Road Less Travelled: The Forgotten Genocide of the Rohingya and the Challenge of Nonstate Atrocity Accountability

ABSTRACT This review paper critically examines the evolving violence against the Rohingya by analysing two distinct phases of persecution: the state‐led genocide carried out by the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) up to 2017 and the emerging abuses committed by the Arakan Army (AA) after 2024. While the former has received international legal scrutiny, the latter remains undertheorised and largely absent from formal justice frameworks. Drawing on secondary sources such as human rights reports, media investigations, legal briefs and survivor testimonies, this review paper is grounded in an overarching comparative legal and political framework to assess patterns of violence, institutional responses and accountability gaps. Review findings indicate that the Tatmadaw is responsible for widespread acts of violence, including systematic mass killings and forced displacement, whereas the conduct of the AA reflects a shift from resistance to repression, including targeted attacks and exclusionary governance in Rohingya areas. The originality of the paper lies in its interdisciplinary approach, bridging human rights law, conflict studies and refugee narratives. By expanding the analytical lens to include nonstate actors, it contributes to emerging scholarship on multiactor accountability and calls for inclusive justice mechanisms that reflect the realities of modern conflict and affirm the rights of all victims.