Faye Journal of International Humanitarian Action (2021) 6:13 indigenous people, adding more uncertainty on how to contain the refugee crisis. Thailand for years has been a frontline in the humanitarian crisis hosting over 120,000 refugees. However, Thailand was also facing the problem of insurgency and believed that the arrival of more stateless Rohingya could boil the insurgency. Despite the poor track record of Malaysia on ratification of international human rights treaties and harsh immigration laws and policies, they hosted between 20,000 and 25,000 Rohingyas. Notwithstanding, it is important to note that both Malaysia and Thailand are not signatories to the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the status of refugees or 1967 protocol on the rights crisis of the Rohingya (minorities) (Parnini 2013). Moreover, ASEAN has been criticised for its handling of the Rohingya crisis by the international community for not sharing responsibility for solving the Rohingya problem. In 2010, at the ASEAN summit, Myanmar foreign minister said refugees will be allowed to go back to Myanmar only if they recognise themselves as Bengalis born in Myanmar not Rohingya; this comment was seen as problematic by many. Additionally, many have viewed this as an excuse by the Myanmar regime to avoid embarrassment while ignoring the root problem. ASEAN leaders have also called for national reconciliation and dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi but did not put emphasis on the Rohingya crisis (Parnini 2013). International community intervention The Rohingya crisis has not been taken seriously by the international community for very long, resulting to a series of crises and mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar to neighbouring countries. The massive scale of oppression faced by the Rohingyas not only threatened their life but left them vulnerable in the hands of traffickers and terrorists. Nonetheless, Myanmar has been criticised by western powers for its poor record of human rights. In May 1978, Reuters reported that UNHCR’s Paul Hartling was quoted saying he has set apart US$ 500,000 for the 200,000 Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh. On the other hand, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) issued a statement in Jeddah in May 1978 that the Rohingya Muslims are suffering from massive atrocities which has been mentioned by different various reliable sources. This was followed by a negotiation with the support of OIC and UN between Myanmar and Bangladesh resulting to the returning of the Rohingya to Arakan in 1978. Nevertheless, the agreement did not mention anything related to the status of the Rohingyas, properties or security after their return. Despite the return agreement in 1978, the military junta conducted another massive terror attack Page 5 of 7 on the Rohingya triggering massive exodus of Rohingya in 1992 once again (Parnini 2013). This has resulted in 250,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh who were officially recorded for relief. Yet, many could not register for shelters on their own in Chittagong. Consequently, prolonged negotiation was held by UNHCR, Bangladesh and Myanmar to reach an agreement on repatriation. This paved the way for repatriation, and by July 1995, a total of 192,467 out of the 250,877 registered refugees who crossed into Bangladesh between 1991 and June 1992 were repatriated under the supervision of UNHCR. Notwithstanding, repatriation was to stop as the Myanmar Army was reluctant to abide by the agreement as the SLORC regime had decided to take an average of 20,000 Rohingya refugees every month from all the camps in Bangladesh (Parnini 2013). In December 1994, the Al report on Myanmar highlighted that no significant development on human rights violations had been made by Myanmar regime on minorities (Rohingyas). Despite the massive violation, the UN security council was silent in spite of the agreement that the security council take action under the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) if governments fail to protect their population. In 2007, a draft security council resolution on the ground of violation in Myanmar was rejected by China and Russia stating the crisis is not a threat to international peace. Countries like the USA has continued to put pressure on Myanmar regime with sanctions and clearly stated in 2010 that they have no plans to lift sanction on Myanmar if violations continue to happen. However, a democratic Myanmar will open more doors through viable diplomacy and will be a win-win situation for Myanmar and the international community. In 2019, the pressure intensifies on Myanmar’s government to put to an end the killing of Rohingyas and other ill-treatments. During the 2019 OIC summit in Makkah, The Gambia was tasked by the OIC to use all international legal instruments to hold accountable the perpetrator of crimes against the Rohingyas in Myanmar (The Republic of The Gambia Office of The President n.d.). The Gambia then filed a lawsuit against Myanmar accusing it of perpetrating a genocide on ethnic Rohingya at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This is seen as unusual coming from a very tiny West African country, The Gambia (Besheer 2019). The Gambia, with the full backing of all the 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Countries, aims to get Myanmar to account for its action against its people (Rohingya). In a press conference in the Hague, Justice Minister Abubacarr Tambadou said: