The Principle of Responsibility to Protect: The Case of Rohingya in Myanmar

This article discusses the plight of the Rohingya, an ethnic group in Myanmar who has been suffering an institutionalised persecution and discrimination since the administration of military junta. The paper argues that the Rohingya is facing a serious threat of genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, while the government of Myanmar has failed in its primary duty to protect them. Due to such failure, the responsibility to protect them falls on the international community to prevent the occurrence of mass atrocities under the principle of Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The objectives of this article are twofold. First is to provide an understanding of the plight of the Rohingya and second is to analyse the application of R2P as a solution to the crisis. This article provides recommendations to the government of Myanmar, Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations (UN) on the role to be played through tri-parte action for the application of the principle of R2P in Rohingya crisis. To do this, the researchers conducted a qualitative analysis of plethora of literatures and official reports on Rohingya crisis and R2P.