Expulsion of ethnic minorities

The expulsion of unpopular ethnic groups from a country where they are either indigenous, or else immigrants of long-standing with a marked degree of assimilation or integration, renders such people stateless (particularly if they hold a passport of the country in question). The property of such people may be confiscated. They may be used as scapegoats in a period of social, economic and political unrest, or be the victims of racism.

In August 2017, Myanmar military began a sweeping campaign of massacres, rape and arson in northern Rakhine State.  Thousands of Rohingya refugees fleeing attacks and violence in the 2017 exodus joined around 300,000 people already in Bangladesh from previous waves of displacement, effectively forming the world’s largest refugee camp. As of August 2022, about one million Rohingya live in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, including about half a million refugee children with little access to education. According to a study by the Norwegian Refugee Council, approximately 96 percent of surveyed youth aged 18 to 24 are currently unemployed, and 9 out of 10 aged 18-24 are in debt, having borrowed money within the last six months. Ninety-nine percent of women aged 18 to 24 are unemployed. In Myanmar, most Rohingyas have no legal identity or citizenship, and statelessness remains a significant concern. With looming evidence of human rights violations committed by Myanmar security forces against ethnic minorities in Myanmar, in November 2019, the Gambia initiated proceedings against Myanmar based on the Genocide Convention, invoking state responsibility for Myanmar’s self-described “clearance operations” in 2016 and 2017 against the Rohingya, an ethnic Muslim minority in Myanmar. As of 2022, the proceedings are continuing before the International Court of Justice.