US downgrades Myanmar in trafficking report

The annual US report downgraded Myanmar noting it failed to protect the Rohingya Muslims fleeing a military crackdown.

3 min read

29 June, 2018

Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled over the border to Bangladesh since August [AFP]

A US State Department report found that Myanmar is not doing enough to tackle human trafficking, downgrading its ranking to the worst tier.

The annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report said Myanmar slipped backward on its trafficked person's index to Tier 3 for failing to protect Rohingya Muslims fleeing a military crackdown in Rakhine state.

Some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled over the border to Bangladesh since August to escape a bloody military crackdown that has left a trail of torched villages in its wake as refugees allege murder and rape by Myanmar's armed forces.

The vast majority of the fleeing Rohingya settled in sprawling refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh.

Many were women and children who have become prey for traffickers, the report said.

The Rohingya were "subjected to exploitation - or transported to other countries for the purpose of sex trafficking - as a result of their displacement", it said.

It also said some Rohingya children were abducted in transit and sold into forced marriages in India, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

"The Government of Burma does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so," it said, using the former name for Myanmar.

Both the UN and the US have said that the violence amounts to ethnic cleansing.

A report released this week by Amnesty International found that "the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population was achieved by a relentless and systematic campaign in which the Myanmar security forces unlawfully killed thousands of Rohingya, including young children".

It also accused security forces of sexual violence, torture, forced displacement and burning markets and farmland that starved communities and forced them to flee.

"These crimes amount to crimes against humanity under international law, as they were perpetrated as part of a widespread and systematic attack against the Rohingya population," the report said.

The TIP report ranks 187 countries using its three-tier index. A Tier 3 ranking could lead to non-trade related sanctions.

Myanmar joined China, Russia, Laos, South Sudan and North Korea in the lowest Tier 3 ranking in this year's report.

An internal investigation conducted by the military was released late last year - clearing themselves over the reported Rohingya atrocities - and was described as "white-washing" by human rights groups.

In the past, Suu Kyi has defended the military operation, and authorities claim the security crackdown was in response to attacks by Rohingya militants on police posts.

Yanghee Lee, a UN special envoy on human rights described Myanmar's violent military operations as bearing, "the hallmarks of a genocide".

Pressure is also mounting from the ICC, which is due to discuss on 20 June, whether to launch an investigation into the crackdown.

Myanmar, which denies the ethnic cleansing allegations, has dismissed the move, saying it is not a signatory or member of the Rome Statute which underpins the ICC.