Genocide advocacy: 6 vital steps we must take to help the Rohingya

Ann Strimov Durbin is a human rights attorney and the Director of Advocacy and Grantmaking at Jewish World Watch. Here below is her article:

Last Saturday, I had the privilege of attending the Convention on Myanmar’s Ongoing Genocide, organized by Jewish World Watch’s long-time partner, the Burmese American Muslims Association (BAMA).  BAMA asked me to say a few words and when I arrived I was treated not only like a keynote speaker, but as a member of the family. Following my 20-minute speech, I was embraced by the staff and attendees and was even treated to a delicious meal.  It was an incredibly moving and memorable night, and I was honored to represent JWW in furthering such a commendable organization and crucial cause.    

In my talk, I discussed JWW’s advocacy work on behalf of the Rohingya Muslim minority of Myanmar; why the Tatmadaw’s crackdown against them constitutes genocide; and our projects on the ground aiming to improve the conditions of some of the near-million Rohingya refugees currently resigned to awaiting their fate in squalid camps in neighboring Bangladesh.  I also addressed the jurisdictional basis for the International Criminal Court’s preliminary investigation into the crimes perpetrated against the Rohingya, as well as why the ICC process is a vital counter-impunity and genocide-prevention tool, particularly in light of the Myanmar military’s ongoing persecution of other minority groups within its territory, including the Kachin, Karen and Shan peoples. 

Perhaps most importantly, I called on the United States to identify the atrocities against the Rohingya for what they truly are: a genocide.  I promised, on behalf of Jewish World Watch and our devoted constituents to continue working to keep this crisis at the forefront of American foreign policy and to get governments worldwide to step up and take the definitive steps that a genocide designation requires, including filling major aid gaps in the camps at Cox’s Bazar.      

I shared the floor with some incredible activists devoted to upholding the rights of the Rohingya people and ensuring that the perpetrators of genocide and other mass atrocities against this centuries-old ethnic minority group are held to account.  The clear message uniting many of the speakers was the need for the safe and secure return of the Rohingya from Bangladesh, as well as a formal acknowledgment of their status as citizens of Myanmar.  Most of the Rohingya simply want to go home, despite the fact that the military has burned and bulldozed their villages; despite the fact that many had family members who were brutally slaughtered in front of them; despite the fact that they have been denied citizenship, freedom of movement, basic social services, and fundamental human rights for decades.  Home is home, after all.

The Convention produced a comprehensive action plan, which JWW fully endorses and includes many of our shared advocacy goals.  To summarize, the Rohingya genocide necessitates the following response:

• Comprehensive ICC investigation and prosecution of the genocide and other mass atrocities, including those that did not partially take place in Bangladesh. This may require the U.N. Security Council to refer the situation to the Office of the Prosecutor, since the jurisdiction recently granted through Bangladesh’s member status may not extend to genocide and other atrocities completed exclusively within Myanmar’s borders
• International assistance in ensuring the protection, safe return, and unconditional repatriation of the Rohingya
• Stronger sanctions by the United States, the U.N. Security Council, and other nations against senior members of the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s military, as well as against military-owned businesses and their international and local partners
• Ramp up aid to the refugees in Bangladesh, including with increased provision of psychosocial and rehabilitation services and education
• Create an independent investigative mechanism to document the military’s crimes against humanity in all parts of Myanmar, as recommended by the U.N. fact-finding mission
• The unconditional release of the two wrongfully convicted Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, currently facing 7-year sentences in Myanmar

JWW will also continue advocating for the adoption of the Burma Act of 2018 (H.R. 5819), resuscitated by Rep. Eliot Engel this May, after his last effort on behalf of the Rohingya, which passed the House, was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a long-time friend of Aung San Suu Kyi. 

After the high of this conference, standing in solidarity with people who have been fighting on behalf of the Rohingya for years, it was quite disappointing to find out that the goal of America’s acknowledging the Myanmar military’s crackdown as genocide was not realized. 

On Monday, the State Department released its long-awaited report on the Rohingya crisis, which came a month overdue following a heated debate within the department.  Despite acknowledging that the military orchestrated a “well-planned and coordinated” campaign of violence against the Rohingya minority, the report fell short of declaring it a genocide.  In fact, it did not even say crimes against humanity had been committed.  The report, which was very under-the-radar compared to the usual fanfare surrounding other investigations, shied away from identifying the atrocities as anything more than its previous designation of “ethnic cleansing.”  Ethnic cleansing, by the way, is not a crime under international law.  It is a term that sounds awful and serious, but triggers no obligations under international law.

This failure on behalf of the State Department is even more disappointing in light of recent efforts by the international community to elevate the Rohingya crisis and give it the attention it deserves.  From the ICC deciding it can exercise jurisdiction through Bangladesh’s membership, to the U.N. fact-finding mission and Canada calling the atrocities genocide, to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC initiating a preliminary investigation … there have been many recent developments moving things in the right direction.  Unfortunately, the United States does not want to participate in this progression.  So, we must remain vigilant to ensure that even if the Trump administration doesn’t want to do the right thing, that it doesn’t stop other international actors from doing so. 

On a positive note, the Trump administration announced that an additional $185 million will be allocated to aid displaced Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh.