THE ROLE OF FACEBOOK IN THE PERSECUTION OF THE ROHINGYA MINORITY IN MYANMAR: ISSUES OF ACCOUNTABILITY UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW.

According to the United Nations, the clearance operations occurring in 2016 and 2017 against the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine State, in Myanmar's northwest region, may amount to the gravest crimes under international law and the leaders of the armed forces should be investigated for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. What is also disturbing is the crucial role that Facebook appears to have played in contributing to furthering the commission of these crimes. Often the only internet tool available for the vast majority of people in Myanmar, Facebook was extensively used for sharing posts to demonise the Rohingya minority and the company was very slow in taking any action, despite the evidence linking the use of the social network with hate speech that contributed to the violence. This paper analyses the role of Facebook in furthering the commission of mass atrocities against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and explores the extent to which a social network can be held accountable for the harm caused through its use under international law. The first section briefly introduces the persecution against the Rohingya minority and focuses in particular on the role of Facebook. The second section discusses whether Facebook operators' omissions may amount to complicity in the commission of international crimes. In the third section, the paper explores requirements under international human rights law, focusing in particular on those enshrined under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Some concluding remarks on what Facebook could still do, such as preserving evidence of crimes and being more transparent in order to avoid similar problems in the future, are provided in the fourth section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]