US Congress House accuses Myanmar of ‘genocide’

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly adopted a resolution calling Myanmar’s expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims a “genocide.”

The lower house of Congress also accused the Myanmar military of “crimes against humanity”.

Background

The Rohingya are an ethnic Muslim minority group from Myanmar’s western Rakhine state. Myanmar regards Rohingya as illegal migrants from the Indian subcontinent and has confined tens of thousands to sprawling camps outside Sittwe since violence swept the area in 2012. More than 700,000 Rohingya crossed into Bangladesh last year fleeing an army crackdown in the north of Rakhine, according to UN agencies.

The international community has expressed its concern over the plight of the Rohingya Muslims and the escalating violence. For the first time in eight years, the UN held its first public meeting on the situation. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the violence in the region has "spiraled into the world's fastest-developing refugee emergency, a humanitarian and human rights nightmare." He added, “We've received bone-chilling accounts from those who fled, mainly women, children and the elderly.”

Most of Rohingya Muslim refugees fled to Bangladesh where many now reside in refugee camps. They have since spoken out about gruesome violence that they managed to escape by braving dangerous journeys. Rakhine State occupies the northern coastline of Myanmar up to the border with Bangladesh and corresponds to the historical Kingdom of Arakan. UN-mandated investigators have accused the Myanmar army of "genocidal intent" and ethnic cleansing. Myanmar has denied most allegations of atrocities.

Analysis

The lower house of Congress accused the Myanmar military of “crimes against humanity” and called for the immediate release of two Reuters journalists who have been detained for covering the crisis.

The resolution was backed by 394 votes from both parties, with a single Republican opposing.

The United Nations has already classified the mass expulsions of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes as a “genocide.”

Members of Congress called on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “determine, based on available evidence, whether the actions by the (Myanmar) military in northern Rakhine State in 2017 constitute crimes against humanity, genocide, or other crimes under international law.”

It added that “all those responsible for these crimes against humanity and genocide should be tracked, sanctioned, arrested, prosecuted, and punished under applicable international criminal statutes and conventions.”

In November 2017, Pompeo’s predecessor, Rex Tillerson, called the military’s campaign against the Rohingya “ethnic cleansing” and in August issued sanctions against four commanders and two military units involved.

Since then, the State Department has been examining whether the actions of the military can be classified as genocide, a tougher, more legally binding term than “ethnic cleansing.”

Vice President Mike Pence told Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi last month that the actions of the military were “inexcusable.”

“That conclusion of ethnic cleansing … in no way prejudices any potential further analysis on whether mass atrocities have taken place, including genocide or crimes against humanity,” State Department deputy spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters this week.

More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled the violence in Rakhine state since the Myanmar military launched an offensive in August 2017.

Myanmar denies the charge of ethnic cleansing, saying it was responding to attacks by Muslim rebels.

The United Nations has previously expressed concerns against immediate repatriation of the 700,000 people who have fled Myanmar. The organization has noted that it would not be secure as the region is still vulnerable to violence. However, Myanmar has announced that it has successfully repatriated the first Rohingya family.

However, these claims have been refuted by the Bangladeshi government. In fact, the Bangladeshi Government and the United Nations refugee agency have disputed Myanmar's claim. The UN has stated that neither the government of Bangladesh nor the aid agency had any involvement in any such repatriation.

Assessment

Our assessment is that international pressure and action may accelerate negotiations in favour of the displaced Rohingyas. We believe the nature and scale of such action should be considerate of both parties so as to not alienate either from comprehensive talks.