Rohingya Human Rights

Overview

The Muslim minority living in western Myanmar/Burma 's Rakhine State – almost 800000 people – identify themselves as Rohingya. For decades they have suffered legal and social discrimination. There are long-standing tensions with the Buddhist Rakhine community over land and resources. These conflicts, in term, have subjected the Rohingyas to be denied the right to citizenship and even the right to self identify. The Rohingyas are subject to many restrictions like banned from travelling without authorization and prohibited from working outside their villages, they cannot even get married without permission from the authorities, and severely lack sufficient access to food, medical care and education.

The persecution of the Rohingya

The right to self-identify is among the most basic human rights, yet it is being denied to Rohingya in Myanmar.

The Myanmar government claims that Rohingya are illegal migrants from Bangladesh and consistently uses the term “Bengali” to refer to them, despite the fact that many have lived in Myanmar for several generations. Denied citizenship, Rohingya are considered stateless and lack the protections and rights offered to citizens. The Myanmar government has actively encouraged Rohingya to register as “Bengali” or be removed to other countries. In the national census carried out in 2014, the Myanmar government refused to allow people to identify as Rohingya, forcing Rohingya to call themselves “Bengali” or not be

Though Myanmar transitioned to a civilian administration in 2011, the military maintains effective control over the government. The constitution reserves 25 percent of parliamentary seats for military-appointed Members of Parliament and requires more than 75 percent of parliament to approve constitutional amendments, effectively giving the military veto power over any charter changes. A clause in the charter—written with the most popular civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, specifically in mind—bans anyone with foreign-born children from running for president. Promises of a referendum on constitutional amendments have been delayed and problematic clauses are unlikely to be addressed before elections planned for November 2015. In the meantime, security forces maintain a dangerous level of control, including over the most important sectors of Myanmar’s