Rohingya Conflict
Invisible suffering of Rohingya refugees
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Mains level: Rohingya and Tibetan issue
Why in the news?
International attention is urgently needed to address the worsening mental health crisis among Rohingya refugees in India.
About Rohingya Sufferings
- Trauma and Mental Health: Rohingya refugees in Delhi experience severe trauma, including anxiety, dissociative episodes, and depression, often due to past experiences in Myanmar and ongoing re-traumatization from living conditions and violence in India.
- Living Conditions: Rohingya refugees live in shanty-like huts prone to accidental and intentionally set fires, leading to constant fear and re-traumatization.
- Discrimination and Legal Status: Officially labelled as “illegal immigrants,” Rohingya refugees face severe discrimination in India. They are denied full access to education, healthcare, legal services, and formal employment opportunities.
- Detention and Deportation: Fear of arbitrary detention and deportation is widespread, despite many having UNHCR refugee cards. At least 500 Rohingya, including women and children, are detained in centres across India without criminal charges, some for decades.
- Civil Society and Funding: Civil society organizations working with Rohingya refugees face funding challenges due to cancelled FCRA licenses. Many support programs have shut down or reduced operations, leaving few UNHCR-supported organizations to cautiously continue their work.
About unsolved Tibetan issue
The Tibetan issue in India is a complex and contentious topic with historical, cultural, and political implications.
Historical Background
- Pre-20th Century: Tibet recognized itself as an autonomous nation under Chinese protection, while China claimed formal incorporation into its borders during the Yuan Dynasty.
- 20th Century: The relationship between Tibet and China became increasingly strained, culminating in the 1950 Chinese invasion of Tibet and the subsequent annexation of the region.
Ongoing Challenges
- Tibetan Independence Movement: The Tibetan independence movement continues to push for greater autonomy and recognition of Tibet as a sovereign nation.
- Chinese Censorship and Suppression: The Chinese government maintains strict control over information and suppresses any dissent or opposition to its rule in Tibet.
Current Situation
- Declining Refugee Numbers: Over the last seven years, the Tibetan refugee community in India has dropped by 44 percent, from around 150,000 in 2011 to 85,000, according to Indian government data.
- Economic Uncertainty: Many Tibetans face economic uncertainty due to limited job opportunities and restrictions on property ownership and bank credit.
- Lack of Recognition: Tibetans are not officially recognized as refugees in India, instead being designated as “foreigners” under Indian law.
- No National Refugee Law: India has no national refugee law, and its policies are not in accordance with international standards.
Way forward:
- Implement National Refugee Law: Advocate for the establishment of a comprehensive national refugee law in India that aligns with international standards, ensuring legal recognition, protection, and access to basic rights and services for all refugees, including Rohingya and Tibetans.
- Enhance Mental Health Support: Develop and fund specialized mental health programs for refugees, focusing on trauma-informed care. This includes training local healthcare providers, increasing access to mental health services, and creating safe spaces for refugees to receive consistent psychological support.
Mains PYQ:
Q Refugees should not be turned back to the country where they would face persecution or human right violation”. Examine the statement with reference to the ethical dimension being violated by the nation claiming to be democratic with an open society. (UPSC IAS/2021)
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Rohingya Conflict
What is India’s policy on the Rohingya?
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Rohingyas
Mains level: Global refugee crisis
In a major boost to India’s policy on the Rohingya, the MHA would shift Rohingya refugees to flats meant for EWS in Delhi.
Why in news?
- This is seen as a response to the fundamentalists who claims that the NRC, CAA are against any particular community.
- India respects & follows the UN Refugee Convention 1951 & provides refuge to all, regardless of their race, religion or creed.
Who are the Rohingyas?
- Rohingya, an ethnic group, mostly Muslim, hail from the Rakhine province of west Myanmar, and speak a Bengali dialect.
- They comprise one million out of the 53 million people that live in Myanmar, forming the world’s largest stateless population in a single country.
- Universally reviled by the country’s Buddhist majority, they have been oppressed by the government since the late 1970s when the government launched a campaign to identify ‘illegal immigrants’.
- Serious abuses were committed, forcing as many as 250,000 Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh.
- The 1982 Citizenship Law in former Burma made the Rohingyas stateless people.
- They have often been called the most persecuted minority in the world.
- The 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims squeezed precariously into the northwest state of Rakhine, in mainly Buddhist Burma, bordering majority Muslim Bangladesh, are stateless and unwanted.
Why are they stateless?
- To qualify for citizenship, Rohingya applicants had to renounce their identity and accept being labelled as ‘Bengalis’ on all official documents.
- They also had to prove that they could trace the presence of their family in Rakhine back three generations.
- This is extremely difficult as many Rohingya lack documents or had lost them in 2012.
Why did the Crisis happen?
- Since World War II they have been treated increasingly by Burmese authorities as illegal, interloping Bengalis, facing apartheid-like conditions that deny them free movement or state education.
- The army “clearing operations” sparked the mass exodus of Rohingyas in both October 2016.
- In August 2017, were launched after insurgents known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked several paramilitary check posts.
- Rohingya activists claim the insurgents are mainly young men who have been pushed to breaking point by relentless oppression.
Security Implications
- The Rohingya issue and its spill over impact on Myanmar`s western peripheral region and security implications figured in the discussions is not clear.
- In all probability, the import of the ferment caused by the Rohingya migration, efforts of radical Islamists to influence some of the Rohingya youth, and the Pakistan attempts to capitalise on the situation.
- Rising anger in the Muslim world about the plight of the Rohingya has compounded fears of home-grown militancy as well as support from international jihadists.
- Illegal movement of people, combined with human trafficking and cross-border migration, can weaken Myanmar’s relations with its neighbour Bangladesh and its ASEAN partners.
Where do the Rohingya live in Delhi?
- The Rohingya live in hutments in the densely populated Kalindi Kunj and Madanpur Khadar areas in Delhi which are contiguous with Uttar Pradesh.
- Officially, about 1,200 Rohingya have been identified as among the first batch to have arrived in Delhi in 2012.
- After they protested outside the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) office in Delhi, they were provided with refugee cards.
Total Rohingyas in India
- In December 2017, the MHA informed Parliament that there are around 40,000 Rohingya in India, of which around 5,700 are in Jammu and also in Telangana, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan.
- Of these, only 16,000 are said to be registered with the UN refugee agency.
- The MHA claimed that the exact number is not known as many of them enter the country.
How is the Delhi government involved?
- The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), responsible for tracking foreigners and their visas, has been requesting space at a new location for the Rohingya from the Delhi government since 2021.
- The FRRO is under the administrative control of the MHA.
When did the Rohingya come to Delhi?
- A/c to MHA, they first came to Delhi in 2012.
- They were forced to leave Myanmar in large numbers after several waves of violence, which first began in 2012.
- The Myanmar army revived the attacks in 2017 and lakhs took shelter in Bangladesh.
- Around five lakh Rohingya fled to Saudi Arabia in 2012.
What is the process of deportation?
- According to the MHA, illegal immigrants are detected, detained and deported under provisions of the Passport Act, 1920 or the Foreigners Act, 1946.
- Once a ‘foreigner’ has been apprehended by the police for staying illegally, without any document, he or she is produced before the local court.
- The powers to identify and deport them have also been delegated to State governments and UTs.
- If the accused is found guilty, they can be imprisoned for three months to eight years.
- After completing their sentence, the court orders deportation.
Have any Rohingya been deported?
- Any foreign nationals who enter into India without valid travel documents are treated as illegal immigrants.
- In 2018, seven Rohingya were deported to Myanmar.
- It was the first time that Myanmar issued a certificate of identity to the seven Rohingya. They had been picked up in Assam in 2012.
- Many Rohingyas have expressed their desire to return to their country and gave an undertaking that they were returning out of their free will.
India’s stance on Rohingyas
- Amid fears of fresh exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar, the MHA in 2017 cautioned all the States about infiltration from Rakhine State of Myanmar into Indian Territory.
- It cited the burden on the limited resources of the country that aggravates the security challenges especially in the North-East.
- It also said the rise in terrorism in the last few decades is a cause for concern in most nations and that illegal migrants are more vulnerable to getting recruited by terrorist organisations.
What is India’s stand on refugees?
- India is NOT a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol.
- All foreign undocumented nationals are governed as per the provisions of:
- The Foreigners Act, 1946
- The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939
- The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and
- The Citizenship Act, 1955
Way forward: A humane approach is needed
- India must enact a National Asylum and Deportation Law. Since certain exoduses cannot be prevented due to international pressures.
- We need a proper framework to make sure that refugees can access basic public services, be able to legally seek jobs and livelihood opportunities for some source of income.
- The absence of such a framework will make the refugees vulnerable to exploitation, which is again detrimental to our own national security.
- Our judiciary has already shown the way forward on this: In 1996, the Supreme Court ruled that the state has to protect all human beings living in India, irrespective of nationality since they enjoy the rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 20, and 21 of the Constitution to all, not just Indian citizens.
- The enactment and enumeration of refugee rights will reduce our dependence on judge-centric approaches — or even worse, the whims of Home Ministry bureaucrats, police officers and politicians.
Try this
Q. In the absence of a uniform and comprehensive law to deal with asylum seekers, we lack a clear vision or policy on refugee management. In the context of this, examine the need for law to deal with asylum seeker and suggest the various aspects the law should cover.
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Rohingya Conflict
ICJ’s latest judgment on Rohingya Genocide
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ICJ, ICC
Mains level: Rohingya Crisis
Judges at the United Nations’ highest court have dismissed preliminary objections by Myanmar to a case alleging for genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority.
Who are the Rohingyas?
- Rohingya Muslims comprise one million out of the 53 million people that live in Myanmar, forming the world’s largest stateless population in a single country.
- Universally reviled by the country’s Buddhist majority, they have been oppressed by the government since the late 1970s when the government launched a campaign to identify ‘illegal immigrants’.
- Serious abuses were committed, forcing as many as 250,000 Rohingya refugees to flee to Bangladesh.
- The 1982 Citizenship Law in former Burma made the Rohingyas stateless people.
- They have often been called the most persecuted minority in the world.
- The 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims squeezed precariously into the northwest state of Rakhine, in mainly Buddhist Burma, bordering majority Muslim Bangladesh, are stateless and unwanted.
Why are they persecuted by Myanmar?
- To qualify for citizenship, Rohingya applicants had to renounce their identity And accept being labelled as ‘Bengalis’ on all official documents.
- They also had to prove that they could trace the presence of their family in Rakhine back three generations, something which is extremely difficult as many Rohingya lack documents or had lost them in 2012.
Why did the Rohingya Crisis happen?
- Since World War II they have been treated increasingly by Burmese authorities as illegal, interloping Bengalis, facing apartheid-like conditions that deny them free movement or state education.
- The army “clearing operations” sparked the mass exodus of Rohingyas in both October 2016.
- In August 2017, were launched after insurgents known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) attacked several paramilitary check posts.
- Rohingya activists claim the insurgents are mainly young men who have been pushed to breaking point by relentless oppression.
Security Implications
- The Rohingya issue and its spill over impact on Myanmar`s western peripheral region and security implications figured in the discussions is not clear.
- In all probability, the import of the ferment caused by the Rohingya migration, efforts of radical Islamists to influence some of the Rohingya youth, and the Pakistan ISI’s attempts to capitalise on the situation.
- Rising anger in the Muslim world about the plight of the Rohingya has compounded fears of home-grown militancy as well as support from international jihadists.
- Illegal movement of people, combined with human trafficking and cross-border migration, can weaken Myanmar’s relations with its neighbour Bangladesh and its ASEAN partners.
What is the case against Myanmar?
- Last year, the Republic of the Gambia moved the ICJ against Myanmar over alleged violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
- The Gambia urged the ICJ to direct Myanmar to stop the genocide, ensure that persons committing genocide are punished, and allow the “safe and dignified return of forcibly displaced Rohingya”.
- The Gambia and Myanmar are parties to the Genocide Convention that allows a party to move the ICJ for violations.
- Disputes between the Contracting Parties are settled according to Article 9 of the Genocide Convention.
International support for Gambia’s case
- The Netherlands and Canada are backing Gambia, saying in 2020 that the country took a laudable step towards ending impunity for those committing atrocities in Myanmar and upholding this pledge.
- Canada and the Netherlands consider it their obligation to support these efforts which are of concern to all of humanity.
What next?
- The ICJ’s ruling sets the stage for court hearings, airing evidence of atrocities against the Rohingya that human rights groups and a UN probe say amount to breaches of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
- The International Court of Justice rules on disputes between states.
- It is not linked to the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, which holds individuals accountable for atrocities.
- Prosecutors at the ICC are investigating crimes committed against the Rohingya who were forced to flee to Bangladesh.
- The ruling of the ICJ is binding on Myanmar, and cannot be appealed. However, no means are available to the court to enforce it.
Back2Basics:
| BASIS | INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC) | INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE (ICJ) |
| Relationship with the United Nations | Independent; UN Security Council may refer matters to it | Primary judicial branch of the UN. |
| Members | 105 members | 193 members (all members of the United Nations). |
| Derives authority from | The Rome Statute | Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the International Court of Justice. |
| Scope of work | Criminal matters – investigating and prosecuting crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes | Civil matters- settling legal disputes between the member-states and giving advisory opinions on international legal issues |
| Jurisdiction | Only the member nations of the ICC, which means around 105 countries. Can try individuals. | All the member nations of the UN, which means 193 countries. Cannot try individuals and other private entities. |
| Composition | 1 prosecutor and 18 judges, who are elected for a 9-year term each by the member-states which make up the Assembly of State Parties with all being from different nations | 15 judges who are elected for a 9-year term each and are all from different nations. |
| Funding | Funded by state parties to the Rome Statute and voluntary contributions from the United Nations, governments, individual corporations, etc. | Funded by the UN. |
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Rohingya Conflict
Why do we need a refugee and asylum law
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Need for refugee and asylum law
Context
A Private Member’s Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha proposing the enactment of a Refugee and Asylum law.
Why does India need a Refugee and Asylum law?
- The principle of non-refoulement: The international legal principle of non-refoulement — the cornerstone of refugee law, which states that no country should send a person to a place where he or she may face persecution.
- The principle of non-refoulement is clearly affirmed, with no exceptions, though reasons have been specified for exclusion, expulsion, and revocation of refugee status, to respect the Government’s sovereign authority but limit its discretion.
- India is not signatory to Refugee Convention: India has been, and continues to be, a generous host to several persecuted communities, doing more than many countries, but is neither a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, nor does it have a domestic asylum framework.
- The tradition of asylum: It will be in line with India’s millennial traditions of asylum and hospitality to strangers.
- Because India has neither subscribed to international conventions on the topic nor set up a domestic legislative framework to deal with refugees, their problems are dealt with in an ad hoc manner, and like other foreigners they always face the possibility of being deported.
- It will finally recognise India’s long-standing and continuing commitment to humanitarian and democratic values while dealing with refugees.
Multiple laws
- In the absence of a uniform and comprehensive law to deal with asylum seekers, we lack a clear vision or policy on refugee management.
- We have a cocktail of laws such as:
- the Foreigners Act, 1946,
- the Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939,
- the Passports Act (1967),
- the Extradition Act, 1962,
- the Citizenship Act, 1955 and
- the Foreigners Order, 1948 — all of which club all foreign individuals together as “aliens”.
Defining refugee
- Well-founded fear of persecution: The internationally-accepted definition of the term, includes people who have fled their home countries and crossed an international border because of a well-founded fear of persecution in their home countries, on grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.
- Who does not qualify as a refugee? This means that people who cross borders in quest of economic betterment, or because they are fleeing poverty, anarchy or environmental disaster, do not qualify as refugees.
- Nor do those who flee from one part of their home country to another because of war, conflict or fear of persecution.
Way forward
- India must enact a National Asylum Law.
- We need a proper framework to make sure that refugees can access basic public services, be able to legally seek jobs and livelihood opportunities for some source of income.
- The absence of such a framework will make the refugees vulnerable to exploitation, especially human trafficking.
- Our judiciary has already shown the way forward on this: in 1996, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the state has to protect all human beings living in India, irrespective of nationality, since they enjoy the rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 20 and 21 of the Constitution to all, not just Indian citizens.
- The enactment and enumeration of refugee rights will reduce our dependence on judge-centric approaches — or even worse, the whims of Home Ministry bureaucrats, police officers and politicians.
Consider the question “In the absence of a uniform and comprehensive law to deal with asylum seekers, we lack a clear vision or policy on refugee management. In the context of this, examine the need for law to deal with asylum seeker and suggest the various aspects the law should cover.”
Conclusion
The problems of refugees worldwide are problems that demand global solidarity and international cooperation. India, as a pillar of the world community, as a significant pole in the emerging multipolar world, must play its own part, on its own soil as well as on the global stage, in this noble task.
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Rohingya Conflict
Rohingya Deportation case
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with the deportation of Rohingya
The article highlights the issues with the order passed by the Supreme Court allowing the deportation of Rohingya refugees.
Context
- Recently, in its order in Mohammad Salimullah v. Union of India, the Supreme Court rejected an application to stay the deportation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.
Principle of non-refoulement
- The Supreme Court noted the petitioners’ reliance on a judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dated January 23, 2020, which recorded the genocidal conditions that resulted in 7.75 lakh Rohingyas being forced to take refuge in Bangladesh and India.
- The Supreme Court relied on the word of the government that the principle of non-refoulement, or forcible repatriation to a place where the refugee’s life is in danger, applies only to signatories to the UN’s Refugee Convention of 1951 or its 1967 Protocol.
- It must be stated that a UN Special Rapporteur was not heard, as the Court felt that serious objections had been raised to her intervention.
- The Supreme Court accepted that the right not to be deported flows not from the right to life and liberty under Article 21, which applies to all human beings, but from the right to reside and settle in India under Article 19(1)(g), which applies to citizens alone.
Why the judgement needs reconsideration
1) India has recognised genocide as an international crime
- India is a signatory to the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention, 1948),
- Acceding to the Convention in 1959, India has recognised genocide as an international crime, and that the principles of the Convention are “therefore already part of common law of India”.
- India has also ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) have a bearing on non-refoulement.
- Article 6(1) of the ICCPR, which mirrors Article 21 of our Constitution.
- A number of other UN conventions particularly those dealing with the rights of women (CEDAW) and children (CRC) also have a non-refoulment element in it and both of which have been declared by the Supreme Court to be part of our domestic legal framework.
2) Prevention of genocide
- The leitmotif of the Genocide Convention is prevention.
- Prevention is also central to Article I, under which the contracting parties confirm that genocide is a crime under international law, “which they undertake to prevent and to punish”.
3) Preemptory norm
- It is increasingly accepted in public international law, that non-refoulement and other protections emanating from the Genocide Convention, are peremptory norms that apply to state parties as well as non-parties.
- That non-refoulement is jus cogens, a norm from which there can be no derogation whatsoever. I
- At least three high courts (Gujarat in 1998, Delhi in 2015, and Calcutta in 2019) have held that non-refoulement is part of the right to life and liberty protected by Article 21 of our Constitution.
What should the Supreme Court do
- There are two possible solutions.
- The first is that in its interim order, the Court specifies that the Rohingya refugees may not be deported unless “the procedure prescribed for such deportation is followed”.
- It is a long-held principle of Indian jurisprudence that the word “procedure” means “due process”, or a procedure that is just, fair, and reasonable.
- The Supreme Court can, thus, suo motu clarify that due process requires that they not be deported as long as there exists a reasonable threat of persecution in Myanmar.
- Alternately, since the order in question is an interim order, the Supreme Court could swiftly hear the main petition on its merits, and clarify the law on non-refoulement and Article 21.
Conclusion
The order on the deportation of Rohingya refugees needs reconsideration by the Supreme Court considering the India’s treaty obligations on the genocide.
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Rohingya Conflict
India’s refugee Policy & Issues with it
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 1951 Refugee Convention
Mains level: Paper 2- Need for refugee protection policy framework in India
The article highlights the issue of the lack of refugee protection framework in India and suggests enacting domestic law to deal with the issue.
India’s record on refugee protection
- India, for the most part, has had a stellar record on the issue of refugee protection.
- But this moral tradition has come under great stress of late.
- New Delhi has been one of the largest recipients of refugees in the world in spite of not being a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol.
Confusion in policies for immigrants and refugees
- Much of the debate in India is about illegal immigrants, not refugees, the two categories tend to get bunched together.
- Our policies towards illegal immigrants and refugees is confused is because as per Indian law, both categories of people are viewed as one and the same and are covered under the Foreigners Act, 1946.
- The act offers a simple definition of a foreigner — “foreigner” means “a person who is not a citizen of India”.
- There are fundamental differences between illegal immigrants and refugees, but India is legally ill-equipped to deal with them separately due to a lack of legal provisions.
- Also, India is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the key legal documents pertaining to refugee protection.
How absence of policy framework creates problems
- The absence of legal framework for refugees leads to policy ambiguity whereby India’s refugee policy is guided primarily by ad hocism and ‘political utility’.
- At the same time, the absence of a legal framework increases the possibility of the domestic politicisation of refugee protection and complicates its geopolitical faultlines.
- The absence of a clearly laid down refugee protection law also opens the door for geopolitical considerations while deciding to admit refugees or not.
- For example, India’s decision in the recent case of admitting Myanmarese refugees fleeing to India was influence by the possibility of irking the Generals in Naypyitaw.
- However, hypothetically speaking, if New Delhi had domestic legislation regarding refugees it could have tempered the expectations of the junta to return the fleeing Myanmarese.
Why India has not signed convention and protocol on refugee protection
- The definition of refugees in the 1951 convention only pertains to the violation of civil and political rights, but not economic rights, of individuals.
- If the violation of economic rights were to be included in the definition of a refugee, it would clearly pose a major burden on the developed world.
- This argument, if used in the South Asian context, could be a problematic proposition for India too.
- India also need to argue that the North is violating the convention in both letter and spirit, and make its accession conditional on the Western States rolling back the non-entrée (no entry) regime.
- The non-entrée regime is constituted by a range of legal and administrative measures that include visa restrictions, carrier sanctions, interdictions, third safe-country rule, restrictive interpretations of the definition of ‘refugee’, withdrawal of social welfare benefits to asylum seekers, and widespread practices of detention.”
- In other words, India must use its exemplary, though less than perfect, history of refugee protection to begin a global conversation on the issue.
Way forward
- What other options do we have to respond to the refugee situation we are faced with?
- The answer perhaps lies in a new domestic law aimed at refugees.
- The CAA, however, is not the answer to this problem primarily because of its deeply discriminatory nature.
- What is perhaps equally important is that such a domestic refugee law should allow for temporary shelter and work permit for refugees.
- India must also make a distinction between temporary migrant workers, illegal immigrants and refugees and deal with each of them differently through proper legal and institutional mechanisms.
Consider the question “What are the reasons for India’s not singing 1951 Refugee Convention? What are the options India can explore for refugee protection?
Conclusion
Our traditional practice of managing these issues with ambiguity and political expediency has become deeply counterproductive: It neither protects the refugees nor helps stop illegal immigration into the country.
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Rohingya Conflict
Places in news: Bhashan Char Island
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bhashan Char Island and its location
Mains level: Rohingya Crisis
Bangladesh has transported more than 1,600 Rohingya refugees to a low-lying island in the first phase of a controversial planned relocation of 1,00,000 people.
Can you see, what the so-called champions of tolerance and human rights doing to the refugees in their own country!
Bhashan Char Island
- Bhasan Char also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya, Bangladesh.
- Located 34 kilometres (21 miles) from the mainland, its name in Bengali means “floating island.”
- The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006 spanning 40 square kilometres.
- It is underwater from June to September annually because of the monsoon, and it has no flood fences.
- In June 2015, the Bangladeshi government suggested resettling Rohingya refugees on the island under its Ashrayan Project.
- The proposal was characterized by the UN Refugee Agency as “logistically challenging”.
Extraditing to another hell
- Bhashan Char is a flood-prone island that emerged from the sea 20 years ago.
- The refugees had been coerced into going to this flood-prone island which is also vulnerable to frequent cyclones.
- This compact island is too small to occupy and nurture the Rohingya population and there is chronic overcrowding in camps.
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Rohingya Conflict
India-Myanmar relations
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: India-Myanmar relations
The Foreign Secretary and Chief of the Army Staff have recently visited Myanmar reflected India’s multidimensional interests in the country.
Try this question:
Q.Myanmar is the key in linking South Asia to Southeast Asia and the eastern periphery becomes the focal point for New Delhi’s regional outreach. Analyse.
India-Myanmar relations
- There are two lines of thinking that drive India’s Myanmar policy: engagement with key political actors and balancing neighbours.
- For Myanmar, the visit would be viewed as India’s support for its efforts in strengthening democratization amidst criticisms by rights groups over the credibility of its upcoming election.
Non-interference in internal politics
- The political logic that has shaped India’s Myanmar policy since the 1990s has been to support democratization driven from within the country.
- This has allowed Delhi to engage with the military that played a key role in Myanmar’s political transition and is still an important political actor.
- A key factor behind the military regime’s decision to open the country when it initiated reforms was, in part, to reduce dependence on China.
India as an alternative
- By engaging Myanmar, Delhi provides alternative options to Naypyidaw.
- This driver in India’s Myanmar policy has perhaps gained greater salience in the rapidly changing regional geopolitics.
Recent initiatives
- Like in other neighbouring countries, India suffers from an image of being unable to get its act together in making its presence felt on the ground.
- The inauguration of the liaison office of the Embassy of India in Naypyidaw (the capital) may seem a routine diplomatic activity.
- However, establishing a permanent presence in the capital where only a few countries have set up such offices does matter.
- Interestingly, China was the first country to establish a liaison office in Naypyidaw in 2017.
- India has also proposed to build a petroleum refinery in Myanmar that would involve an investment of $6 billion.
Strategic calculus
- This is an indication of Myanmar’s growing significance in India’s strategic calculus.
- It also shows India’s evolving competitive dynamic with China in the sector at a time when tensions between the two have intensified.
- Another area of cooperation that has expanded involves the border areas.
- Furthermore, the recent announcement that India was transferring a Kilo-class submarine to Myanmar demonstrates the depth of their cooperation in the maritime domain.
The balancing act
- For Delhi, the balancing act between Bangladesh and Myanmar remains one of the keys to its overall approach to the Rohingya issue.
- Delhi has reiterated its support for “ensuring the safe, sustainable and speedy return of displaced persons” to Myanmar.
- By positioning as playing an active role in facilitating the return of Rohingya refugees, India has made it clear that it supports Myanmar’s efforts and also understands Bangladesh’s burden.
- For Delhi, engaging rather than criticizing is the most practical approach to finding a solution.
Conclusion
- For India, Myanmar is key in linking South Asia to Southeast Asia and the eastern periphery becomes the focal point for New Delhi’s regional outreach.
- Delhi’s political engagement and diplomatic balancing seem to have worked so far in its ties with Myanmar.
- Whether it has leveraged these advantages on the ground to the full is open to debate.
- The aforementioned initiatives could be the beginning of change on the ground by establishing India’s presence in sectors where it ought to be more pronounced.
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Rohingya Conflict
In news: Bhashan Char Island
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bhashan Char Island and its location
Mains level: Rohingya Crisis
Bangladesh has announced that it will not move the Rohingyas settled on the Bhashan char island amid Corona pandemic.
Try this question from CSP 2018:
Q.Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’?
(a) Andaman and Nicobar
(b) Nicobar and Sumatra
(c) Maldives and Lakshadweep
(d) Sumatra and Java
Bhashan Char Island
- Bhasan Char also known as Char Piya, is an island in Hatiya, Bangladesh.
- The island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006 spanning 40 square kilometres.
- It is underwater from June to September annually because of the monsoon, and it has no flood fences.
- In June 2015, the Bangladeshi government suggested resettling Rohingya refugees on the island under its Ashrayan Project.
- The proposal was characterized by the UN Refugee Agency as “logistically challenging”.
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Rohingya Conflict
ICJ ruling on Rohingyas
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ICJ
Mains level: Rhohingya settlement issue
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Myanmar must take effective measures to protect its Rohingya Muslims, including protecting evidence relating to allegations of genocide.
- It is important to note that these directions are “provisional measures” until the ICJ can finally decide if Myanmar has been committing genocide against the Rohingya. The final verdict could take years.
What is the case against Myanmar?
- Last year, the Republic of the Gambia moved the ICJ against Myanmar over alleged violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
- The Gambia urged the ICJ to direct Myanmar to stop the genocide, ensure that persons committing genocide are punished, and allow the “safe and dignified return of forcibly displaced Rohingya”.
- The Gambia and Myanmar are parties to the Genocide Convention that allows a party to move the ICJ for violations.
- Disputes between the Contracting Parties are settled according to Article 9 of the Genocide Convention.
How did Myanmar respond?
- Myanmar asked the ICJ to remove the case from its list, citing lack of jurisdiction of the court.
- Myanmar alleged that the proceedings before the court were instituted by the Gambia, not on its own behalf, but rather as a “proxy” and “on behalf of” the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
- Gambia is a member of the OIC, which includes 53 Muslim-majority nations.
- Myanmar cited the Gambia’s reliance on OIC documents to allege genocide and said the Gambia did not point to specific violations of the Genocide Convention.
- The court refused to accept Myanmar’s argument and said the fact that the Gambia “may have sought and obtained the support of other States or international organizations in its endeavour” does not take away from its right to bring a case against Myanmar.
Does the ICJ ruling indict Myanmar?
- Although a ruling against Myanmar dents its image internationally, the order of provisional measures does not translate into a finding against Myanmar.
- While granting provisional measures, the court is not required to ascertain whether Myanmar violated the Genocide Convention.
- The court found that it is sufficient at this stage “to establish prima facie the existence of a dispute between the Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfillment of the Genocide Convention”.
- Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s personal appearance before the ICJ to lead the defence of the military, however, shows the great stakes her country had in the case.
Effects of non-compliance for Myanmar
- For its part, Myanmar has denied that its military or paramilitary has participated in genocide of Rohingya and it is unlikely to alter its position.
- Provisional measures are essentially a restraining order against a state when a case is pending and can be seen as, at most, a censure.
- Provisional orders cannot be challenged and are binding upon the state.
- However, limitations in enforcing decisions of the ICJ are widely acknowledged by law experts.
What are these limitations?
- As per Article 94 of the Charter of the United Nations, all member states are required to comply with decisions of the ICJ.
- However, any action by a state can be secured only through consent of the state in international law.
- When a state fails to comply, the Security Council has the power to impose sanctions against it and ensure compliance when international security and peace are at stake.
- So far, the Security Council has never taken a coercive measure against any country to get an ICJ ruling implemented.
- Even with the stepping in of the Security Council, there are several hurdles in enforcement of ICJ decisions.
- Any one of the five permanent members of the Security Council with veto powers can block the enforcement of an ICJ decision against itself or its ally.
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