Rohingya Youth Association (RYA) strongly condemns the report of the Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICOE) which was established by the genocidal Myanmar government. The report does not provide an honest or impartial investigation of the crimes against us Rohingya. Instead it whitewashes Myanmar’s crimes in an attempt to by-pass the mechanisms of international justice and accountability. 

The report concludes that there is no evidence of genocide but that the military may have used disproportionate force and war crimes may have occurred. As such, they recommend the use of domestic accountability measures. In doing so, they sanction the top military and civilian leadership in Myanmar to scape goat low ranking military officers whilst evading prosecution for the crimes that they themselves engineered. Unlike the case in the International Court of Justice, such domestic accountability processes will not offer us as Rohingyas any justice or restitution. Without an end to impunity for the leadership in Myanmar, it is impossible to imagine how safe conditions for our return can be established. 

The ICOE, just like Aung San Suu Kyi in the ICJ, in its report did not use our correct and rightful ethnic name – Rohingya. Whilst the denial of our identity as an ethnic group belonging to Myanmar continues, we find it hard to believe that the physical and genocidal destruction of our group will come to an end. We need international measures to halt the ongoing genocide, not yet another whitewash of the crimes against us.

Rohingya Youth Association
Rohingya Youth Association (RYA) is an inclusive network founded and run by Rohingya in the camps of Bangladesh. We believe that Rohingya youth must play a central role in changing our societies for the better. As such, we are committed to promoting education for Rohingya youth and developing social awareness campaigns. Our principle mission is to work together with other young Rohingya men and women to promote equal opportunities and fight against discrimination particularly in the area of education and literacy.