Myanmar and the Threat of 21st Century Genocide

The ABA Section of International Law Spring Meeting is in full swing at the Capital Hilton in Washington, DC.  Among the panels being offered is one on the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar (Burma), the Muslim minority group described as "the most persecuted minority in the world."

The panel moderator is Professor Jonathan Turley (George Washington University School of Law). The speakers are: Tasnim Motola (Clifford Chance LLP, New York); Prof. James Silk (Yale Law School); John Sifton (Human Rights Watch); and Jillian Tuck (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Rights at Risk Program). The panel chair is the Honorable Delissa Ridgeway (U.S. Court of International Trade).

One of the topics involved an issue whether the abuses against the Rohingya rise to the level of  genocide under Genocide Convention or whether they should be treated as crimes against humanity, an easier offense to prove because of the mental state required for a conviction. The abuses against the Rohingya include a lack of citizenship rights, forced displacement, religious persecution, and marriage restrictions.

Click here to read a blog post from panel moderator Jonathan Turley about the panel. 

(mew and Eun Jung "Jenny" Lee)