LIMUN: High School

19th & 20th November 2016

UNHCR Study Guide

The Plight of the Rohingya

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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 _

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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