World Must Act Now to Protect Rohingya
“These are not isolated incidents – they are part of a systematic campaign of violence and terror that must be stopped. The Rohingya cannot endure another tragedy while the world remains silent.”
This year’s commemoration of the 2017 Rohingya genocide by the Myanmar military has been marked with resounding calls for immediate intervention by the international community to protect Rohingya civilians. Today, in Rakhine State, the persecution of the Rohingya—survivors of the 2017 genocide—has only intensified, as they are being intentionally targeted by both the Myanmar military junta and the Arakan Army (AA). The UN Security Council must immediately convene an emergency meeting that results in urgent, concrete actions to halt further atrocities against Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State and ensure their protection without delay.
More than seven years on, the Myanmar military’s genocidal persecution of the Rohingya has intensified, as clearly shown by renewed atrocities against the Rohingya. Over the past year, the junta has deliberately and indiscriminately bombed Rohingya villages, killing scores of civilians; blocked access to humanitarian aid for Rohingya communities; and imposed total communication blackouts. Since February 2024, the junta has been forcibly conscripting Rohingya youth for the Myanmar military, forcing them to the frontline to die as human shields.
On 5 August, at least 200 Rohingya—most of them women and children—were massacred on the banks of the Naf River by drone attacks by the AA. They had been forced to flee the escalating violence in Maungdaw Town, where there are intensifying attacks between the AA and the Myanmar military. This massacre follows the AA’s mass arson attack on downtown Buthidaung, home to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, on 17 May. In a joint statement regarding the Naf River Massacre, 28 Rohingya organizations, with 122 civil society organizations in solidarity including Progressive Voice, expounded, “Numerous eyewitnesses told us that the drones and artillery had been launched from the areas under the control of the AA. The Naf River Massacre follows a pattern of similar drone strikes by the AA on urban wards of Maungdaw town and its surrounding Rohingya villages in recent weeks, killing dozens of Rohingya civilians daily.”
The Rohingya fleeing atrocities by the junta, its alliances, and the AA have only one option to escape: attempt the perilous river crossing to Bangladesh. In the last week alone, as violence continues to escalate, at least 26 people, including 18 children, drowned in the Naf River while trying to flee to Bangladesh. For the Rohingya remaining in Rakhine State, their emergency humanitarian needs have never been more dire as they face intensifying targeted attacks.
Hate speech and genocidal rhetoric against the Rohingya are surging online and being dangerously perpetuated by local media. The use of abhorrent terms, such as “Bengali” and “Muslim terrorist,” by the AA and others exacerbates ongoing violence against the Rohingya as a severely persecuted ethnic minority indigenous to Myanmar, wrongly denying their identity and their homeland. Regarding escalating atrocities against the Rohingya, Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, told The Guardian, “These are not isolated incidents – they are part of a systematic campaign of violence and terror that must be stopped. The Rohingya cannot endure another tragedy while the world remains silent.”
On the seventh anniversary of the 2017 Rohingya genocide, the Rohingya Women Organizing Committee “urge[d] the international community to immediately act for [their] community’s survival.” On the same occasion, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar likewise called for global action, rather than mere words of condemnation and sympathy, “The way to end this cycle of horror and violence – a cycle that is repeating itself even as governments take note of the seventh anniversary of the Rohingya genocide – is to put an end to the conditions that enabled that genocide. These include lethal doses of international ignorance and indifference and the impunity that it fostered.”
Of the utmost urgency is the dire need for the immediate protection of Rohingya civilians in Rakhine State as the two main armies at war are targeting and committing atrocities against them. All atrocities and human rights violations, including all indiscriminate and targeted attacks, against Rohingya in Rakhine State must cease.
To uphold its mandate for international peace and security, the UN Security Council must urgently convene an emergency meeting to take immediate action to protect Rohingya civilians, as urged by 28 Rohingya organizations, and echoed by Blood Money Campaign, Defend Myanmar Democracy, and Progressive Voice, as well as the UN Special Rapporteur.
As the military junta and the AA target Rohingya civilians with heinous atrocities, the international community must use all available avenues to exert maximum pressure on the AA to cease atrocities and other human rights violations against civilians. In tandem, to save lives, the global supply of arms, aviation fuel, and dual-use goods to the Myanmar military junta—particularly from Russia, China, India, and Vietnam—must end.
The world must further ensure that cross-border humanitarian aid is facilitated to reach Rohingya communities in Myanmar. The Bangladesh Government, with the international community’s support, must enable cross-border humanitarian aid into Rakhine State. Full, sustainable access to humanitarian aid is also direly needed for displaced Rohingya communities across the region, including in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Rohingya civil society groups, particularly women’s groups, require urgent, direct material and financial support.
As the Rohingya community continues their global fight for justice and accountability for the 2017 genocide, it is all of our responsibility to end—once and for all—the commission of genocide and all other international crimes against them. The cycle of persecution and violence and the decades-long impunity must end. The world must act to protect the Rohingya now.
[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.
Resources from the past week
Statements and Press Releases
By Blood Money Campaign, Defend Myanmar Democracy and Progressive Voice
The Statement by the British Embassy in Myanmar on the 7th Anniversary of the Rohingya Genocide
By United Kingdom Embassy in Yangon
7th Anniversary Of The Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day
By Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Urgent International Action Needed to Address Escalating Humanitarian Crisis in Rakhine State
By Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Myanmar soldiers shoot dead 2 journalists in raid on home
By Committee to Protect Journalists
We Must Continue to Pay Attention to the Military’s Crimes in Myanmar
By Human Rights Now
By Justice For Myanmar
ကရင်နီပြည်ရဲ (KSP) တည်ထောင်ခြင်း (၃) နှစ်ပြည့် အထိမ်းအမှတ် သဝဏ်လွှာ
By Karenni State Consultative Council
By Mayu Region Human Rights Documentation Centre
Statement on Attacks against Rohingya in Arakan State from #MilkTeaAlliance Friends of Myanmar
By Milk Tea Alliance – Friends of Myanmar
Urgent Appeal for Intervention on Behalf of Hindu Communities in Myanmar
By Myanmar Hindu Union and India For Myanmar
Statement on the Seventh Anniversary of the Atrocities Committed Against the Rohingya People in 2017
By National Unity Government
By Politics for Women Myanmar, Rosy Women’s Union – Dawei, Sisters 2 Sisters, Spouses of People’s Soldiers, Women Advocacy Coalition – Myanmar, Women Alliance Burma, Women’s League of Burma and Women’s Peace Network
By Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar
The situation for political prisoners has reached a life-threatening status
By Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar, Former Political Prisoners Society, Women Organization for Political Prisoners, ထောင်ဝင်စာပို့ကြမယ် and နွေဉီးတမန်နိုင်ကျဉ်းကူညီထောက်ပံ့ရေးအဖွဲ့
Statement on Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day
By Rohingya Women Organizing Committee
By Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
By Ta’ang Civil Society Organizations
Rohingya Organisations Joint Statement on Naf River Massacre
By 28 Rohingya Organizations and 122 Civil Society Organizations
Reports
Myanmar: Humanitarian Response Plan 2024 – Quarter Two Dashboard (Jan – Jun 2024)
By UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Progressive Voice is a participatory, rights-based policy research and advocacy organization that was born out of Burma Partnership. Burma Partnership officially ended its work on October 10, 2016 transitioning to a rights-based policy research and advocacy organization called Progressive Voice. For further information, please see our press release “Burma Partnership Celebrates Continuing Regional Solidarity for Burma and Embraces the Work Ahead for Progressive Voice.”
