The World Most Unwanted People: Crime Against Humanity in Arakan

Abstract

Since the Rohingyas are subjected to gross human rights violations, international human rights law is of great importance in the determination of accountability for these violations. However, holding the Myanmar government accountable on the grounds of international human rights treaties does not have an impressive record. It is not even a state-party to ICCPR or ICESR, let alone any other major human rights treaties. While we shall see whether a human rights instrument will be applied internationally to the Myanmar regime for its violation of the most fundamental of human rights, thankfully, there is another body of international law that can pose a significant cost for the perpetrators, according to customary international law (CIL). The practices of Myanmar to the Rohingyas do not comply with some of the fundamental rules of customary international law and international human rights law. This post discusses the unjustified discrimination on the grounds, of race, ethnicity, religion and gender provides sufficient bases to claims at least crime against humanity has been committed against the Muslim minority in Rakhine states by Myanmar government.