The Rohingyas Case Summary

Case Study: The Rohingyas

Myanmar is home to many ethnic groups, of which the Burmans are the majority. Civil conflicts began when key non-Burman ethnic groups began demanding for equality with the Burmans. Tension was exacerbated with policies that were concentrated on the majority and the government’s attempts to make Buddhism the state religion (Rebel groups in Myanmar, n.d.).

The Rohingyas are one of the minorities in Myanmar. As a Muslim ethnic minority of one million people, they have been facing systematic religious and ethnic discrimination due to the lack of status recognition by both Myanmar and Bangladesh. For many years, they were faced with restrictions by the Myanmar government. These policies restricted their marriage (application to marry was a “humiliating and financially prohibitive process”), childbirth (not more than 2 children), movement (between townships or out of the Rakhine state), home repairs and construction of houses of worship (Documents show Myanmar

However research would show that ASEAN tackles all the issues (when they do decide to tackle them). This is a critical error as ASEAN is the main body of the regional organization with many entities related to them such as ASEAN+3, APEC, G20, ASEAN Business Forum and many more. Human rights represent only one small segment in their attention, thus it is easy for human rights abuses to slide pass them.

Needless to say, ASEAN does not prioritize human rights issues – putting more weight into economic matters. Thus when an issue arises with both economic and human rights violation, there will be a conflict of interest. It is not wrong to say that ASEAN is likely to put more precedence towards decisions that will strengthen their economy. A good example will be the human trafficking crisis that affects not only Thailand but the neighboring countries as