Briefing on the Alarming Human Rights Situation in Arakan State, Myanmar, Against Civilian Population

 

Briefing on the Alarming Human Rights Situation in Arakan State, Myanmar, Against 

Civilian Population 

Date: 2nd June 2024 

We, Rohingya Justice Initiative (RJI), are closely monitoring and analysing the deteriorating human rights situation in Arakan, Myanmar. We have interviewed several direct victims and witnesses of the crimes and call upon the United Nation Human Rights Council, United Nations member states, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Global Leaders and wider international community to acknowledge the current human rights situation in Arakan state, Myanmar (Burma) against the civilian population by the rebel group known as Arakan Army, along with its allies, known as the 3 Brotherhood Alliance (3BHA) and State Administrative Council (SAC) military junta. We call upon the international community to take immediate action to uphold humanitarian and human rights values and principles. 

The Rohingya people have endured severe and institutionalized violence and human rights abuses for decades at the hands of successive governments of Myanmar.  This violence has amounted to crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya population and forced more than 800,000 to flee to neighboring countries in 2017. Despite ongoing proceedings and investigations at, for example, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court (ICC), and domestic proceedings in Argentina, the Rohingya crisis remains a global concern without a meaningful resolution from the international community. Serious crimes and grave human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated against the Rohingya and the current and escalating armed conflicts see civilians increasingly targeted. 

Since 23rd November 2023, the situation in Myanmar’s Arakan state for the civilian population has significantly worsened. The Rohingya population has become the target of forced conscription by both the SAC military junta and the rebel group Arakan Army. Other crimes perpetrated by resistance groups against the Rohingya population include the rape of Rohingya women by the members of Arakan Army, extortion, serious mental and physical harm, arbitrary arrest and detention, force displacement, killing, massacre, cruel treatment, confiscation of land, destruction of property, imposition of arbitrary fines, forced labor, hate speech and other racial and religious discrimination against the Rohingya population. These crimes amount to a second wave of crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya population in Arakan State, Myanmar. RJI has also received reports that Rakhine and other non-Muslim houses were destroyed by SAC forces. 

These various acts of violence violate international law. Myanmar has taken no measures to prevent these acts nor provide protection to Rohingya and other civilians. The Republic of the 

Union of Myanmar is in clear violation of the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in its decision relating to the request for provisional measures in the case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar, requiring that Myanmar shall take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Moreover, the responsibility to protect principle establishes obligations on states to protect its own populations from genocide, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, and where the state does not fulfil this obligation, the international community should take action to protect the population.  

RJI seeks the immediate attention and action of the international community to seek a resolution to immediately halt all violence against the civilian population in Arakan State, Myanmar. RJI calls on the international community to strengthen accountability efforts for the crimes committed against the civilian population.  

RJI encourages Myanmar civilians to support pro-democracy forces who strive to protect the civilian population. RJI implores the people of Myanmar not to repeat the past witnessing of grave human rights violations against civilians, regardless of their ethnic and religious background, and calls upon all Myanmar civilian, pro-democracy forces, institutions and other organizations to condemn any crimes committed against civilians, noting that Myanmar people from all ethnicities and religions have sacrificed their lives in pursuit of democracy and peace for a long time. Spring Revolution Must Win, Ending The Atrocities And Lasting Conflicts In Myanmar.  

Furthermore , RJI urges the United Nations member states to immediately call on the United Nations Human Rights Council to convene an “Emergency Special Session” to find a resolution to address the dire humanitarian and human rights situation in Arakan state, Myanmar. The international community should seek ways to urgently deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to affected  populations.  

RJI calls, and hopes for, your kind attention and prompt response to save the lives of innocent Rohingya civilians in Arakan State, Myanmar. 

Some references of the victims and witnesses statements as follows:

“Arakan Army along with 3BHA forces positioned intentionally in our village and shot guns upward to the sky and military started shooting motor shells and guns towards our village that resulted in dozens of killings and injuries with devastating destruction of properties and infrastructures in our village. The villagers have been displaced and we do not have access to medication, food and even clothes.”

"When the military junta started conscription law, we ran and escaped because we were survivors of the crimes committed by the military junta for decades. We were not supposed to

contribute to the military junta but rather to the pro democracy forces. And we reached out to the

Arakan Army to participate in the resistance movement to join in achieving democracy in

Myanmar ending military dictatorship that we endured a lot along the history. But unfortunately,

Arakan Army officials denied us to include and fight against the military junta saying that the

Rakhine have the only right to liberate the land of Arakan and non-Rakhine doesn’t. And we became hopeless from finding a peaceful life for us, and on the other hand we didn’t have a place to hide and military forcibly conscripted a lot of Rohingya youths. After the thousands and thousands of Rohingya youths conscription to use as human shield  the Arakan Army started to force Rohingya youths to use in the same way."

"When we were sitting as a group of people in our village, we endured a motor shell that injured about a dozen people including me in April and the other day at night we endured plenty of motor shell that resulted dozens of killings and injuries that even forced us to leave our village

with empty handed by the Arakan Army at midnight and when we reached to another village to

save our lives, some people were arbitrary abducted by the Arakan Army and extorted billions of

Myanmar Kyat and once again we were forced to flee to other villages and now we are living without any medical treatment, and other humanitarian aid including food. Villagers were helpful

to us when we arrived there with feeding us but nowadays they struggles with the limitations of their own capacity to feed themselves."

"In recent days, Arakan Army asked to bring the conscripted youths by the junta to them by their parents and when parents said that they were not aware of their children, Arakan Army killed their whole families.  Also they razed the whole Buthidaung town with beheadings and grave destruction of properties"

For further queries: rohingyajusticeinitiative@gmail.com