The UN and the international community should support ongoing reforms inside Burma instead of focusing on human rights abuses perpetrated by the former government, said President’s Office Spokesman Zaw Htay, in response to a fresh criticism from the UN over Burma’s treatment of religious and ethnic minorities—in particular the Muslim Rohingya.
This week saw the release of a new report on Burma by the UN’s human rights office, which stated that systematic violations against the Rohingya—including denial of citizenship rights, forced labor and sexual violence—could amount to “crimes against humanity.”
More than 100,000 Rohingya remain in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Arakan State, after anti-Muslim violence in 2012 and 2013. They are subjected to severe restrictions of movement and are denied citizenship and proper access to healthcare and education; many have chosen to flee the country, placing them in the hands of predatory human-trafficking gangs. The new government has yet to take concrete steps to alleviate the situation, and its policies remain a topic of speculation. (Courtesy of irrawaddy.com)
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