Rights groups urge UN member states to pursue accountability for Rohingya genocide

Fortify Rights and 57 other groups in a joint statement on Wednesday said United Nations member states must pursue accountability for genocide and other atrocities committed against ethnic Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State, Myanmar.

"Eight years on from the start of the Myanmar military's genocidal attacks against Rohingya, not a single person has been held criminally responsible. This is a deep stain on the world's conscience," said Senior Advocate at Fortify Rights Patrick Phongsathorn.

"It's not too late to address this injustice. The UN Security Council (UNSC) should immediately refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, and all UN Member States should explore every possible avenue to pursue justice for the Rohingya," Phongsathorn said.

August 25 is Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day and marks the Myanmar military's initiation of a series of massacres, killings, rapes and other genocidal attacks, which led to the forced deportation of at least 700,000 Rohingya people from northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh in 2017.

The joint statement noted that a UN Security Council referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) would "ensure comprehensive accountability for crimes committed against all communities" in Myanmar.

Apart from a Security Council referral, the statement called on all UN Member States to "exercise universal jurisdiction to initiate or support criminal prosecutions of those responsible for crimes."

Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that enables domestic courts in many different countries to pursue justice for international atrocity crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity.

On September 30, the UN General Assembly will convene a high-level conference on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, where participants are expected to discuss responses to the ongoing abuses suffered by the Rohingya.

The joint statement expressed concern "about the lack of Rohingya representation at the conference and the need for a wider spectrum of voices, including Rohingya women, youth, and diverse Rohingya-led civil society from Myanmar, Bangladesh, and the global diaspora."

"Violence, abuse, and persecution of the Rohingya by multiple actors have been tolerated by the international community for too long," said Patrick.

"As governments again gather to discuss the Rohingya crisis and the junta's widespread atrocities throughout Myanmar, concrete steps toward justice and accountability must be devised alongside and in close consultation with Rohingya survivors."

On August 25, 2017, following coordinated attacks by Rohingya militants on several Myanmar security posts, Myanmar armed forces and groups of local non-Rohingya citizens raped and murdered Rohingya men, women, and children, and burned and looted Rohingya property.

Publicly referred to by the Myanmar authorities as "clearance operations," the attacks on August 25, 2017, and subsequent atrocities led to the fastest exodus of refugees since the Rwanda genocide.

A Fortify Rights report, released in 2018, found that Myanmar authorities made "extensive and systematic preparations" for attacks against Rohingya civilians in the weeks and months prior to the militant attacks on August 25, 2017, indicating premeditated genocidal intent on the part of the Myanmar authorities.

Similarly, a 2019 report from the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, established by the UN Human Rights Council, found evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity.

On March 21, 2022, the US government issued a determination that Myanmar's military committed genocide against the Rohingya.

Since the Myanmar military's attempted coup on February 1, 2021, the Rohingya continue to suffer grave risks and ongoing persecution.

The junta's movement restrictions and aid blockages have caused widespread hunger and avoidable civilian deaths.

The Myanmar junta and Rohingya armed groups have unlawfully conscripted Rohingya in Bangladesh and Myanmar to fight in the ongoing conflict against the ethnic Rakhine armed group, the Arakan Army (AA).

Many other ethnic minority communities throughout Myanmar have also faced relentless airstrikes, civilian massacres, and other abuses at the hands of the illicit military junta's forces.

The AA, which currently controls much of Rakhine State, has committed serious violations of the laws of war against Rohingya civilians, including murder, mutilation, and torture.

In May 2024, following fighting between the AA and the Myanmar junta and its allied Rohingya militias, AA fighters committed widespread arson and destruction of civilian property in downtown Buthidaung – a predominantly Rohingya town in northern Rakhine State.

On August 5 and 6, 2024, AA forces attacked fleeing Rohingya civilians as they attempted to seek safety in neighboring Bangladesh, killing more than one hundred men, women, and children.

More recently, Fortify Rights has documented how the AA have systematically abducted, tortured, killed, and beheaded Rohingya civilians.

All parties to the armed conflict in Myanmar must comply with international humanitarian law and engage with international justice mechanisms, Fortify Rights and 57 other groups said.