The United States has re-asserted its moral leadership by declaring the atrocities against Rohingya as genocide

In March, the United States declared the actions of Myanmar’s military against the Rohingya to be a case of ‘genocide’. Even though the declaration does not trigger military action, Shaikh Abdur Rahman argues that it has a twofold significance: it validates the sufferings of the Rohingya people, and, equally importantly, it resurrects a moral imperative in American foreign policy. Neglected under the Trump administration, this moral imperative further underlines the United States’ humanitarian credentials against China, its authoritarian adversary in the region.