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Justice for Rohingyas

Int’l conclave in Hague Oct 18


Published : 12 Oct 2019 09:11 PM | Updated : 03 Sep 2020 12:21 AM

With an aim to ensure justice to Rohingyas through bringing the perpetrators of 2017 genocide on the ‘stateless community’, an international conclave will be held in The Hague, Netherlands, on October 18.

The Centre for Peace and Justice (CPJ) of Brac University, Asia Justice Coalition, and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam will organise the event in Hague, in order to focus on the issue of ‘justice and accountability’ for Rohingyas.

Experts from home and abroad, researchers, policymakers, human rights activists and others are expected to participate.

“The goal is to bring justice and accountability to the centre of the Rohingya crisis. The international community should force Myanmar to take back Rohingyas from Bangladesh within a short time," Manzoor Hasan, Executive Director of CPJ, told the media in Dhaka on Saturday.

Manzoor said there will be three main themes of the conclave - atrocity, accountability and justice.

Bangladesh has been hosting over a million Rohingyas, most of whom fled their homeland in Myanmar’s Rakhine State after a brutal military offensive in late August 2017. 

Bangladesh is currently accommodating 4.7 percent of total global refugee population, CPJ said in a statement.

Manzoor said the crimes committed in Myanmar against Rohingyas have triggered a number of accountability initiatives, including a case before the International Criminal Court on forced deportation as a crime against humanity.

Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar Bob Rae, Gambia’s Minister of Justice Abubacarr Marie Tambadou, Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque, Rector, International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam Inger Hutter, former Ambassador Laetitia van den Assum, Vice-Chancellor, Brac University Vincent Chang, Bangladesh Ambassador to the Netherlands Sheikh Mohammed Belal, Director, Centre for Global Policy, USA Azeem Ibrahim, Senior Legal Adviser, International Court of Justice Kingsley Abbott, Chairperson, Asia Pacific Refugee Right Network, Malaysia Lilianne Fan, South Asia Director, Amnesty International Biraj Patnaik, Rohingya leader and President, Burmese Rohingya Organization, UK Tun Khin, Director, Centre for Genocide Studies and Prof Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka Imtiaz Ahmed, Prof of International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands Syed Mansoob Murshed and Executive Director, Centre for Peace and Justice, Brac University, Bangladesh Manzoor Hasan will address the conclave in various sessions.

Monzoor said international consensus is growing that accountability will be an important component of the path forward. “Panellists will offer an overview of the current efforts underway to hold perpetrators accountable for atrocities against the Rohingya as well as other ethnic minority groups in Myanmar," he said.

Manzoor said Bangladesh cannot solve the Rohingya problem alone.

Shireen Huq of Naripokkho said Myanmar must be brought to justice. "We need India, China and Russia beside us to solve the problem.”

She said, “At the conclave, we’ll discuss the issue at three panels: Rohingya crisis and Myanmar's social and political landscapes; justice and accountability; and towards sustainable solutions: multi-faceted engagements for concrete action.”