The United States Response to the Persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Burma

Abstract

Since its independence in 1948 from the UK, Burma (Myanmar) has witnessed an ongoing ethnic crisis and enormous human rights abuses in Northern Rakhine State which led to the displacement of the Rohingya population to neighboring countries, they flee their homes due to persecution and struggle to survive and the number of refugees' increases noticeably every year. This persecuted group also excluded by the Myanmar government and deprived citizenship. Rohingya significant problem is that they are not recognized by the government which claims that they are not indigenous to the country and deprived them of fundamental human rights. Therefore, the humanitarian crisis and the latest human rights abuses which affected the Rohingya come with international response. Although the U.S. intervened peacefully through providing economic sanctions, its economic interests in Burma prioritized preventing Rohingya persecution the conflict still continues to the present day. The current dissertation investigates human rights violation against ethnic minority the Rohingya, and provides a better understanding to the plight of this minority. It also analyses the role of U.S Foreign Policy to protect and promote human rights of the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine. The study applies a qualitative descriptive method to focus on U.S. policy to promote human rights and to overcome human rights abuses in Myanmar. The study also uses the analytical method to analyze the U.S. response to the tragedy of the Rohingya.