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LIMUN: High School
19th & 20th November 2016
UNHCR Study Guide
The Plight of the Rohingya
1
CONTENTS
Introduction to the Chairs
Introduction to the Committee
Topic A: The Plight of the Rohingyas _ Introduction History of the Topic
Sub-heading Previous UN Action
Bloc Positions Conclusion Points a Resolution Must Address Further Reading Bibliography _
2
INTRODUCTION TO THE CHAIRS Dania Ashary
Welcome Delegates! My name is Dania and I’m a second year
English and politics student at King’s College London. I was born
and raised in sunny, southern California but have always had a
special place in my heart for the city of London despite the
occasional (read: frequent) rainy weather. I joined Model United
Nations at the start of my freshman year and immediately fell in
love with the stimulating discussions, the opportunity to travel
and meet new people, and lastly the knowledge that we were
fostering our ability to make an impact on pressing global issues.
When I’m not busy preparing for an MUN conference, I enjoy
mapping out my life in a series of Pinterest boards, beating my
own personal record at binge watching Netflix shows, reading,
and getting lost in London on my walks home. I’m looking forward to meeting you all and
hope you enjoy the exciting conference ahead!
Henry Winckle
Welcome Delegates! My name is Henry and I’m a
second year European Social and Political Studies student at
University College London. I’m Australian, Italian and Swedish,
the last being where I grew up, so despite what others may
say London really isn’t that cold or rainy! I joined my Model
UN society at the start of first year and chaired for the first
time one year on at the same conference I began at. I think
the reason I love Model UN is because of the freedom it gives
you to do things the way you want - be the silent power player
who pulls all the strings through passing notes, or the leader
of the largest bloc (or at least the bloc which should be the
largest in your own opinion) who ends up defending
practically every point, or the team player who has done their bit and is (and should!) be
happy with themselves. When I’m not organising a trip for my MUN society or preparing for
a conference, you’ll usually find me politicking for some cause somewhere, cooking while
debating anything and everything in my kitchen or conquering the world and/or universe in
the latest Grand Strategy game on my PC.
3
INTRODUCTION TO THE COMMITTEE The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was established by the United
Nation’s General Assembly as the global refugee institution in 1950 following the global
shock brought on by the Second World War. Its first task concerned assisting the millions of
Europeans who were forced to flee their homes during the war and to guarantee a rightful
order of reintegration and treatment. Today, more than 65 years later, the organization
continues to work towards protecting, assisting, and caring for internally displaced refugees
worldwide through various means of action.1
The official mandate of the High Commissioner of the UNHCR regards the High
Commissioner “acting under the authority of the General Assembly, shall assume the
function of providing international protection...and of seeking permanent solutions for the
problem of refugees” thereby serving to support as international governments upon
request to assist. 2 In addition, the UNHCR works to promote “international refugee
agreements, help states establish asylum structures, and acts as an international watchdog
over refugee issues.” 3
1"The mandate of the High Commissioner for Refugees and his Office", UNHCR, n.d., online, Internet, 23Oct.2016.,Available:http://www.unhcr.org/uk/protection/basic/526a22cb6/mandate-high-commissioner-refugees-office.html. 2"The mandate of the High Commissioner for Refugees and his Office", UNHCR, n.d., online, Internet, 23Oct.2016.,Available:http://www.unhcr.org/uk/protection/basic/526a22cb6/mandate-high-commissioner-refugees-office.html. 3 "Legal Protection", UNHCR, n.d., online, Internet, 28 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://www.unhcr.org/uk/legal-protection.html.
4
TOPIC INTRODUCTION
Who are the Rohingyas?
The Rohingyas primarily represent the small
muslim minority of Myanmar (Burma)- a little
under 4 percent of the total population of
muslims- in the western part of the country
regarded as the Rakhine State.4 However,
these people were not exempt from the
increasingly prominent cultural and racial
criteria identifying one’s identity during the
nineteenth and twentieth century. The exact origins of the Rohingyas as an ethic
representative group residing in the Rakhine State, remains a statement of disagreement5
and consequently, this disagreement gave rise to the ongoing battle quest for identity and
recognition of the Rohingya people in and around the Rakhine State and larger areas or
Myanmar.
The plight of the Rohingya is perhaps the least addressed regional refugee crisis today
despite the fact that they remain the most persecuted minority in the world. The
international community has portrayed this form of communal conflict as “merely in terms
of violations of human rights, so-called Rakhine racism and xenophobia, Muslim victimhood
and dysfunctional state organs.”6 The Rohingya people regard themselves as indigenous to
the Rakhine State yet the Burmese government regarded them as having migrated from the
bordering eastern muslim state of present day Bangladesh;7 yet due to lack of confirmation
of such a claim by the present day Bangladesh community and government, the Rohingyas
are “considered stateless entities” within their the Rakhine state.8
4 "Muslims and Rohingya - Minority Rights Group", Minority Rights Group, n.d., online, Internet, 28 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://minorityrights.org/minorities/muslims-and-rohingya/. 5 "The Rohingyas Refugee Crisis: A Regional and International Issue?", Middle East Institute, n.d., online,Internet,29Oct.2016.,Available:http://www.mei.edu/content/map/rohingyas-refugee-crisis-regional-and-international-issue. 6 Jacques P Leider, "Rohingya: The name. The movement. The quest for identity.", Nation Building in Myanmar (2014): 204-255, online, Internet, 29 Oct. 2016. 7 Leider (2014). 8 "Myanmar’s shame", The Economist, 2015, online, Internet, 29 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21651877-poverty-politics-and-despair-are-forcing-thousands-rohingyas-flee-myanmar-authorities.
5
Significance of the issue in present day
From the 1950s onwards, the Rohingyas have faced a number of legal and social
discriminations, denying them the right to citizenship, the right to self identify, the right to
vote, along with numerous day to day restrictions.9 The split variations of history regarding
the Rohingyas initial migration into the Rakhine state differs from the present day Buddhist
majority Burmese society and government who fail to validate this claim.10 The violent
confrontations of 2012 and 2013 between the muslim minority and Buddhist majority
foreshadowed the amplifying current that struck the already present and ever increasing
refugee crisis in 2015.
The mass migration of over thousands of Rohingya people from both Myanmar and
Bangladesh in 2015 to neighboring countries within Southeast Asia signifies the dire need
for the UNHCR, along with other
supporting organizations focusing on
protecting and solving the global refugee
crisis, to address this issue with rapid
efficiency. The large influx of these
refugees into these neighboring
countries has inadvertently led to
countless human rights violations as well
as increasing “ghettoisation, sporadic
massacres, and restriction on
movements of the Rohingya people.11
25,000 people alone were estimated by
the UNHCR to have been taken to boats
from human trafficking. The neighboring
countries of Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh have already accepted many into their
states. Over 200,000 to 800,000 people have be displaced within these countries and the
number is predicted to rise if the given state of the situation continues without intervention
from the UNHCR and other leading organizations fighting to overcome refugee crisis’ across
the globe.12
9"The Rohingya Crisis", n.d., online, Internet, 29 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/rohingya_en.pdf. 10Leider (2014). 11 "Campaigns of violence towards Rohingya are highly organised and genocidal in intent", Qmul.ac.uk, 2015, online, Internet, 29 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/hss/165941.html. 12 "The Rohingya boat crisis: why refugees are fleeing Burma", The Week UK, 2015, online, Internet, 29 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://www.theweek.co.uk/63745/the-rohingya-boat-crisis-why-refugees-are-fleeing-burma.
6
HISTORY OF THE TOPIC
A note: There may be words here which you do not know or understand: a glossary of
unavoidable jargon and terms is provided at the end of the study guide.
British Colonial Rule
The story of the Rohingya begins with colonialism.
Burma was part of the British Raj, which along with it
included the modern day countries of Pakistan, India
and Bangladesh. Arakan, the area which is now the
state Rakhine and which was originally the Kingdom of
Arakan, was a division (unit of government) of Burma.
Under the British government, thousands of Bengali
(muslim) labourers were encouraged to move to work on farms and plantations, and did.13
Thus from 1871 to 1931 the number of muslims in Arakan on the census jumped from
58,255 to 255,469.14
WWII
In 1942 Burma was invaded by Japan as part of World War II and the British quickly
retreated. But as they left and as muslim refugees started coming over the border, the
British armed groups with weapons that were meant to be used against the Japanese who
were supported by the Rakhine. Instead, the weapons ended up being used mostly against
the Rakhine population, leading to a large number of deaths and general destruction15 and
the Japanese responded likewise with violence against the Rohingya.
13 Aye Chan, The Development of a Muslim Enclave in Arakan (Rakhine) State of Burma (Myanmar), PDF. (London: SOAS, 2005), online, Internet, 28 Oct. 2016. P.403 , Available: http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64388.pdf. 14Office of the Supdt., Government Printing and Stationery, Burma,. Volume XI, BURMA, Pt II Tables. Census of India, 1931. Rangoon: Office of the Supdt., Government Printing and Stationery, Burma, 1933. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available: http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs22/1931_Census_of_India-Vol-XI-Burma2-tpo.pdf. 15 Unknown,. "The Rohingyas - The most persecuted people on Earth?". The Economist, 2015: N/A. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available: http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21654124-myanmars-muslim-minority-have-been-attacked-impunity-stripped-vote-and-driven.
7
Post-WW2
In the late 1940’s as the British Raj was to be partitioned, muslim leaders in the area asked
to be annexed by what would become East Pakistan, however this idea was rejected by both
the nascent Pakistani and Burmese governments. As a result of this, an insurgency formed
that demanded that annexation occur. At its height the insurgency controlled almost all of
the state, and due to violent acts committed on the local Rakhine some fled to neighbouring
states. The government at the time claimed that the insurgents allowed hundreds of
thousands of Bengali muslims to come across the border from Bangladesh, which is relevant
as if the statement is true then it strengthens the modern claim of the Burmese government
that all the Rohingya do not belong in Burma. The insurgency died down after military
operations in the mid to late 50’s, leading to a large number of Rohingya migrating and/or
fleeing to modern-day Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Bangladeshi war of
independence
This section will only provide a
short summary of the
Bangladeshi war of
independence - it is strongly
recommended that delegates do
their own research on the topic,
especially the delegates of
India, Pakistan, and
Bangladesh.
Following the partition of the
British Raj, Pakistan was a country with two discontinuous territories: West and East
Pakistan. Most political power was concentrated in West Pakistan, which consisted mainly
of entirely different ethnic groups to East Pakistan, and following elections in 1970 in East
Pakistan that elected a party that the government of Pakistan seriously disagreed with, the
Pakistani government ignored the elections and started a brutal campaign of repression in
East Pakistan. This culminated in Operation Searchlight on the 25th of March 1971, during
which it is generally accepted that genocide was attempted as supporters and even civilian
sympathisers of said party were shot and radical militias were created to support the
government and military. A provisional Bangladeshi government was formed in April in exile
to resist Pakistan, and India and Pakistan were at war16 on the 3rd of December, with
16 This terminology is used because neither side declared war on the other, both merely accepted that hostilities had begun.
8
Pakistan surrendering in the East on the 17th of December. Somewhere between 300,000
and 3 million civilians were killed during the whole process, mostly by Pakistani forces, and
40 million people were forced to flee their homes, 30 million as IDPs.
The relevance to this is that the war of independence and the subsequent instability
(involving several coups) caused a large number of refugees to flee into Myanmar, with the
Bangladeshi ambassador to Burma himself suggesting that 500,000 Bengalis, who would
have been almost entirely muslim, had entered Arakan which Burma “had some right to
eject”. 17 Due to concerns by the local Rakhine population, the Burmese government
launched military operations in the region in the 70s, pushing up to 200,000 muslims into
Bangladesh. Exactly which nationality these persons had is a point of contention: The
Bangladeshi government complained that Burma forced Burmese muslims into Bangladesh,
and Burma replied that the persons were, in fact, Bangladeshi. This period was followed by
50 years of Burmese military junta, in which muslims were not considered citizens and were
(and remain) heavily oppressed.
2012 Riots
Recently, ethnic and religious tensions
have flared up again. After the gang-
rape of a Rakhine woman by three
Muslim men and the murder of ten
Muslim men by Rakhines, inter-
communal violence engulfed the region,
with 75,000 displaced in the initial
disturbances in June and 36,000 by the
second wave in June, many of whom had not returned to their place of origin even one year
on.18 78 people were killed and 87 were injured in the first wave, and the food distribution
to affected areas began.19 The government proceeded to declare a state of emergency, but
17 O'Brian, Terrence J. Extract from record by UK Ambassador Terrence J O'Brien of his call in Rangoon on the Bangladesh Ambassador to Burma Khwaja Mohammed Kaiser. Ebook. vols. 1st ed. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1975. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available: http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF13/kaiser-obrien.pdf. 18"One year on: Displacement in Rakhine state, Myanmar", UNHCR, 2013, online, Internet, 28 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://www.unhcr.org/51b1af0b6.html. 19 "UN refugee agency redeploys staff to address humanitarian needs in Myanmar", UN News Service Section, 2012, online, Internet, 29 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42356#.WBT_0_mLSUk.
9
has been accused of committing violence and even torture against the Rohingya,20 and
during the riots proposed a plan to permanently resettle the entire muslim population of
Rakhine in Bangladesh, which was rejected and condemned by all other parties, including
the UN.21
PREVIOUS UN ACTION
Due to the fact that this topic is noticeable for the near-total lack of UN attention, this
section will be unusually short for a study guide.
World Food Program: The WFP supplies food to more than 85,000 people in the state of
Rakhine (ongoing) as well as to those in IDP camps and refugee camps outside the country.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: The UNHCR cares for an estimated
200,000 - 800,000 Rohingya living either as IDP’s or Refugees in other countries, mostly in
Bangladesh. It rejected a plan proposed by Myanmar in 2012 to resettle the entire Rohingya
population (IDP’s and non-displaced people) abroad. 10 UNHCR aid workers were detained
in Myanmar in June 2012 for “inciting riots”.22
United Nations Security Council:
The UNSC was briefed on the ongoing refugee crisis on the 28th of May 2015, no actions
were taken.
United Nations Human Rights Council:
The UNHRC issued resolution A/HRC/29/L.30 titled Situation of human rights of Rohingya
Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar in response to the 2015 refugee crisis calling for,
among other things, a review of the inability of certain Burmese minorities to gain burmese
citizenship and condemning violence against Burmese minorities, especially Rohingya
muslims.23
20 Francis Wade, "Burma 'creating humanitarian crisis' with displacement camps in Arakan", the Guardian, 2012, online, Internet, 28 Oct. 2016. , Available: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/13/burma-humanitarian-crisis-rohingya-arakan. 21 "UN refugee chief rejects call to resettle Rohingya", Huffingtonpost.com, 2012, online, Internet, 28 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20120712/as-myanmar-sectarian-unrest/. 22 Gwen Robinson, "UN aid workers face Myanmar riot charges", Financial Times, 2012, online, Internet,28Oct.2016,Available: https://www.ft.com/content/1615ef40-ce70-11e1-9fa7-00144feabdc0. 23 Human Rights Council resolution 29/L.30 Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, A/HRC/29/L.30 (1 July 2015), available from https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G15/163/24/pdf/G1516324.pdf?OpenElement.
10
BLOC POSITIONS USA: The USA serves as moral superpower in the actions taken towards solving this crisis. Largely in part due to its distance, it is unable to provide direct relief for refugees fleeing from persecution in Burma however it agrees to plans of resettlement and is willing to provide financial assistance where need be. ASEAN: There is a non-intervention policy within the member states as the crisis surrounds inhabitants from Myanmar. The Associate of Southeast Asian Nations - Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam - main plan of action surrounds intensifying the immediate search and rescue operations to ensure the wellbeing and safe return of the migrants lost at sea. Furthermore, these member states have agreed to provide temporary shelter to the refugees but are calling on the international community to provide financial assistance. 24 No concrete plan of action has yet been set. Myanmar: The country of Myanmar urges the international community to help them push the Rohingyas out of their state and urges states to consider the social, political, and cultural strains their [Rohingya] presence has been to the people of the Myanmar state. Gambia: Gambia acknowledges the urgency of the situation and wishes to alleviate the plight of the Rohingya by resettling all Rohingya refugees into their state, despite its impoverished condition. The West African state views it as part of their “sacred duty to alleviate the untold hardships and sufferings fellow human beings are being confronted with”25 but would like to plead to the larger global community to aid in providing financial support in order for Gambia to provide for the refugees. Bangladesh: Bangladesh, although not adamantly against the reintegration of the Rohingyas back into their country, strongly urges a reconsideration of this intended plan of action due to the lack of financial stability and infrastructure to support a large and increasingly growing influx of Rohingya refugees.
24 "ASEAN’s Response to Rohingya Crisis Falls Short", The Diplomat, 2015, online, Internet, 29 Oct. 2016. , Available: http://thediplomat.com/2015/06/aseans-response-to-rohingya-crisis-falls-short/ 25"South-east Asia migrant crisis: Gambia offers to resettle all Rohingya refugees", The Guardian, 2015, online, Internet, 29 Oct. 2016. , Available: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/south-east-asia-migrant-crisis-gambia-offers-to-resettle-all-rohingya-refugees.
11
Malaysia and Thailand: Both Malaysia and Thailand have pledged to assist with resettlement programs of refugees into their respective countries. Again, similar to Gambia, financial assistance would be beneficial to impacting greater change.
CONCLUSION
The Rohingya refugee crisis was caused due to social and cultural tensions, which created a
division amongst the Muslim minority and Buddhist majority in the state of Myanmar. It has
its roots from the early 20th century, however it is becoming an increasingly pressing issue
among today’s international community as the 2015 mass migration of refugees, set for
persecution, seek refuge in neighbouring countries.
The problems arisen from this modern day crisis largely concerns violations of human rights
as well as serious humanitarian consequences surrounding access to basic living necessities
due to strict movement restrictions within these areas. The UNHCR must work towards
ensuring not only the safety and protection of refugees seeking asylum in Burma’s
neighboring countries, but it must also work towards creating a safe, accessible, and viable
living environment for resettlement of these refugees into the new societies.
POINTS A RESOLUTION MUST ADDRESS
Due to the relatively little international engagement of this refugee crisis matter, all points
of resolutions are open for consideration. However, when writing your resolutions keep in
mind these following points. The resolution should aim to achieve:
- A solution that reduces the number of refugees by either addressing the Burmese
government to revoke age-old legal stances on the Rohingyas rights to citizenship
and other day-to-day operations throughout society or methods of effective division
of refugees amongst the neighbouring countries so as to not strain financial agencies
of any one country in their attempt to re-integrate Rohingya refugees into their
country
- A solution which addresses the treatment of asylum seekers
- Structuring of rehabilitation centres and asylums
FURTHER READING
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people
12
As an introduction, wikipedia page on the History of the Rohingya as a people
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session32/Documents/A_HRC_3
2_18_AEV.docx
Human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in
Myanmar - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (2016)
https://unhcr.atavist.com/mmm2015
Mixed Maritime Movements in South-East Asia – Report of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (2015)
http://www.unhcr.org/research/evalreports/4ee754c19/states-denial-review-unhcrs-
response-protracted-situation-stateless-rohingya.html?query=rohingya
States of denial: A review of UNHCR’s response to the protracted situation of stateless
Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh – Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees Policy Development and Evaluation Service (2011)
http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2016/2/56cc51c76/unhcr-calls-safer-alternatives-
deadly-bay-bengal-voyages.html?query=rohingya
UNHCR calls for safer alternatives to deadly Bay of Bengal voyages – Summary of a press
briefing by the UNHCR spokesperson (2016)
https://documents-dds-
ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/G15/139/90/PDF/G1513990.pdf?OpenElement
UNHCR Resolution A/HRC/29/L.30 titled Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and
other minorities in Myanmar (2015)
http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF17/Leider-2014.pdf
Detailed analysis, definitions, identification of Rohingya people and their quest for identity
13
BIBLIOGRAPHY
References
"ASEAN’s Response to Rohingya Crisis Falls Short". The Diplomat, 2015. Online. Internet.
29 Oct. 2016. . Available: http://thediplomat.com/2015/06/aseans-response-to-rohingya-
crisis-falls-short/.
"Campaigns of violence towards Rohingya are highly organised and genocidal in intent".
Qmul.ac.uk, 2015. Online. Internet. 29 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://www.qmul.ac.uk/media/news/items/hss/165941.html.
Chan, Aye. The Development of a Muslim Enclave in Arakan (Rakhine) State of Burma
(Myanmar). Ebook. vols. 1st ed. London: SOAS, 2005. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. .
Available: http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64388.pdf.
"Legal Protection". UNHCR, n.d. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://www.unhcr.org/uk/legal-protection.html.
Leider, Jacques P. "Rohingya: The name. The movement. The quest for identity.".Nation
Building in Myanmar (2014): 204-255. Online. Internet. 29 Oct. 2016. .
"Muslims and Rohingya - Minority Rights Group". Minority Rights Group, n.d. Online.
Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available: http://minorityrights.org/minorities/muslims-and-
rohingya/.
"Myanmar’s shame". The Economist, 2015. Online. Internet. 29 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21651877-poverty-politics-and-despair-are-
forcing-thousands-rohingyas-flee-myanmar-authorities.
O'Brian, Terrence J. Extract from record by UK Ambassador Terrence J O'Brien of his call
in Rangoon on the Bangladesh Ambassador to Burma Khwaja Mohammed Kaiser.
Ebook. vols. 1st ed. Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 1975. Online. Internet. 28 Oct.
2016. . Available: http://www.networkmyanmar.org/images/stories/PDF13/kaiser-
obrien.pdf.
Office of the Supdt., Government Printing and Stationery, Burma,. Volume XI, BURMA, Pt II
Tables. Census of India, 1931. Rangoon: Office of the Supdt., Government Printing and
Stationery, Burma, 1933. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs22/1931_Census_of_India-Vol-XI-Burma2-tpo.pdf.
"One year on: Displacement in Rakhine state, Myanmar". UNHCR, 2013. Online. Internet.
28 Oct. 2016. . Available: http://www.unhcr.org/51b1af0b6.html.
14
Robinson, Gwen. "UN aid workers face Myanmar riot charges". Financial Times, 2012.
Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available: https://www.ft.com/content/1615ef40-ce70-
11e1-9fa7-00144feabdc0.
"South-east Asia migrant crisis: Gambia offers to resettle all Rohingya refugees". The
Guardian, 2015. Online. Internet. 29 Oct. 2016. . Available:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/21/south-east-asia-migrant-crisis-
gambia-offers-to-resettle-all-rohingya-refugees.
"The mandate of the High Commissioner for Refugees and his Office". UNHCR, n.d. Online.
Internet. 23 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://www.unhcr.org/uk/protection/basic/526a22cb6/mandate-high-commissioner-
refugees-office.html.
"The Rohingya boat crisis: why refugees are fleeing Burma". The Week UK, 2015. Online.
Internet. 29 Oct. 2016. . Available: http://www.theweek.co.uk/63745/the-rohingya-boat-
crisis-why-refugees-are-fleeing-burma.
"The Rohingya Crisis", n.d. Online. Internet. 29 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/files/aid/countries/factsheets/rohingya_en.pdf.
"The Rohingyas Refugee Crisis: A Regional and International Issue?". Middle East Institute,
n.d. Online. Internet. 29 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://www.mei.edu/content/map/rohingyas-refugee-crisis-regional-and-international-
issue.
"UN refugee agency redeploys staff to address humanitarian needs in Myanmar". UN News
Service Section, 2012. Online. Internet. 29 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42356#.WBT_0_mLSUk.
"UN refugee chief rejects call to resettle Rohingya". Huffingtonpost.com, 2012. Online.
Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-
wires/20120712/as-myanmar-sectarian-unrest/.
Unknown,. "The Rohingyas - The most persecuted people on Earth?". The Economist, 2015:
N/A. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available:
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21654124-myanmars-muslim-minority-have-
been-attacked-impunity-stripped-vote-and-driven.
Wade, Francis. "Burma 'creating humanitarian crisis' with displacement camps in Arakan".
the Guardian, 2012. Online. Internet. 28 Oct. 2016. . Available:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/13/burma-humanitarian-crisis-rohingya-
arakan.
15
Please research fully by looking at newspaper articles, UN and NGO reports as your main
sources. Organisations such as Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group, Amnesty
International and International Committee of the Red Cross provide academic research and
reports which you can actively use for your research.
GLOSSARY Arakan: An older name for the modern day state of Rakhine
ASEAN, Association of South-East Asian Nations: Think EU but far less integrated and in Asia
Burma - Myanmar: The current government has said that both are acceptable English names for the country, both can and will be used interchangeably. British Raj: A British colonial dominion, encompassed the modern day states of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Burma, ceased to exist in 1947 upon partition into Pakistan (East and West), India and Burma
East Pakistan: Former name for Bangladesh when it was part of the state of Pakistan, became Bangladesh in 1971
IDP - Internally Displaced Person: Someone who has been forced to flee their home but has not left their own country. Rakhine (ethnic group): The buddhist ethnic group which the state is named after
Rakhine (state): A state of Myanmar, is on the coast and borders Bangladesh
UNSC: United Nations Security Council UNGA: United Nations General Assembly
UNHCR: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNHRC: United Nations Human Rights Council WFP: World Food Programme, a UN agency