Canada’s response to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh

Since August 2017 more than 740,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar as a result of attacks and repression they continue to face at home. Canada continues to be seized by the unacceptable persecution of Rohingya communities in Myanmar, and remains deeply concerned by the situation in Rakhine State that has led to this displacement. The refugee camps where they live in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, are the world’s largest. Recognizing the immense responsibility taken on by Bangladesh to welcome 905,000 refugees from Myanmar over the last several decades, Canada has committed considerable humanitarian and development assistance to Bangladesh.

In responding to this crisis, Canada has played a leadership role, and our concerted efforts continue to have a real, positive effect on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Canada’s response to the Rohingya crisis recognizes that the current situation does not have an immediate solution. It will require sustained engagement for years to come. This will ensure the humanitarian needs and security situation in Bangladesh and Myanmar remain at the forefront of a coordinated international response.

In October 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed the Honourable Bob Rae as Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar. Special Envoy Rae released his report in April 2018, outlining the underlying causes of the Rohingya Crisis. The report provided a number of recommendations to the Government of Canada. Based on this report, Prime Minister Trudeau announced Canada’s Strategy to Respond to the Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar and Bangladesh in May 2018. This response dedicates $300 million of international assistance over three years to address four key objectives:

• alleviating the humanitarian crisis
• encouraging positive political developments in Myanmar
• ensuring accountability for the crimes committed
• enhancing international cooperation

Since early 2017, Canada has provided more than $68 million for the provision of life-saving and gender-responsive humanitarian assistance in Bangladesh and Myanmar. Canada’s support is helping to meet the needs of refugees, displaced people, and the communities who are hosting them.

Canada is focused on strengthening the responsiveness of humanitarian action to better meet the unique needs of women and girls. This is in line with its Feminist International Assistance Policy as well as the G7 declaration on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in Humanitarian Action.

As one example, Canada is contributing $2 million over three years to UN Women to increase the quality of the response through enhanced coordination and capacity for gender-responsive humanitarian action in Cox’s Bazar. In 2018, Canada was the fifth largest single country donor to the Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis in Bangladesh.

Canada is supporting several development projects to help address the needs of Bangladesh host communities. We are working with the World Bank and the Government of Bangladesh‎ to implement an innovative mechanism whereby every $1 from Canada unlocks $5 in grant funding from the World Bank. This will support health, nutrition and basic education services for the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar.

Canada continues to take every opportunity to emphasize the importance of full implementation of the recommendations made by the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. Through targeted and effective programming, we are also working to address the root causes of the crisis, and advance the conditions that are conducive for the safe, dignified, sustainable, and voluntary return of the Rohingya to Myanmar.

Canada continues to encourage positive political developments and support efforts to achieve a political solution that will address the plight of the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in Myanmar. It is also important to address the root causes of conflicts in the country. We continue to carefully listen to the Rohingya and recognize their active role in defining their future as a recognized, respected, and safe community. This is a core element of Special Envoy Rae’s recommendations that informs all of our actions. Through sustained diplomatic engagement and targeted international assistance, Canada promotes human rights, respect for diversity, inclusive democracy, and peace and security in Myanmar.

Canada’s bilateral development program in Myanmar focuses on improving the human dignity, well-being, and rights for vulnerable and marginalized people, particularly women and girls.  It helps to improve trust among communities, and strengthen women’s voices and leadership. We are helping women build inclusive networks through support for local civil society organizations, and to participate in the public decision making process. We have recently launched five new development projects in Myanmar worth $60 million over three to five years. These projects will provide support to address the needs of vulnerable people, especially women and girls, and to help empower them to participate in the decisions affecting their lives.

Canada’s support to peace and security initiatives in Myanmar focuses on:

• dialogue
• inclusion and diversity
• protection and promotion of human rights
• justice and accountability
• democratic freedoms
• support to Myanmar’s peace process

Canada strongly supports an inclusive peace process for ending decades of armed conflict in Myanmar. We are actively supporting the wider national peace process through the Joint Peace Fund, a multi-donor trust fund to help enable a lasting peace for all the people of Myanmar.

Canada is engaged in extensive advocacy and continues to work with the international community to find a way to bring to justice those responsible for gross human rights violations and abuses in Myanmar. The Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of International Development, along with Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, have visited Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. They have consistently raised their concerns on the issue in international forums while calling for concerted action.

Following the recommendation of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, Canada co-sponsored, along with 104 other countries, an historic UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar in September 2018. This resolution will establish an Independent Investigative mechanism (IIM). Its mandate is to collect, consolidate, preserve, and analyze evidence for future criminal proceedings. Extensive advocacy by our missions in New York and Geneva, and a coordinated international approach, saw the approval of the IIM achieved in December 2018. This mechanism is an important next step in advancing accountability in Myanmar.

Canada recognized the crimes against the Rohingya as constituting genocide through a motion in the House of Commons in September 2018.The motion reiterated our call for the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. Parliament also unanimously passed a second motion revoking Aung San Suu Kyi’s honorary Canadian citizenship.

Canada’s response to the Rohingya crisis also includes a commitment to enhancing the effectiveness of targeted sanctions. On December 13, 2007, the Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations came into force. This was in reponse to the gravity of the human rights and humanitarian situation in Myanmar, which threatened peace and security in the entire region.

Sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations include an arms embargo and an effective asset freeze and dealings prohibition targeting both entities and individuals.

On June 25, 2018, Canada and the European Union sanctioned seven individuals involved in the military operations launched in Rakhine State in August 2017 under the SEMA (Burma) Regulations. This followed targeted sanctions announced on February 18, 2018, against Major General Maung Maung Soe under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act. This was a result of his significant role in human rights violations against the Rohingya during the military operations launched in Rakhine State in August 2017. Canada continues to engage with likeminded partners to ensure a robust and coordinated approach to sanctions.

Since August 2017, Canada has been steadfast in its advocacy and commitment to strengthening international coordination to better respond to the crisis.

In Bangladesh, we play a leadership role, on gender equality and the inclusion of women and girls, through close collaboration with the government, other donors, the UN, and international and local NGOs. In Myanmar, Canada is actively engaged in supporting democratization and the peace process. Our view is that a peaceful, democratic, federal union is the most effective way to address the root causes of conflict in the country and Rakhine.

We have been active in bringing together like-minded countries at the UN through Canada’s 2018 G7 Presidency and in other multilateral institutions. The goal is to build political will and strengthen coordination of international efforts to address this crisis.

At the 73rd UN General Assembly in September 2018, the Minister of Foreign Affairs hosted a ministerial level meeting on the Rohingya crisis to discuss the humanitarian situation and accountability measures. The Minister of International Development also co-hosted a high-level round table on gender-responsive humanitarian action to focus international efforts on putting policy into action in the crisis.

Canada’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, the Honourable Bob Rae, continues to engage with key international partners in bilateral, regional, and multilateral channels. In Bangladesh, he emphasized that education and livelihoods in the camps are essential. His ongoing advocacy at home and internationally is a continued demonstration of our global leadership and commitment to seek ways to build long-lasting peace and reconciliation in Myanmar.