Preliminary Steps Towards International Justice and Accountability for Rohingya

Background:

The project will produce a series of working papers, policy briefs, and a journal article for publication. Each of these working papers will focus on an element of attaining justice and accountability for the Rohingya while helping them better understand the means of advocating for their cause.

The project is separated into a series of activities.

Objective:

The project ultimately aims to culminate the efforts of the team into creating an effective policy that helps the Rohingya community effectively and adequately access different International Justice Mechanisms to advocate for their rights and their cause. The ultimate aim of the project is to assist the Rohingya community to achieve the form of justice that they seek from the International Community, ensuring accountability for the harms inflicted upon them.

Way Forward:

Throughout the next year and a half (18 months), the project will focus on facilitating a total of 16 episodes for a web-discussion series. Each of these episodes will be moderated by one of the CPJ team members and will be led by organisations from across the world that have expertise on the subject matter of justice and accountability for the Rohingya. The episodes will also be live-streamed and will consist of real-time translation into the Rohingya language.

For the purposes of research, each episode will be followed by a survey that allows the CPJ team to undertake feedback and research into assessing how much of the information has translated into a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of justice and accountability for the Rohingya. Furthermore, participants from across the world who attend the web-discussion series (at least 12 of them) and fill out the survey will be furnished with a virtual certificate highlighting their participation in this process. The process will thus allow for empirical research to be conducted, leading to the production of another working paper that explains the need for active learning and advocacy for the Rohingya community to truly grasp the complex machinations of the Justice and Accountability process.

Additionally, as the episodes play out, the team will also work on doctrinal research, aimed at producing a working paper, a policy brief containing recommendations to various actors, and a journal article. The research will inform the use of International and domestic legal structures in Bangladesh to further the cause of ensuring Transitional Justice for the Rohingya and Accountability for the crimes committed against those who have fled persecution from their country of origin. This research engages the novel element of using domestic legislation in Bangladesh to try international crimes committed in its territory, while also explaining the myriad values attached to the process in bringing justice to the Rohingya.

Finally, the project envisions the hosting of a conclave pertaining to Justice and Accountability for Rohingya. The conclave will focus on using the research conducted and published throughout the entire project to inform the conclave and the advocacy for the Rohingya cause.

Progress so far (2020): 

The project has successfully produced 2 working papers. One focuses on the importance of victims’ participation in the international justice mechanism. The paper emphasises on the mode and the need for such participation. The second working paper has been produced by our partner organisation for the project, The International Commission of Jurists. The second working paper combines 7 short pieces, each of which explains one aspect of existing International Justice Mechanisms in relation to the existing Rohingya Crisis.

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The first working paper has also been extrapolated into a policy brief that outlines a series of recommendations for various actors in Bangladesh and Internationally, pertaining to the facilitation of victims’ participation in the International Justice Mechanism.

The second paper is intended to inform a web-discussion series, targeted towards a wide audience. The purpose of this web-discussion series is to inform the audience about the use of such international justice processes to help obtain justice and accountability for the Rohingya.

Timeline: November 2020- November 2022
Partners: Amnesty International and Asia Justice Coalition

For further details, please contact: Manzoor Hassan, Executive Director, Centre for Peace and Justice, Brac University