Throughout history, people have expelled certain groups from territories on the basis of their ethnicity. The term evokes a broad range of ethical issues, including bigotry, prejudice, and human rights abuses. It also highlights a major challenge to global security, as large population transfers may alter volatile ethnic balances in host countries and lead to violent conflict.
Ethnic cleansing has been a significant factor in many wars and civil conflicts, and it has been an issue in the work of international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal Court (ICC) recognized that the forced expulsion of a targeted population from territory constitutes crimes against humanity and can be a precursor to genocide.
The political and military leaders of Myanmar, which is a non-ICC member state, are facing the prospect of international prosecution for their actions against the Rohingya population. The labeling of this crisis as a form of Ethnic cleansing, if effective, could give them pause in their persecution for fear of exposure to the ICC’s jurisdiction, and would allow for the application of deterrence measures.
However, it should be noted that the policy of temporarily accepting refugees in Western Europe has not prevented such assaults on civilian populations or provided a durable solution for those expelled from their homes. In fact, these policies often have exacerbated refugee expulsions by preventing the return of those displaced from their homes. As such, these options should not be constructed as an alternative to strategies for addressing ethnopolitical self-determination conflicts that avoid forced population transfers.