The Rohingya: Myanmar’s Unwanted Minority

Abstract

This article analyses the plight of Myanmar’s unwanted people— the Rohingya. Although they have inhabited the country for centuries, the Rohingya are not listed as one of the 135 legally recognized ethnic groups by the state and are therefore categorized as illegal immigrants. Rendered stateless, subject to decades of oppression and systematic human rights violations by the country’s successive governments, these people have now become, according to the UN, the most persecuted minority in the world. While an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Rohingya once lived in Myanmar, only around one- fifth remain at present. Over the last four decades, almost two thirds of its population have fled the country due to state- sponsored ethnic persecution. This article addresses: the reason for the Rohingya’s statelessness; their disputed origins and the issue of Rohingya identity; the context of the Rohingya crisis; the nature of human rights violations against the community; the situation of the Rohingya in Bangladesh; and, finally, international reaction to the crisis.