The United States is committed to advancing justice and accountability for Rohingya and all the people of Myanmar in solidarity with the victims and survivors, says US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken.
“Five years ago, Burma’s military launched a brutal campaign against Rohingya – razing villages, raping, torturing, and perpetrating large-scale violence that killed thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children,” he said in a media statement on Wednesday.
Blinken issued the notice, on the occasion of commemorating five years of the Rohingya exodus from Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
He said that over 740,000 Rohingya were forced to flee their homes and seek refuge in Bangladesh.
“In March of this year, I spoke at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and attested that the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against Rohingya amounted to crimes against humanity and constitute genocide,” he added.
Many of the same military forces, since the February 2021 coup d’état, continue to repress, torture, and kill the people of Myanmar in a blatant attempt to extinguish the country’s democratic future.
He said that the recent executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders are only the latest example of the military’s abject disregard for the lives of the people of Myanmar.
“Its escalation of violence has exacerbated the worsening humanitarian situation, particularly for ethnic and religious minority communities, including Rohingya, who continue to remain among the most vulnerable and marginalized populations in the country,” he stated.
Blinken assured that the US is committed towards advancing justice and accountability for the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals.
“We continue to support the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, the case under the Genocide Convention that The Gambia has brought against Burma before the International Court of Justice, and credible courts around the world that have jurisdiction in cases involving Myanamr military’s atrocity crimes,” he said.
The United States also supports measures by the UN Security Council to promote justice and accountability for the military’s actions in line with its mandate to promote international peace and security.
The US secretary of state also assured that they would support a UN Security Council referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court.
The US has provided over $1.7 billion to assist those affected by the crisis in Myanmar, Bangladesh, and elsewhere in the region, remaining the “leading single donor of life-saving humanitarian assistance to those whose lives have been upended by the violence in Rakhine State.”
Blinken expressed solidarity with the Bangladesh government and those hosting Rohingyas in their homeland.
The US is working to significantly increase resettlement of Rohingya refugees from the region, including from Bangladesh, so that they can rebuild their lives in the United States, he said.
Meanwhile, the US also issued a joint ministerial statement on the fifth anniversary of the Myanmar’s army’s crackdown on the ethnic minority in Rakhine.
“These deplorable actions against Rohingya precipitated one of the largest mass exoduses of a minority in recent history. We are concerned by the UN Fact Finding Mission’s establishment of consistent patterns of serious human rights violations and abuses, of which many amounts to grave crimes under international law,” the office of the spokesperson said in a media statement on Wednesday.
“We also recognize other initiatives to hold perpetrators accountable, including The Gambia’s efforts before the International Court of Justice, which is currently examining whether the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against Rohingya amounted also to genocide. We reiterate that Myanmar must comply with the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures order,” it added.
The statement said that the Rohingya themselves suffer human rights violations and abuses, discrimination, systematic persecution, and denial of access to basic services – including the right to citizenship.
“Around 150,000 Rohingya have been confined to camps without freedom of movement in Rakhine for a decade. Women and girls continue to be at extreme risk under the current conditions,” the US State Department said.
Commending the courage of Rohingya communities, the US reiterated its commitment to holding the perpetrators of these violations and abuses to account, and acknowledge the work of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and others contributing to this objective.
The US called on the military regime to cease its violence against those who have suffered under its rule, including the decades of grave human rights violations and abuses endured by Rohingya and other communities in Myanmar.
It also expressed appreciation for the important efforts of humanitarian organizations that extend protection and support to the displaced community.
The US called on the international community to ensure justice for the Rohingyas and ensure safe, voluntary and dignified return to their own country.
