23 March 2024
On March 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of State declared that the Rohingya Muslims in Burma were victims of genocide and crimes against humanity. Expressing concern over the continued plight and persecution of Rohingya people, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) urged the U.S. government to work with the international community to ensure any support for a post-coup Burma is contingent on the voluntary return and full repatriation of the Rohingya people.
In August 2017, the Burmese military, the Tatmadaw, committed atrocities against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya community.
USCIRF Commissioner Mohamed Magid said it is a painful reminder since the designation of Rohingya Muslims as genocide victims nothing tangible has been done on the ground.
“While the 2022 determination was a milestone in international recognition for the Rohingya people, it was only the first step. This week, we visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s exhibit on Burma’s Path to Genocide. The exhibit is a painful reminder that the dehumanization of the Rohingya people was a process that took decades, but started when the military revoked their citizenship,” said Magid.
“USCIRF welcomes the U.S. government’s efforts to aid Rohingya genocide survivors and the nations that have hosted these refugees, in particular Bangladesh. Even so, the United States needs to act as a beacon of hope by expanding options for Rohingya refugees to resettle in the United States.”
The coup by the Burmese military in 2021 obstructed attempts to establish responsibility and a route for the voluntary return of more than a million Rohingya refugees living in the area. It has also increased the risk of violence and abuse for the 500,000 Rohingya who are still living in camps for internally displaced people in Burma. The State Administration Council (SAC) of the military started beating and kidnapping the families of Rohingya people who managed to avoid conscription earlier this year in an attempt to force them into military service. If in power, opposition parties like the Nation Unity Government have promised to remove the 1982 citizenship law that denies citizenship to Rohingya and to repatriate and integrate any Rohingya who want to go back to Rakhine State.
More than $2.4 billion has been donated by the US to help the genocide survivors – including those who escaped to Bangladesh. Sanctions have also been placed on the people and organizations responsible for the continuous violence.
“The very military that perpetrated genocide against the Rohingya is now attempting to draft them into service, even without a path forward for citizenship after serving,” added USCIRF Commissioner Eric Ueland. “The Tatmadaw is running the country unchecked and chaotically. As outlined in the BURMA Act of 2022, the U.S. government must encourage the National Unity Government to incorporate accountability mechanisms for atrocities committed by the Burmese military against Rohingya.”
A group headed by USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck visited Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in 2022. He provided a first-hand assessment of the Rohingya’s current living conditions in the refugee camps in Bangladesh in an episode of USCIRF’s Spotlight Podcast. During this visit, the delegation had meetings with representatives of international organizations, the Bangladeshi government, and refugees.
USCIRF proposed in its 2023 Annual Report that Burma be reclassified as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) by the U.S. Department of State due to systematic, persistent, and flagrant abuses of religious freedom. USCIRF convened a hearing in January 2024 to talk about how technological use and international influences impact religious freedom in Southeast Asia. Commissioners and witnesses talked about how the Burmese military targets the Rohingya through social media and digital surveillance throughout this hearing.
