The Rohingya community in Burma have been targeted by the Burmese military (known as the Tatmadaw) with mass killings and rape since 2017, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the country. Since the military coup in February 2021, the Tatmadaw have employed similar tactics used on the Rohingya against all ethnic and religious communities, as we have noted in past Spotlight episodes. The coup has increased concern among the international community to pursue efforts of justice and accountability for the ongoing abuses against the Rohingya, which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken officially determined as genocide and crimes against humanity on March 21, 2022.

USCIRF Commissioner Anurima Bhargava joins us today to elaborate on what the genocide determination means going forward, and on ongoing accountability processes.

With Contributions from:

Dwight Bashir, Director of Outreach and Policy, USCIRF

Anurima Bhargava, Commissioner, USCIRF

Kirsten Lavery, Supervisory Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Patrick Greenwalt, Policy Analyst, USCIRF

Gabrielle Hasenstab, Communications Specialist, USCIRF