The Ahmadiyya Muslim Lawyers Association USA (“AMLA”) strongly condemns the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, which the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has labeled a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.” Apart from being morally reprehensible, the state-sponsored violence against the Rohingya Muslims is a violation of basic jus cogens, or peremptory norms, of international law.
AMLA is appalled and heartbroken at the shocking images depicting the horrors Rohingya Muslims, including children and women, are facing in Myanmar. We second Amnesty International’s assessment that there is a systematic pattern of abuse here which amounts to, in legal terms, crimes against humanity.
AMLA calls on the United Nations, the international community, and the Myanmar authorities to take immediate and effective action. The government of Myanmar must halt military operations in the northwestern Rakhine state against civilian populations and end the forcible displacement of Rohingya Muslims. The State must also end the orchestrated violence against the Rohingya Muslims, hold perpetrators accountable, allow aid to be delivered, and permit journalists and human rights organization to document and monitor the situation. Moreover, AMLA calls upon political and religious leaders who are involved in the organized incitement of hatred and violence against Rohingya Muslims to end their campaign.
Beyond addressing immediate human rights and humanitarian concerns, the Myanmar government must end the systematic persecution of the Rohingya population. The Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar have long been targets of government discrimination, which has been facilitated by their effective denial of citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law. The right to citizenship is a fundamental human right as enshrined in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights. This law should be amended to meet international standards or repealed.
We applaud the leadership of the worldwide spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, His Holiness Mirza Masroor Ahmad, who has urged the international community to help the Muslims in Myanmar attain their basic human rights and freedoms. The Rohingya Muslims have been friendless and silent victims for far too long.