Summary: Over half a million Rohingya have fled Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh since 25 August, bringing with them accounts of crimes against humanity by Myanmar security forces and local mobs. On 5 December the Lowy Institute convened an expert panel for a discussion of the background to the current crisis, including the roles of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s military, and an examination of what Australia and the international community can do to address one of Southeast Asia’s most serious humanitarian crises in decades. The panel included Dr Melissa Crouch, Senior Lecturer at the UNSW Law Faculty; Aaron Connelly, Research Fellow Lowy Institute's East Asia Program; and Hervé Lemahieu, Research Fellow at the Lowy Institute. The discussion was moderated by Director of the East Asia Program at the Lowy Institute Dr Merriden Varrall.
