As we mark the eighth year since the 2017 Rohingya exodus from Rakhine State to Bangladesh during the Myanmar military’s so-called ‘clearance operations’, the deteriorating situation of the Rohingya in both Myanmar and Bangladesh warrants urgent, coordinated, and decisive interventions from the international community.
In blatant breach of the provisional measures order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus, the Myanmar military continues to commit indiscriminate violence constituting crimes against humanity and war crimes, including airstrikes, drone attacks, heavy artillery shelling, and landmine casualties across the country, in clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. The military junta has killed more than 7,074 civilians, and over 22,314 people have been arbitrarily arrested and remain under detention, with widespread and systematic reports of torture, ill treatment, and sexual violence. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 3.6 million people have been internally displaced, and 19.9 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid. The devastating 28 March earthquake further deepened the humanitarian crisis in the country.
