The Response of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
towards the Issues of Rohingya Refugees from Myanmar
Briyantoro Eko Yudianto
Postgraduate School, Universitas Airlangga, Jl. Dharmawangsa Dalam Selatan No. 30, Surabaya, Indonesia
Keywords: ASEAN, Persecution, Racial Discrimination, Refugee, Rohingya.
Abstract: This research aims to know, to describe, and to analyze how the response of Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) towards the issues of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar. The Rohingya ethnic has been
suffering from violence, persecution, human rights abuse, and also discriminating treatments by Myanmar
military government. Consequently, they were forced to flee to ASEAN countries, such as Thailand,
Malaysia, and Indonesia. The approach used in this research was neoliberal institutionalism which takes
institution as a media and tool of cooperation. Moreover, this research used qualitative research method.
The sources of data were obtained from books, scientific journals, articles, online sources, and legal
documents. In collecting data, writer used data collecting technique includes literature research. The result
of the research indicates that ASEAN agrees to resolve the issues of Rohingya refugees by involving the
origin country, transit country, and destination country. Then, ASEAN eventually considers these issues in
Bali Process Forum, that is a mechanism to resolve problems relating to people smuggling and trafficking.
1 INTRODUCTION
International relations have undergone significant
changes since the end of the Cold War. The Cold
War tension was so visible in the competition
between the United States and the Soviet Union,
such as the arm race and other military upgrades
(Crockatt, 2005).
The Cold War was a time when military and
security issues were the core subjects of the
countries. The other issues, such as economics,
health, culture, or human rights, categorized as low
politics issues, were lacking or not even getting a
place in the hearts of political elites.
After the Cold War ended, the low politics issues
crawled to the surface and were able to seize
attention. The world is now focused on human rights
matters for every human being. Racial
discrimination leading to violence and persecution is
a phenomenon that is contradictory with the spirit of
democracy and human rights enforcement.
Rohingya is a minority ethnic group who inhabit
the western region of Myanmar for centuries. They
live in Rakhine state, but their physical and
linguistic features are more similar to Bengal
(Bangladesh). The Rohingyas live in Myanmar but
have no citizenship status so the Myanmar authority
refuses to recognize Rohingyas originating from
Myanmar (Kompas, 2010). Myanmar reasoned that
Rohingya is simply a group of Bangladeshis who
left their country to gain a better life, trying to win
the sympathy of Western countries by claiming
themselves as Rohingya from Myanmar (Jakarta
newspaper, 2009).
The international community subsequently urges
to address this issue immediately, especially to
ASEAN. Based on information gathered by the
Amnesty International Agency, there have been
human rights violations due to unfair and inhuman
treatments befalling to the Rohingyas (Surya, 2010).
The United Nations and other human rights
organizations have reported the existence of
Rohingyas who have been discriminated for being
Muslim since decades ago. They are forced to
become slave workers. They have no rights over
land and assets as property rights. They are also
constantly subjected to atrocity by the police, getting
sentenced to imprisonment, and other ruthless
treatments (Angen, 2009).
As a result of various tortures received from
Myanmar's military junta, the Rohingyas then run
away and fled to neighboring countries. They also
used boats and crossed the Indian Ocean, so that
sometimes these refugees are referred to as "boat
people". Some of them were stranded on the west
712
Yudianto, B.
The Response of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) towards the Issues of Rohingya Refugees from Myanmar.
DOI: 10.5220/0007550207120715
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference Postgraduate School (ICPS 2018), pages 712-715
ISBN: 978-989-758-348-3
Copyright
c
2018 by SCITEPRESS Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
coast of Malaysia and some were up to Indonesia’s
waters.
The issue of Rohingya refugees is a regional
problem in Southeast Asia, so it is the moral
responsibility of the ASEAN to handle it. The
refugee issue can lead to predicaments for transit
and destination countries. ASEAN is expected to
take a proper response or policy so that this issue
would be over immediately.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Refugee
The United Nations High Commissioners for
Refugees (UNHCR) defines prolonged refugee
situation as a situation in which refugees find
themselves abandoned or wasted, and this has been a
long or protracted one (Loescher & Milner, 2005).
This condition makes them unable to fulfill their
needs for basic rights, economic and psychological
needs. Even they are difficult to get help from
outsiders, so most of them decided to flee.
Refugee is a status recognized by international
laws (Havid, 2004). According to article 1 of the
1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees, refugee is a person who is outside his or
her home country or habitual residence, having a
legitimate fear of being harassed as a result of their
race, religion, membership in a particular social
group or political opinion which they embrace, and
is unable or unwilling to obtain protection from the
home country, or to return there, for fear of
persecution (UNHCR, 2010).
2.2 International Organization
Rapid development in the form and pattern of
cooperation through international organization has
increasingly highlighted the role of international
organization. Nevertheless, the state remains the
most dominant actor in the form of international
cooperation.
The international organization should have a
clear and complete organizational structure and
carry out its functions on an ongoing basis.
However, international organization can be
manifested through a treaty or agreement only.
International organizations can play their role as
a tool for the parties to negotiate. They can also be
equated as a part of market where its inhabitants
meet to discuss, trade, and resolve disputes in it
(Archer, 2001). ASEAN itself is a regional-based
international organization located in Southeast Asia.
2.3 Neoliberal Institutionalism
According to Peter M. Haas, Robert O. Keohane,
and Marc A. Levy, as quoted by Lamy (2005),
neoliberal institutionalism views an institution as a
collection of interminable rules. Institution may take
the form of organizations, bureaucratic agencies,
treaties or agreements, and informal practices
binding its members or parties. Neoliberal
institutionalism focuses on economic and
environmental issue, and also on the human rights
issue recently. These issues are classified as low
politics issues and neoliberal institutionalism
assumptions are the most appropriate ones if used as
an approach in this research.
Neoliberal institutionalism regards that the
subject can be addressed through a form of
cooperation, which can be achieved through the
establishment of an institution (Burchill, 2005).
International organizations are believed to help to
address regional and global concerns, and to
prioritize cooperation rather than triggering conflict
(Keohane, 2004).
Neoliberal institutionalism views institution as a
mediator and tool for achieving cooperation in the
international system. This cooperation is expected to
secure the national interests of each country. In this
case, the countries in Southeast Asia use ASEAN as
a platform to overcome Rohingya refugee problems
among its members.
3 METHODS
The method used in this research is qualitative
research method. According to Creswell (2004),
qualitative research method ia a research process for
understanding human or social issues presented in
words and reporting detailed views obtained from
informed sources.
The used data sources derived from secondary
data, such as books, scientific journals, articles,
online sources, documents, and other data related to
the topic of the research problem. Literature study
has been conducted in several libraries and related
institutions to obtain the secondary data.
4 RESULTS
Rohingya is a minority ethnic residing in the state of
Arakan (now Rakhine). This ethnic has undergone
through a profound history. At the beginning of the
7
th
century when Muslim traders from Arab came
and settled in Arakan (Kyaw, 2008). Currently, there
The Response of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) towards the Issues of Rohingya Refugees from Myanmar
713
are still about 800,000 Rohingyas living in
Myanmar. The Rohingyas are physically,
linguistically, and culturally closer to the people of
South Asia (Rismayati, 2009).
The majority of them is not recognized as
Myanmar citizens. They are forced to work at the
government-owned or military infrastructure sites
(Head, 2009). As a result, they end up lacking of
time to earn income for daily life and to feed their
own families.
They are prohibited from access to health and
educational service. In 1994, the Myanmar
government stopped issuing birth certificates for
Rohingya’s children. The mobility of Rohingya is
also restricted. Even if they want to go to a
neighboring village, they must enclose travel card
and are required to pay it (Lewa, 2009).
Such arbitrary and discriminatory treatments
have made the Rohingyas become mentally
depressed, forcing them to leave Myanmar to seek
better security and livelihood in other countries
(Rismayati, 2009). The countries where they decided
to transit or settle are Bangladesh, , Pakistan, Saudi
Arabia, China, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, and
Indonesia.
5 DISCUSSION
ASEAN essentially supports the settlement of
Rohingya refugees problems. ASEAN should be
worried because the Rohingyas can be a burden for
the countries where they transit or settle. ASEAN's
concern towards the Rohingyas is proven by
addressing this issue to the regional level. ASEAN
then discussed the issues of Rohingya refugees
through the Bali Process mechanism.
The Bali Process is a conference that addresses
the mechanisms of resolution on the issue of illegal
and human trafficking, people smuggling, and
transnational crimes. In this forum, ASEAN agreed
to resolve the Rohingya issue by involving the origin
country, transit countries, and destination countries.
However, despite of agreeing to deliberate the
Rohingya issue into a regional context, ASEAN is
less able to act more firmly against Myanmar
because it’s obstructed by the existence of non-
intervention principle within ASEAN itself. This
principle is already often becoming a barrier for
ASEAN to interfere in the domestic affairs of its
member countries.
Moreover, the issue of Rohingya refugees is only
considered as a part of people smuggling and
trafficking, not a matter of a group of people who
suffered human rights abuses and severe opression
by Myanmar's military junta (Jagan, 2009).
The ASEAN Secretary-General at that time Surin
Pitsuwan stated that the Rohingya issue is not on the
ASEAN’s official agenda but it would still be
discussed in an informal meeting among ASEAN
countries (The Irrawady, 2009).
There are two international laws governing the
issue of refugees, namely the 1951 Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967
Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. ASEAN
countries, especially those who directly impacted by
the Rohingyas arrivalIndonesia, Malaysia, and
Thailandunfortunately have not ratified these two
rules, thus assuming that UNHCR doesn’t need to
interfere on this matter. Only Cambodia and
Philippines who have been the state parties to the
convention and the protocol (UNTC, 2018). As a
result, ASEAN coordination with UNHCR and
International Organization for Migration (IOM) isn’t
well established. The issue of Rohingya is still
unresolved until now.
In accordance to the neoliberal institutionalism
assumptions, ASEAN is used as an instrument to
resolve problems among its members. They met in a
summit forum and made the Rohingya issue as one
of the topics of the conference, although it was not
really intense. It has been seen the efforts of ASEAN
member countries to resolve the issue of refugees
through ASEAN’s intermediaries. The issue of
refugees is included in the low politics level, but
ASEAN countries continue to view that the low
politics issues such as human rights violations can
pose a threat to ASEAN, and particularly to the
national interests of each member country.
Referring to the neoliberal institutionalism
assumptions, ASEAN is being a facilitator in the
policy-making process of Rohingya refugees by
encouraging more solid cooperation at regional
level.
6 CONCLUSIONS
ASEAN addressed the issues of Rohingya refugees
from Myanmar by bringing up the issue to the
regional level. ASEAN views that this issue is not in
line with the spirit of human rights and democracy
enforcement contained in the ASEAN Charter which
was just agreed in December 2008.
In the settlement process, ASEAN agreed to
involve the origin country, transit country, and
destination country. However, this issue was not
included in the official agenda of the ASEAN
Summit. This issue would still be discussed in an
informal meeting between ASEAN countries.
The displacement of Rohingya migrating from
Myanmar is only considered as a phenomenon of
ICPS 2018 - 2nd International Conference Postgraduate School
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people smuggling. Almost all ASEAN countries
don’t ratify the convention and the protocol relating
to refugees, so they are lack of understanding about
the concept of refugee. They automatically consider
the Rohingyas only as illegal or economic migrants
who fled from their home country merely to pursue a
better living. The issues of Rohingya refugees have
not yet reached a definite solution. ASEAN member
countries should need to ratify the international laws
dealing with refugee issues so that they will
understand more how to handle Rohingya refugees
appropriately.
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