The Rohingya refugees have a right to return to their own country. The right of return to one’s own country is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Rohingya refugees qualify as citizens of Myanmar. They are considered by Bangladesh as “forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.”
Their real and dominant nationality is Myanmar citizenship, because most of them have been born and brought up in Myanmar. International jurisprudence can be applied to support their real and dominant nationality as citizens of Myanmar.
Tragically, the Rohingya are victims of ethnic cleansing. Over a million Rohingya refugees reside in southeastern Bangladesh under conditions of statelessness. Myanmar stands accused in the International Court of Justice of committing genocide. Its drive to push the Rohingya out of their homeland is being investigated by the International Criminal Court for unlawful deportation.
Most countries in Myanmar’s neighbourhood are not signatories of the 1951 Refugee Convention. Rohingya refugees thus find themselves with little access to civic rights and public services in neighbouring nations. Despite efforts for reform, such as Indian MP Shashi Tharoor’s introduction of an asylum policy bill in the Indian parliament, there has been little headway in guaranteeing the rights of refugees in the neighbourhood.
Nevertheless, countries are bound by customary international law. Refugee crises have occurred in this region in the past, be it with Tibet in the 1950s, Bangladesh in 1971, or the influx of ethnic minorities from Myanmar into China and Thailand.
Bangladesh has been adamant to return the Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar. Bangladesh has often been at odds with international agencies over its treatment of refugees, most notably on the issue of refugee relocation to an island in the Bay of Bengal. But with the vast majority of Rohingya refugees now living in Bangladesh, ensuring the help of the Bangladeshi government is crucial.
Bangladesh’s stated national objective is for the refugees to return to Myanmar. But its efforts towards a meaningful repatriation have been half-hearted. Bangladesh has failed to convince Myanmar to reform its citizenship and human rights laws. The principle of non-refoulement in customary international law means that repatriation must be safe, voluntary, and dignified. This requires the restoration of citizenship and human rights for the Rohingya in Myanmar.
It requires the replacement of the 1982 citizenship law, which creates a system of apartheid citizenship. It also requires the removal of all restrictions on freedom of movement, land ownership, access to state education and health care, family planning, the right to vote, and freedom of religion and language.
Myanmar’s citizenship law creates three tiers of citizens, including full citizens, associate citizens, and naturalized citizens. Associate and naturalized citizens are regarded as second and third class citizens. Many Rohingya living in Rakhine state are not even provided with the second and third tiers of Myanmar’s apartheid citizenship system.
Unlike most countries in the region and the world, Myanmar is not a state party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose government has been overthrown in the recent military coup in Myanmar, is also a victim of these apartheid-like citizenship laws. Her children may not qualify as full citizens in Myanmar.
Her marriage to a British subject bars her from becoming Myanmar’s president. It is one of the great ironies of our time that a Nobel laureate such as Suu Kyi chose to be complacent during the Rohingya atrocities since 2012. At the world court, Suu Kyi defended the same military leadership which has now ousted and arrested her.
The coup in Myanmar has significant implications for regional security and stability. Thant Myint-U, the grandson of former UN Secretary General U Thant, remarked that “the doors just opened to a very different future. I have a sinking feeling that no one will really be able to control what comes next.” Myanmar is a country “awash in weapons” he said. Parts of Myanmar are controlled by insurgents.
For Bangladesh, the emergence of any high intensity conflict in Rakhine state will be of grave concern. In 2017, Bangladesh even suggested joint military operations to counter extremists, but Myanmar did not heed the call. Instead, Myanmar’s military launched a rampage of ethnic cleansing.
For Bangladesh’s national interest in ensuring the long-term repatriation of Rohingya refugees, it needs to embrace the Responsibility to Protect doctrine endorsed by the 2005 World Summit. The Bangladesh Armed Forces must have leadership with integrity and must ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law, including the Geneva and Hague Conventions.
Bangladesh must reciprocate to any violation of its sovereignty with a proportional response. Finally, Bangladesh must coordinate with the international community to build a multinational coalition in support of its efforts. If Bangladesh is serious, its political leadership should unite to face the junta next door.
Umran Chowdhury works in the legal field.
