Crimes Against Humanity The Case of the Rohingya People in Burma Prepared By: Aydin Habibollahi Hollie McLean Yalcin Diker INAF – 5439 Report Presentation Ethnic Distribution Burmese 68% Shan 9% Karen 7% Rakhine 4% Chinese 3% IdiIndian 2% Mon 2% Other 5% Relig ious Dis tr ibu tion Buddhism 89% Islam & Christianity Demography Burmese government has increased the prominence of the Bu ddhis t relig ion to the de tr imen t of other religions. Rohingya Organization • ~1% of national population • ~4% of Arakan population • ~45% of Muslim population Rohingya Organization • AkArakan RRhiohingya NNiational Organi zati on (ARNO) • Domestically not represented Cause of the Conflict • Persecution and the deliberate targggeting of the Rohdhl18hingya started in the late 18th century whhhen the Burmese occupation forced large populations of both the Rohingya Muslims and the Arakanese Buddhists to flee the Ara kan stttate. • The Takhine Party, a predominant anti-colonial faction, began to provoke the Arakanese Buddhists agains t the Ro hingya Mus lims convinc ing the Buddhists that the Islamic culture was an existential threat to their people. • The seed of ha tre d be tween the two sides was plan te d by the Takhine Party and the repression began immediately in 1938 when the Takhine Party took control of the newly independent state. Current Status • JJ,une and October 2012, sectarian violence between the Rohingya Muslims and the Arakanese Buddhist killed almost 200 people, destroyed close to 10,000 homes and displaced 127, 000. A further 25, 000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Sir Lanka, and Thailand. • Tensions are still high between Rohingya Muslims and Arakanese Buddhists and human rights violations persitist. Chief Characteristics of the Conflict • Massacres • Denial of Citizenship • Forced Displacement • Travel Ban • Restriction on Education • Restriction on Employment • Marriage Difficulties • Discrimination Against Culture & Religion • Refugee Problem Theory Michael Lund’s Conflict Curve • Violence directed toward Rohingya is escalating, having reached a stage of overt crisis in 2012 • Represents a transition from instability to violent conflict Theory Kaufman’s paths to war • Violence directed toward the Rohingya Muslims provoked by dominant ethnic group • June 2012 violence: • Communal and mass-led • Popular chauvinism • Oc to ber 2012 vio lence: • Planned and organized by the elite • Government jingoism International Reaction Human Rights Watch • Crimes committed against the Rohingya in 2012 represent state- supported crimes against humanity, part of an overall campaign of ethnic cleansing • Indirect state involvement included: • Failure to prevent the violence committed by armed mobs in June 2012 • Unwillingness to investigate or persecute those involved • Direct state involvement included: • Organization and coordination of October 2012 violence by Arakan state’s religious and political leaders • Systematic crimes against humanity with the objective of removing the Rohingya from their territory • Distribution of anti-Rohingya hate speech and propaganda InttilRtiternational Reaction Genocide Watch • Burma at the extermination stage, the seventh of the eight stages of genocide: – Mass killings legally known as genocide, occur at the hands of armed forces in conjunction with local militias. – Current massacres of the Rohingya Muslims and other minority ethnic groups such as the Shan, Kachin and Karen by the Burmese army. • Updated Genocide Emergency Alert for the Arakan State of Myanmar, with calls for: – End of human rights violations against the Rohingya – Full citizenship for Rohingya – Bangladeshi government to allow the UNHCR to register Rohingya refugees Assessment Crimes against Humanity • The Rohingya are subject to crimes against humanity by the Burmese government • Potential for the crimes against humanity to persist due to: – Ongoing human rights violations against the Rohingya and Muslims in the Arakan State. – Ongoing religious persecution, arbitrary arrests and restriction of movement of the Rohingya Muslims. – Over 1,000 individuals, largely Rohingya men and boys, have been arbitrarily detained in poorly run prisons characterized by torture and maltreatment. Genocide • Con si dering an outbreak of vio le nt conflict toward the Rohingya has not occurred since October 2012, genocide does not appear to be occurring at this point in time • Should the Burmese state fail to end its crimes against humanity, there is potential for the situation to escalation to genocide. Current Canadian Assistance 1. $15.6 million, five year Canadian International Development Agency program (2010-2015) provides food and health care to Burmese refugees in neighbouring countries. 2. The Canadian International Development Agency contributed a further $3. 6 million in humanitarian assistance to Burma, $3 million was allocated to the World Food Programme, $400,000 to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and $200,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross. 3. $1.8 million, five year Democracy Envelope of the Global Peace and Security Fund (2012-2017) which is aimed at increasing democratic capacity and supporting independent media. 4. $100, 000, annually extended CCdianadian EEbmbassy (B(Bkangkok) program aimed at small scale human rights awareness fund for Burmese relates issues. Recommendations 1. All-Party Parliamentary Group is urged to encourage the Canadian government to promote democracy in its bilateral dealings with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and at every international and regional forum for Burmese nationa l reconciliat ion and reform. 2. In order to extend the reach of NGOs to the Arakan region, the All-Party Parliamentary Group should consider lobbying for idimproved relilations wihith the Burmese government. 3. All-Party Parliamentary Group is urged to establish dialogue with prominent NGOs and all relevant stakeholders in the Arakan region to esta blis h and hos t a truth commissi on in CdCanada. Work Cited • All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Prevention of Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity. (2006, December 1). Constitution. Retrieved June 4, 2013, from http://www.preventiongenocide.org/lang/en/about/documents/constitution • Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO). (2011, December 30). About ARNO. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://www.rohingya.org/portal/index.php/arno.html • Burma Citizinship Law. (1982, October 15). RefWorld. Retrieved June 6, 2013, from http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?docid=3ae6b4f71b • Burma Mus lims. (2013, May 31). Abou t Us. RtiRetrieve d from Burma Tas k Force: htt//http://www. burmamus lims.org /cana da.p hp • Canadian Friends of Burma. (2002). Looted Land, Proud People: The Case for Canadian Action in Burma. Ottawa: CFOB Publications. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://www.cfob.org/Resources/info/looted%20land.pdf • Canadian International Development Agency. (2013, May 17). Project profile for Burma Border Assistance Program: Building Social Capital. Retrieved May 31, 2013, from Project Browser: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/CIDAWEB/cpo.nsf/vWebCSAZEn/27D93F773DFD1A0A852576FE00372371 • Centeral Intelligence Agency. (2013). The World Factbook. Langley: Directorate of Intelligence. • Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade. (2013, May). Burma-Canada Relations. Ottawa: Government of Canada. Retrieved May 31, 2013, from http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/thailand-thailande/bilateral_relations_bilaterales/canada-burma-birmanie.aspx • Genocide Watch. (()2012). Countries at Risk Report. Washinggy,,ton D.C.: Genocide Watch. Retrieved May 31, 2013, from http://www.genocidewatch.org/alerts/countriesatrisk2012.html • Genocide Watch. (2013, March). Genocide Emergency: Violence against the Rohingya and other Muslims in Myanmar. Washington D.C.: Genocide Watch. Retrieved May 30, 2013, from http://genocidewatch.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Myanmar-13-04-04-Genocide-Emergency-Rakhine-State.pdf • Human Rights Watch. (2012, August). The Government Could Have Stopped This: Sectarian Violence and Ensuing Abuses in Burma’s Arakan State. Toronto: Human Rights Watch Publications. Retrieved May 5, 2013, from http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/07/31/government-could-have-stopped • Human Rights Watch. (2013, April). All You Can Do is Pray: Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma’s Arakan State. Toronto: Human Rights Wach Publications. Retrieved May 5, 2013, from http://www.hrw.org/reports/2013/04/22/all-you-can-do-pray-0 • IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation. (2012, September). Arakan Report. Istanbul: IHH Press. Retrieved June 3, 2013, from httpp//://www.ihh.org .tr/ up loads/ 2012/ arakanrap oru-en.pdf • Integrated Regional Information Networks. (2012, December 17). Bangladesh: NGO Ban Hurting Undocumented Rohingya. Retrieved June 5, 2013, from RefWorld: http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=&type=&coi=BGD&rid=&docid=50d04fb52&skip=0 • Karen Human Rights Group. (2002). The Persecution of Muslims in Burma. Karen: Karen Human Rights Group Press. Retrieved May 22, 2013, from http://www.khrg.org/khrg2002/khrg0202.html • Kaufman, S. (1996). Spiraling to Ethnic War: Elites, Masses, and Moscow in Moldova’s Civil War. International Secuirity, 21(2), 108-138. • Lewa, C. (2012, January). Issues to be raised concerning the situation of stateless Rohingya children in Myanmar (Burma). Washington D.C.: National Endowment for Democracy. Retrieved