Left to right: Rohingya experts Tun Khin, Wai Wai Nu, and Yasmin Ullah. —US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
August 25, 2024, marked the seventh anniversary of the Burmese military’s genocide against the Rohingya, a religious and ethnic minority in Burma. The attacks were planned, systematic, widespread, and part of a broader genocidal campaign against the Rohingya. The anniversary offers a solemn moment to reflect on the harm the Burmese military inflicted on Rohingya civilians and the enduring trauma that survivors carry.
In 2018, the Museum determined that there was compelling evidence that the Burmese military committed genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya. These crimes were preventable. The Rohingya were subjected to decades of increasing persecution and waves of violence, and many, including Rohingya civil society leaders, warned of the risk of genocide and other mass atrocities.
Today, Rohingya in Burma’s Rakhine State are once again at risk of mass atrocities, this time from both the Burmese military and the Arakan Army (AA), a non-state armed group. Attacks on Rohingya have worsened since late 2023, when conflict between the Burmese military and AA escalated.
On May 17, 2024, the AA reportedly set fire to downtown Buthidaung and surrounding villages, which killed and injured Rohingya civilians and displaced thousands. Rohingya leaders have said that AA forces deliberately targeted and destroyed homes, schools, and civilian infrastructure.
Rohingya organizations reported that on August 5, 2024, the AA reportedly killed approximately 200 Rohingya civilians, mostly women and children, near the Naf River in Maungdaw Township in Rakhine State. Many of the victims were forcibly displaced the day before from the escalating violence in downtown Maungdaw and were trying to seek safety.
These crimes are taking place amid a humanitarian crisis. The Burmese military has blocked assistance from reaching those in need. Rohingya civilians are struggling without access to food, water, shelter, or medical care, compounding the harm they have been forced to endure.
These recent crimes are part of a broader pattern of attacks on Rohingya civilians that demand urgent and effective responses. Rohingya civil society leaders are calling for an end to the suffering. The seventh anniversary of the genocide can serve as a moment to reconsider policy options for protecting the Rohingya and to recalibrate responses to best prevent mass atrocities today.
States should restrict the flow of money, arms, and other resources to the Burmese military to limit its capability to attack civilians. States should also use available levers to press the AA to end its crimes. While the US government has generously funded humanitarian needs in and around Burma, more funding—including from other states—and increased coordination can save lives. States can also support efforts, some of which are led by Rohingya civil society groups, to document crimes and build cases so that perpetrators may be held accountable. The road to justice may be long, and long-term support will be important to break the cycles of impunity that have long plagued Burma.