Myanmar\u27s Democratic Transition: Opportunity for Transitional Justice to Address the Persecution of the Rohingya

The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim ethnic group residing in western Myanmar that periodically faces state violence and human rights abuses\u27including the continuous deprivation of citizenship. Myanmar\u27s political shift from its military regime to a new democratic government can allow for substantial progress towards a solution to the Rohingya\u27s violent persecution and statelessness. While the conferral of citizenship upon the Rohingya is often advocated as a solution, this Comment argues that it is not a realistic proximate aim. The grant of citizenship alone will not end the rampant racist and Islamophobic views that are often the motivation and justification for the treatment of the Rohingya. This Comment proposes that Myanmar\u27s democratic transition provides an opportunity for the implementation of transitional justice mechanisms\u27namely, a truth commission and institutional reform\u27to address such attitudes as well as the human rights violations the Rohingya have suffered and continue to suffer