Summary
Background
Action required
Model Template
Recipient contact information
Summary
The United States has officially recognised the persecution of the Rohingya as a genocide.
IHRC requests campaigners to write to the UK foreign minister Liz Truss, demanding that the UK formally recognises the Rohingya genocide too.
Background
The United States has officially recognised the persecution of the Rohingya as a genocide. The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said at a holocaust memorial event last month:
“Today marks the eighth, because I’ve determined that members of the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya,”
In 2018 a UN fact finding mission released a report calling for call for the investigation and prosecution of Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and his top military leaders for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In November 2019 2019, The Gambia, filed a lawsuit against Myanmar in the UN International Court of Justice on behalf of the Rohingya. The lawsuit argues that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya. Their case is supported by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and its 57 member nations.
Since the independence of Myanmar, previously called Burma, the Rohingya have suffered persecution, discrimination and, at times, ethnic cleansing. Yet, from 2012 this oppression has evolved into a genocide. By 2018 at least 25,000 Rohingya had been killed by armed bands, mainly by their closest neighbours, the Rakhine, supported by both the military and the National Unity Government. The majority of Rohingya were forced to flee their homes as part of a deliberate attempt by the Myanmar military to remove them. Many live in refugee camps elsewhere, particularly in Bangladesh, where they are waiting for repatriation. The United Nations has stated that the Rohingya are the world’s most persecuted minority group. There are currently almost 1 million Rohingya refugees in the Bangladeshi Cox’s Bazaar refugee camp, some of whom are being forced to move to the remote and precarious Bhasan Char Island.
Growing number of the international community recognise that the situation in Myanmar amounts to genocide. Gambia, The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar set up by the UN, the 57 member OIC and now the USA. However, the government of the United Kingdom has not formally recognised the genocide, which is a matter that needs to be strongly addressed.
Action required
- Write to the UK foreign minister Liz Truss, demanding that the UK officially recognises the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar. Forward any responses to info@ihrc.org so we can develop this campaign further.
- Share this alert and the reports and resources, and encourage others to join this campaign, including human rights organisations, pressure groups and NGOs.
- Please ensure you share verified stories and information.
- Keep checking the IHRC’s website: https://www.ihrc.org.uk/ to see any updates on this campaign or others involving the plight of the Rohingya.
Model Template
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
[Date sent]
Dear Miss Truss
Re: Rohingya Genocide
I am writing in response to the United States government’s acceptance that the persecution of the Rohingya people in Myanmar is a genocide. Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, stated it clearly at a holocaust memorial event in March 2022.
It is shameful that it has taken so long for the United States to accept this. However, now that it has, the United Kingdom needs to follow suit. Whilst much of the public’s eye may be on Ukraine at the moment, it is important to remember that there are many other human rights violations taking place across the world. It is important that the United Kingdom does not fall behind, and fails to be on the right side of history. The Gambia is currently taking Myanmar to the International Court of Justice for the crime of genocide, and if Britain sits on the fence, whilst the rest of the world accepts that this is a genocide, it will affect the UK’s international standing and credibility on matters relating to human rights.
I respectfully urge you to make a clear statement regarding the genocide against the Rohingya and work with the international community to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Yours sincerely
[Your name]
Recipient contact information
Address:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
King Charles Street
London
SW1A 2AH
Alternatively, you can email her at: fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk
