9. META AND THE RIGHT
TO REMEDY FOR THE
ROHINGYA
“Facebook must pay. If they do not, we will go to every court
in the world. We will never give up in our struggle.”
Showkutara, 22 year-old Rohingya survivor and refugee331
As outlined in Chapter 8, above, Meta contributed to serious adverse human rights impacts suffered by the
Rohingya in the context of the 2017 atrocities in Northern Rakhine State. As a result, the company has a
responsibility to provide effective remediation to affected Rohingya communities for the rights abuses the
communities have suffered. This chapter surveys the efforts of Rohingya communities to seek a remedy from
Meta to date.
9.1 IN PURSUIT OF JUSTICE: ROHINGYA COMMUNITIES DEMAND AN
EFFECTIVE REMEDY
For the Rohingya survivors of the 2017 atrocities, the great majority of whom still live under conditions of
extreme deprivation in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, the pursuit of justice and reparations is both a matter
of principle and one of urgent material need. According to the UN Office for the Coordination for
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar continue to face a massive funding
shortfall in respect of their humanitarian needs, entailing huge impacts on their livelihoods and human
rights. Of a total budget requirement of US$881million, only $117.5million, or 13.3%, has been actually
funded in 2022.332
Since 2019, a range of complaints have been brought forward which seek justice and reparations for the
2017 atrocities suffered by the Rohingya. In November 2019, a case was filed by The Gambia against
Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging violations of the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Genocide Convention).333 In July 2022, the ICJ dismissed
331
Amnesty International interview by video call with Showkutara, 06 April 2022.
OCHA Financial Tracking Service, ‘Bangladesh: Rohingya Refugee Crisis Joint Response Plan 2022’,
fts.unocha.org/appeals/1082/summary
332
Human Rights Watch, “Developments in Gambia’s Case Against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice”, 14 February 2022,
hrw.org/news/2022/02/14/developments-gambias-case-against-myanmar-international-court-justice#whatisthe
333
THE SOCIAL ATROCITY
META AND THE RIGHT TO REMEDY FOR THE ROHINGYA
Amnesty International
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