The Lord Alton of Liverpool House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
Rt Hon. Amanda Milling MP
Minister for Asia and the Middle East
King Charles Street London
SW1A 2AH
Tel: 0207 008 5000
Dear Lord Alton of Liverpool,
Thank you for your correspondence of 11 February about the Joint Analysis of Conflict and Stability (JACS) assessment on Myanmar. I am replying as the Minister for Asia.
The JACS assessment in 2019 was the first assessment of the situation in Myanmar under this process. A JACS is a strategic assessment used to underpin UK National Security Council Strategies.
It was introduced in 2011 as a tool to strengthen cross- government approaches to tackling overseas conflict, instability and to identify the situation-specific interventions that will help to prevent conflict and build stability.
The 2019 JACS draws strongly on the report of the International Fact Finding Mission, which noted that the scale of atrocities in Myanmar could amount to crimes against humanity and genocide.
The JACs notes the widespread use of murder, rape and other sexual violence, and the displacement of nearly 725,000 persons to Bangladesh.
The JACS also clearly sets out the role ethno-religious nationalism played in fuelling widespread violence against the Rohingya. These narratives remain, and are perpetuated by the military regime, leading to an ongoing risk of further atrocities against minorities.
The JACS noted that the crisis was a result of Myanmar’s broader internal divisions in the civilian-military conflict, sub-national ethnic conflicts and identity conflict (around ethnicity and religion).
The crisis has resulted in a hardening structural violence against the Rohingya, driven by state-led exclusion of the Rohingya based on exclusionary Buddhist nationalist and Tatmadaw conceptions of which identity groups can legitimately claim to be a part of Myanmar society and political system.
The JACS also recognises the erosion of the rule of law as a result of the crisis and the Myanmar State’s response to what happened.
We have used this analysis of the drivers of the 2017 crisis, to bolster our expertise and strengthen our processes around the issue of identity-based violence in Myanmar.
We are closely monitoring the risk of further atrocities against Rohingya and other ethnic and religious minorities across Myanmar.
Yours Sincerely,
Rt Hon. Amanda Milling MP
Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East
