In a speech on October 13, 2022 at the European Diplomatic Academy in Bruges, Josep Borell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said: “Europe is a garden. We have built a garden … the rest of the world … is not exactly a garden. Most of the rest of the world is a jungle.”
Maybe this explains why the rest of the world’s humanitarian issues haven’t gotten the attention they deserve. According to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the 2022 “Stand Up for Ukraine” worldwide pledging drive garnered $8.9 billion, “this is among the fastest and most generous responses a humanitarian flash appeal has ever received.” But similar generosity is absent in case of Myanmar, Gaza, Yemen, the Sahel, Ethiopia and Afghanistan.
A month after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grew, in February 2022, the ICC Prosecutor declared that the court will look into possible crimes in Ukraine. A severe warning against committing crimes in Ukraine was also issued by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court has not made any comparable, strong public pronouncements about Myanmar. Although arrest warrants, and prosecutions might have served as a preventative measure, particularly during a conflict.
When humanity and humanitarian responses are selective, it leads to another disaster, just what we’re watching now, from January 2024 to July 2025, Arakan Army (AA) drove away more than 150,000 Rohingyas who were still living in Rakhine after 2017 Rohingya clearance operation by the Myanmar military. Recent reports claims that around 50000 more Rohingyas are waiting to cross into Bangladesh freshly. If this continues, soon we’ll watch a Rohingya free Rakhine State.
Stepping into the 9th year, world leaders could not secure even a single Rohingya’s return to Myanmar. When Bangladesh opened her border for the Rohingyas in 2017, on humanitarian ground, world’s community promised equal sharing of the humanitarian duty, but sadly, the world leaders could neither secure the required amount of JRP funding (Donors contributed only 56% in 2024 and approximately 71% to 70% in 2023 and 2022) nor ensure justice for the genocide and crime against humanity against the Rohingya population.
In a study conducted in January 2018 with a total of 3,321 Rohingya FDMN (Forcefully Displaced Myanmar Nationals) households in Cox’s Bazar, a UN Fact-Finding Mission estimated that in 2017, the military and the local Rakhine population had killed at least 25,000 Rohingya and committed gang rapes and other forms of sexual violence against 18,000 Rohingya women and girls. According to their estimates, 36,000 Rohingya were burned alive and 116,000 others were beaten, an atrocities unseen since 1994 Rwandan genocide.
In 2022, UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) found evidence of crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar military. The Commission for International Justice and Accountability, CIJA also revealed their collected documents proving systematic purge of Rohingya. But still no concrete actions have been taken by the world leaders.
Genocide cases are ongoing in the ICJ, ICC, the Argentine International court, the Indonesian and the German courts against the Junta. But this will take years to reach a verdict.
When high-level criminals and centralized commands commit mass atrocities, the world community has the means and knows what to do. As in the situations of Sudan and Libya, the UN Security Council could refer the matter to the ICC to expand the prosecutor’s current investigation to include all crimes committed on Myanmar’s territory.
As it did in the wake of massacres in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, the council may also create an ad hoc tribunal and provide it the power to investigate crimes committed against the Rohingya. A regional nation may suggest a special tribunal or a third-party state may call for the extradition of alleged criminals, both of which actions helped bring the dictator of Chad to trial and conviction.
But sadly, we haven’t seen any such actions in case of Myanmar. Bangladesh continues carrying out humanitarian duties all alone. However, after several failed repatriation attempts in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024, Malaysia and Bangladesh geared up for fresh new approaches to try solve the issue and ensure their sustainable repatriation. Malaysia, Bangladesh and several other ASEAN nations are sending a peace mission in Myanmar to try to bring peace in Myanmar and ensure sustainable and safe return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar.
This year, three international conferences are also being organized to resolve the crisis. First in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh (August 24-26), the second on September 30 in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, and the third on December 6 in Doha, Qatar.
It is past time for world leaders to drop the ‘double standard’ label and, by patronizing these initiatives, compel Myanmar actors to ensure just peace and sustainable return of the Rohingya FDMN.
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Dr. Mohammad Asaduzzaman is a professor at the Department of Linguistics, University of Dhaka, and Director General of the International Mother Language Institute.
