The plight of the Rohingya has been one perpetuated by a history and legacy of conflict and tension. With the Government of Myanmar identifying the Rohingya as ‘illegal Bengali immigrants’, they are not recognized as one of the 135 ethnic groups within Myanmar, resulting in the Rohingyas facing a general lack of access to services, opportunities and general equality. (Kipgen, 2013, p. 236) The violent outbreaks of June and October 2012 accentuated by ethnic communalism and simmering tensions which has existed for decades resulted in calls for the international community to intervene with the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) response to humanitarian crises for the Rohingya population. (Smith, 1995, p. 1) Wherever they seem to go, they still remain ‘stateless’, and can be described to not belong anywhere due to their ill treatment from the places they seek to settle within. (The Economist, 2007) This essay seeks to explore and discuss what the plight of the Rohingya people of Myanmar tells us about the power of the R2P norm.
Since Myanmar gained independence in 1948, the Rohingya have always feared that their interests would be neglected, and this fear has been their reality to date. (Bray, 1992, pp. 144-145) With denied equal citizenship rights under the 1948 Citizenship Law unless you could prove your family had resided in Myanmar for more than three generations, exclusion from the 1983 nationwide census, the 1978 Operation Dragon King or Naga min and again in 1992 where thousands were pushed out to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, you can see that they have not only been marginalized economically and socially, but also “excluded politically both from the Rakhine state government and the Myanmar central government”. (Kip...
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Raffelseder, J. (2011, June). The challenges and limitations of R2P’s applicability in the aftermath of the natural disaster in Myanmar.
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(2014, January). UN, US Pile Pressure on Myanmar to Investigate Rohingya Killings. Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.
Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel laureate and de-facto leader of Myanmar’s civilian government, has long been hailed as a protector of human rights in her native country. It has thus, been incredibly surprising to witness her reaction to the recent forced exodus of nearly half a million minority Rohingya from within her regional borders. Despite being championed as the great savior of her country, she failed to condemn the atrocities for nearly a month; and, when she did finally speak up against the human rights abuses, she refused to address the United Nations accusations of ethnic cleansing. The Rohingya have been stateless since Myanmar’s 1974 Constitution and 1982 Citizenship Act excluded the minority Muslim group as a ‘national race’ . In The Origins of Totalitarianism , Hannah Arendt explores the idea that the interests of the nation state infringe upon the Universal Rights of Man. The
The lack of nationalism also proved to be a conflict for the people of Burma or Myanmar. The militaristic government’s philosophy of ruling isolated left people to live in absolute poverty and is a major human rights concern.
Phan, Zoya. Undaunted: My Struggle for Freedom and Survival in Burma. New York: Free Press, 2009. Print.
There have been many humanitarians that strive to help countries suffering with human right abuses. People think that the help from IGOs and NGOs will be enough to stop human rights violations. However, it hasn’t been effective. Every day, more and more human rights violations happen. The problem is escalating. People, including children, are still being forced to work to death, innocent civilians are still suffering the consequences of war, and families are struggling to stay firm together. Despite the efforts from the people, IGOs, and NGOs, In the year 2100, human rights abuse will not end.
...2009): 8-9. United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
“UN Extends Darfur Force Mandate.” Aljazeera.net. 31 Jul 2010: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 08 Nov 2013.
Through this we see that the author’s point of view is someone who understands that the events that took place that morning in Burma, were not humane and degrading.
Since its adoption by world leaders at the World Summit in 2005, the Responsibility to Protect (herein R2P) has been hailed as a major achievement in protecting populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, or ethnic cleansing that would be committed by rulers. However, some see the R2P not as an effective human right instrument for civilians’ protection as it appears to be another tool for imperialism. My position in this essay is that I believe the R2P doctrine is a considerable achievement in world politics as it signals to potential perpetrators of mass atrocities that the world would no longer stand by, but will use force when necessary to protect innocent civilians. My position is articulated as follows. First, I will present the content/principles of the R2P doctrine . Second, I will point out the legal and moral argument underpinning the R2P, particularly its military aspect. Finally I will evoke some cases where the R2P has been critical in protecting populations from mass killing and show the shortcoming of those who argue against the R2P.
PBS. “While Nations Urge Syria to Allow Inspectors, UN Announces New Refugee Milestone" Prod. PBS. Perf. MARGARET WARNER. PBS.org. PBS, 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 27 Apr. 2014
Finding trust and cultural understanding is crucial in securing safe haven; the human category of refugee is inundated with hydrophobic metaphors and imagined “racial markers” delimitating the story of the refugee into numbers and race categories (271).
Just this past summer an estimated 2500 people died in an attempt to escape the dangers of the syrian civil war (smith). The refugee crises itself poses a danger to the global community, however, it also forces us to ask a bigger question: how far should we go to protect human dignity. In modern politics we see issues of foreign intervention and border control, and often reflect on how our world became globalized. When considering the interdependence of nations, it becomes clear to me that the value of human life stands much higher than the value of national sovereignty. This issue continuously causes clash as we call into question the purpose of governments versus the weight carried by global human rights. For the purpose of this paper consider
"Participants at UN forum agree to boost support for countries hosting Syrian refugees." United "Syrian refugees creating pressure in Jordan's cities." CBC News. N.p., 17 Sep 2013. Web. 10 Sept 2015.
Although, within the U.N. Charter of 1945, Article 2(4) prohibits the use of force against ‘the territorial integrity or political independence of any state’ (U.N. Charter, art.2 para.4), it has been suggested by counter-restrictionist international lawyers, that humanitarian intervention does not fall under these criteria, making it legally justifiable under the U.N. Charter (e.g. Damrosch 1991:219 in Baylis and Smith 2001: 481). However, this viewpoint lacks credibility, as it is far from the general international consensus, and unlikely the initial intentions of the draftsmen of the charter. In more recent times, one can examine the emerging doctrine of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’(RtoP), which was adopted unanimously by the UN in 2005, as a far more persuasive example of modern legitimacy of humanitarian intervention. While not consolidated within international law, RtoP, which promotes humanitarian intervention where sovereign states fail in their own responsibility to protect their citizens, does use legal language and functions as a comprehensive international framework to prevent human rights
Nawoyski, K. (2012) 'Genocide Emergency: Violence against the Rohingya and other Muslims in Myanmar', p. 1.
The first chapter of the book provides a highly informative background and history to the concept of refugees, as well as their relevance to the modern international political system. The authors importantly point out that defining a refugee is not simply a matter of academic concern because resulting definitions may mean the difference between life and death for people in conflict zones. Defining a refugee involves political and ethical considerations, inevitably creating disagreement regarding the issue. For example, when refugees are defined in a certain way by the United Nations, research will consequently revolve around such definitions and will help support the status quo of the institut...