Their homes burned and relatives killed, Rohingya have been fleeing northern Myanmar since October.
They trek for miles along a dangerous route -- risking drowning, disease and capture by the military -- to cross the border into neighboring Bangladesh, where refugee camps provide temporary shelter
.
Tens of thousands of members of Myanmar's Muslim minority have left in this fashion, and their treatment may amount to "crimes against humanity," warns UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee.
"When there's 77,000 people running away from their home towns, leaving everything ... the international community should really step up to the plate," she told CNN.
Lee has visited northern Rakhine State, which has been largely off limits to journalists and NGO workers since early October, and spoken to many refugees. (Courtesy of edition.cnn.com)
March 23, 2017
India Has Special Responsibility to Help Myanmar Address Rohingya Issue: UN Expert
Thousands of Rohingya have been displaced since renewed violence broke out in October, with India saying Myanmar be given more time to resolve the issue.
As the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) gets ready to call for a UN fact-finding mission to Myanmar, special rapporteur Yanghee Lee said that India has a special obligation to use its “good relations” to persuade Nay Pyi Taw to support an independent and fair inquiry into serious allegations of human rights violations against the Rohingya people during the current round of violence in Rakhine State.
In an interview with The Wire, Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, stated that New Delhi had to be more involved and vocal in finding a sustainable solution to the Rohingya problem, as ripples from the violence continue to spread across Myanmar’s neighbourhood. (Courtesy of thewire.in)
As the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) gets ready to call for a UN fact-finding mission to Myanmar, special rapporteur Yanghee Lee said that India has a special obligation to use its “good relations” to persuade Nay Pyi Taw to support an independent and fair inquiry into serious allegations of human rights violations against the Rohingya people during the current round of violence in Rakhine State.
In an interview with The Wire, Lee, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, stated that New Delhi had to be more involved and vocal in finding a sustainable solution to the Rohingya problem, as ripples from the violence continue to spread across Myanmar’s neighbourhood. (Courtesy of thewire.in)
Diplomatic protection for the stateless Rohingya
Persons rendered stateless enjoy far fewer protections than refugees under international law, but the UN could be empowered to come to their defence, Farhaan Uddin Ahmed writes.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are over 10 million people around the world who are stateless due to denial of nationality by their home states. As a result of their lack of nationality, they are, in most cases, denied access to education, healthcare, employment, social security, and other basic social structures.
In many cases, not only are they denied nationality and the benefits of citizenship, they are also actively persecuted by the various governments within whose territories they reside. Since a vast majority of the UN member states (104 out of 193) are not signatories to the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 1954 and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 1961; they have no legal responsibility to provide basic rights and benefits to the ‘stateless’ people residing within their territories. Therefore, the ‘stateless’ are neither treated as aliens nor granted certain basic rights that are assured to a refugee. (Courtesy of policyforum.net)
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are over 10 million people around the world who are stateless due to denial of nationality by their home states. As a result of their lack of nationality, they are, in most cases, denied access to education, healthcare, employment, social security, and other basic social structures.
In many cases, not only are they denied nationality and the benefits of citizenship, they are also actively persecuted by the various governments within whose territories they reside. Since a vast majority of the UN member states (104 out of 193) are not signatories to the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 1954 and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, 1961; they have no legal responsibility to provide basic rights and benefits to the ‘stateless’ people residing within their territories. Therefore, the ‘stateless’ are neither treated as aliens nor granted certain basic rights that are assured to a refugee. (Courtesy of policyforum.net)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)