Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh hold rallies on seventh anniversary of exodus News
Tasnim News Agency, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh hold rallies on seventh anniversary of exodus

Footage from Northeast Live shows tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees were holding rallies in refugee camps Sunday to mark the seven-year anniversary of “genocide day” in Myanmar.

Individuals involved in the rallies continued to call for an end to the violence and the ability to return to their home state, seven years on from the beginning of the Myanmar’s military “crackdown” against the minority Muslim group. The military campaign resulted in government officials engaging in countless acts of murder, torture and assault against Rohingya individuals. Activist group Human Rights Watch claims the acts amount to “crimes against humanity,” as victims continue to recall accounts of violence, robberies and abductions.

Hundreds of thousands of individuals fled to neighboring states as a result of the persecution, with most ultimately seeking refuge in Bangladesh. Following the 2021 coup, which saw the military junta taking control of the state, new waves of violence and restrictions on the movement of Rohingya saw many others follow, and an estimated 1 million Rohingya refugees now reside in Bangladesh camps.

The issue is currently the subject of proceedings at the International Criminal Court, where it is alleged Myanmar has violated the Genocide Convention due to the attacks against the group, which are still ongoing. The UN Secretary General expressed concern in July over the increase in violence in the state, revealing that recent attacks had shown that the military were targeting Rohingya. Last year UN expert Tom Andrews expressed the opinion that the international community has failed its responsibility to the Rohingya, noting that the UN Security Council had failed to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court so that individuals involved could be held criminally liable for the human rights violations that had taken place.

Approximately 600,000 Rohingya remain in Myanmar, though the group remain officially stateless due to a 1982 law barring citizenship. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, recently reaffirmed the importance of international support for the safety of the community, declaring that further measures must be taken to “protect the Rohingya and other civilian victims of this cruel conflict.”

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