, the NLD’s rise to power presents an opportunity for the party to spearhead the protection and promotion of human rights for all in Myanmar. Applying the ten stages of genocide developed by Gregory Stanton122, and the definition of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 123, demonstrates that Myanmar is at high risk of an outbreak of genocide against the Rohingya. Preventive and reactive strategies are explored, including the international community’s responsibility to prevent and protect, as well as options for bringing perpetrators to justice.