The Rohingya crisis is getting more pertinent and is a pressing matter that needs to be sorted out quickly. The purpose of this brief is to briefly analyze how this crisis escalated to the level it has.
To a large extent, it can be said that the Rohingya crisis has risen due to foreign policy failure, of key states. The Rohingya’s have been classified as an ethnic minor in Myanmar for a long time and have been persecuted. Even though, the international community noticed that they were victimized under the Buddhist-majority there was no call to action made.
Foreign policy towards Myanmar from the international community should have considered having significant pressure on Myanmar, to include the Rohingya with proper status and respect into the system. The refugee problem that has risen has also shown the weakness of the neighboring countries as well. As they are not able to and/or want to deal with the influx of people within their borders. The issue of providing shelter, food etc arises, the more complex and stringent the neighboring countries will get.
Additionally, “Washington already had restrictions on its engagement with Myanmar’s armed forces, as well as a long-running embargo on all military sales, and the withdrawal of military aid serves to reinforce that position” (The Guardian). Having said that, the US also needs to apply pressure to the regional actors in order to instigate action in dealing with the refugee crisis.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/24/us-withdraws-assistance-from-myanmar-military-amid-rohingya-crisis#img-1