Larissa Waters (Queensland, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Recently I met with a group of people in my home state of Queensland who wanted to talk to me about the continuing plight of the Rohingya people. In late 2017, Myanmar's military massacred tens of thousands of Rohingya, committed widespread rape and torched dozens of villages. This ethnic cleansing forced 740,000 Rohingya people to flee to Bangladesh. Those people remain there in refugee camps, unable to return home, due to the continuing threat of persecution. These refugees are living in extremely difficult circumstances in Bangladesh. They, and others still trapped in Myanmar, are unable to access documents reflecting citizenship, and they're effectively stateless. It's difficult for them to relocate safely to other countries, and they face the risk of human trafficking. That's why the Greens called in 2017 for a special humanitarian intake of 20,000 Rohingya refugees, and that's why we want to allow refugees the opportunity to apply for family reunion visas.

The 600,000 Rohingya who have remained in Myanmar face grave danger. A United Nations backed fact-finding mission found that they may face a greater threat of genocide than ever. But there's a glimmer of hope for the Rohingya people. On 23 January of this year, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Myanmar to take all necessary measures to protect Rohingya Muslims from genocide. This order came about because the African nation of The Gambia made a decision to defend the human rights of the persecuted people and to stand up for international law, after emerging from two decades of brutal dictatorship itself. The Gambia's justice minister, Mr Tambadou, happened to find himself in Bangladesh to represent his country at a conference, and he met with Rohingya refugees there. He listened to their harrowing stories, and it reminded him of the time he spent prosecuting cases from the 1994 Rwandan genocide. This is how Myanmar was forced to face international justice.

The ICJ's order could have a real impact in protecting the 600,000 Rohingya who remain in Myanmar. But we must remember that enforcing the ICJ's legally binding ruling will be difficult. Countries like Australia must raise their voices at international fora, and we must use our diplomatic leverage to make sure that Myanmar complies with the ICJ ruling. This means Australia taking the lead on action in the Human Rights Council. It means considering additional targeted sanctions against Myanmar's military officers—and the Australian Greens welcome the fact that Australia has already imposed financial sanctions and travel bans for five senior military officials responsible for human rights violations against the Rohingya. But it also means suspending cooperation with a military that committed genocide. We sadly note that this financial year the Australian government is expected to spend nearly $300,000 on such cooperation.

It's critical that we send the strongest possible message to Myanmar that the world will not stand by and allow another genocide. The ICJ will now hear submissions from both sides about the case on whether or not Myanmar committed genocide. Disgracefully, Myanmar's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has already defended, in the Hague, her military's atrocities. The world will also get a chance to hear what happened to a minority which has faced decades of persecution. The case will take years to unfold, but the victims of this genocide will have the opportunity to tell their painful story. The world should listen and act, and Australia, as a leader in the region, should be at the forefront of that action.