UN Resolution a Boost for Rohingya in Myanmar

Abstract:  On 29 December 2014, the United Nations General Assembly’s human rights committee approved a resolutionurging the Myanmar government to protect the rights of all inhabitants ofRakhineState and allow “equal access to full citizenship for the Rohingya minority”.  This comment seeks to delve into the background of the Rohingya community of Myannmar.

As Myanmar gears up for its first nationwide vote in 2015 since the junta ceded power in 2011,its claim of transition to democracy is being questioned by the international community over the plight of its 1.4 million Muslim population called Rohingya.  The Rohingyaare stateless people without rights despite inhabiting the western regionof Myanmar for generations. Sectarian violence leading to Buddhist- Muslim clashes since 2012 has caused an estimated 280 deaths, mostly Rohingya, while another 140,000 have been displaced and forced to take shelter in camps or restricted villages in the northern Rakhine State thereby causing major human rights concerns in the internationalcommunity[i]. Based on these concerns, the United Nations General Assembly’s human rights committee approved a resolution on 29 Dec 2014 (A/RES/69/248), urging the Myanmar government to protect the rights of all inhabitants of Rakhine State and allow “equal access to full citizenship for the Rohingya minority”, to enable “self-identification” and to ensure equal access to services.[ii]This UN resolution has provided a ray of hope for the hapless Rohingya community towards a better future.

The Rohingya, are a sunni muslim community, with a population of approximate 1.4 million (including diaspora) most of whom inhabit the northern part of RakhineState adjacentto the  border  with  Bangladesh.  They are of mixed ancestry claiming roots to Arabs, Moors, Turks, Persians, Moguls and Pathansand to local Bengali and Rakhine. They are  ethnically, linguistically  and  religiously  related  to  the  Chittagong  people  of  Southern Bangladesh. They account for 40% share of population in Rakhine and are a minority to Buddhists.During World War II, the Rohingya remained loyal to the British (while Burma supported the Japanese) and in 1947 some of their leaders had unsuccessfully supported and attempted a merger of North Rakhine with Pakistan’s East Bengal. These could be one of the reasons of their exclusion fromthe nation-building process.  The 1982 Citizenship Law deprives the Rohingya the right to Burmese nationality. The law states that citizens must belong to one of 135 'national races' recognized under the constitution, or whose ancestors settled in the country before 1823 (just prior to the First Anglo- Burmese War 1824-26 which resulted in Rakhine (then Arakan) state ceding to British India and subsequent migration of a large number of people from neighboring Bengal). Rohingya does not figure as a ‘national race’   in the identified list.[iii] Inability to produce documents to satisfy the latter requirement has led most Rohingya muslims to being denied citizenship, hence their present legal status of de facto statelessness. Being stateless, Rohingya face discrimination and exploitation to include forced labour, extortion and restriction on freedom of movement, the absence of residence rights,inequitable marriage regulations and land confiscation. As of July 2014, UNHCR estimates are that 800,000 ‘stateless’ persons and another 140,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDP), basically Rohingya reside in Rakhine state.[iv]

Myanmar’s policies of excluding the Muslim minority, while assimilating the majority Rakhine Buddhists, has also increased communal tensions and violence from time to time. Junta-sponsored campaigns against the Rohingya in 1978 and later in 1991 prompted massive exodus involving a large number of Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh for safety, though most were subsequently repatriated.  For instance, in June 2012, an estimated 87,000 Rohingya departed by sea from the Myanmar-Bangladesh border area in rickety boats and treacherous conditions to Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand[v]. Due to  prolonged deprivation, the Rohingya have been migrating in small numbers, over the years, mostly to muslim countries in Asia, for livelihood and a better life. In Bangladesh, that there are over 250,000 Rohingya including 35,000 in overcrowded camps and around 111,000 in Thailand. As per UNHCR report, there are a further 13,600 registered refugees in Malaysia and unknown numbers in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and India. Most Rohingya enter other Asian countries without official papers and are consequently subject to arrest, detention and punishment for immigration offences andalso to various forms of exploitations.Within the country, the  government, opposition and the local Buddhists see the Rakhine Muslims as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and want to officially categorize them as “Bengalis”.  The Myanmar's representative to the UN reacted, in November 2014, to the draft resolution over the use of the term "Rohingya" claiming that its usage would heighten tensions in Rakhine.[vi]A controversial “Rakhine Action Plan”made out by the government appears to be nothing more than a blueprint for permanent segregation and outcasting of the Rohingya.[vii]

While international organizations likeUNHCR are allowed limited access inside Myanmar, their working is often disrupted due to law and order problems including threats and violence. Majority of the world, including Muslim countries, have not stood up for the Rohingya cause, rendering their case even bleaker.  Though the UN resolution is non-binding, a strong vote in its support has sent a message that international opinion is not on Myanmar’s side.Given the many serious concerns, there is an opportunity and urgent need for the international community, to engage with Myanmar to progress on this front of complete integration of the Rohingya in Myanmar. Bangladesh and Thailand, whose bilateral relations with Myanmar have seen ups and down on account of the Rohingya refugee issue, need to lobby effectively for recognition of their rights.  India, as the largest democracy in the world and a by virtue of its being a larger partner in BIMSTEC, should assume lead in resolving the issue to reaffirm its leadership and to achieve greater regional cooperation in south and south east Asia.The Myanmar Government needs to remove all restrictions against the Rohingya ensuring their rights as citizens, and well before elections in the end of 2015,in order to make the transition to democracy a meaningful and inclusive one.

The author is Senior Fellow at CLAWS. Views expressed are personal.