National and international experts in a ‘Dhaka Declaration’ have urged Myanmar to take the ‘responsibility’ for the Rohingyas' plight and conduct a “transparent and accountable” investigation for their displacement from the Rakhine State.
They condemned the apathy of the government of Myanmar, regional governments and the international community towards the Rohingya people, particularly the sufferings of Rohingya women and children in open seas and urged Myanmar to provide all the host countries as well as the Rohingya people “proper monetary and legal compensation”.
The Dhaka Declaration was adopted on Wednesday night at the end of the ‘International e-Conference on Connecting the Rohingya Diaspora: Highlighting the Global Displacement’, organised by the Centre for Genocide Studies, University of Dhaka; the Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University; and ActionAid Bangladesh.
The conference marks the three-year anniversary of the latest exodus of the Rohingyas from the Rakhine State from August 25, 2017 following ‘ethnic cleansing’.
The 15-point ‘Dhaka Declaration’ recalled the promise of the Global Summit 2005, to take “timely and decisive action in accordance with the UN Charter” in situations of mass killings and mass eviction and the Global Compact for Refugees call for sustainable solutions to refugee situations through international cooperation.
They demanded from the world community an unequivocal commitment to resolve the Rohingya refugee crisis in a sustainable manner and with a regional approach, recognising the fact that Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.2 million Rohingya refugees within its borders.
The declaration also called upon the United Nations and all members of the international community to use diplomatic channels to provide sufficient humanitarian assistance and other support to ensure protection and rights of all Rohingya people and other vulnerable groups.
The experts recognise that the Rohingya have a right to return to their homeland. “We call upon the international community to ensure their voluntary, dignified, informed and safe return to their original homes.”
They recognise the four provisional measures on the Myanmar government as per the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (The Gambia v. Myanmar) case in January 2020 which include the government of Myanmar to prevent genocidal acts and crimes, ensure that the military and other security forces do not commit genocide, preserve evidence of genocidal acts and crimes, report back on its compliance within four months, and then every six months afterwards.
They denounce all sorts of latent and manifest acts of genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority of Myanmar which forced them to leave their country and take refuge in countries of four continents of the world.
The declaration condemned persecution by the state authority in Myanmar that regularly leads to the forced trafficking of a sizable Rohingya population, as well as the exploitation and extortion associated with it; recognising how these atrocities make millions of Rohingya women, men and children stateless in other countries.
They recognised the risks that the Rohingya people regularly take to avoid persecution in Myanmar and the precarious journey by boat they embark on to take refuge in neighboring countries.
They also called upon the ASEAN to take necessary steps to compel Myanmar to terminate the persecution of the Rohingya people once and for all.
To all governments, civil society, and multilateral agencies, they urged to create a multi-pronged participatory mechanism in order to address and bring resolution to the plight of the Rohingya by putting pressure on the government of Myanmar.
They made the call upon the Rohingya diaspora to mobilise tangible and intangible resources to support the struggle of the Rohingya, especially after the recognition from ICJ.
In order to be able to play a significant role the Rohingya diaspora need to develop a strong network creating a virtual diaspora space for raising a strong voice in the international community demanding their due rights from Myanmar, called the Dhaka Declaration.
“In this context, the women Rohingya diaspora can be a game changer in creating a gender sensitive Rohingya society and add to the voice of the humiliated and violated.”
