Durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar

United Nations
21 June 2023

 

At
Panel discussion on durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis and to end human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar

53rd session of the Human Rights Council

Statement by Nada Al-Nashif, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights

Mr President,
Distinguished Panelists,
Excellencies,

Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar have endured decades of persecution and systematic discrimination. Today, eleven years after the 2012 violence in Rakhine State, and six years after the 2017 military operations that killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, more than one million languish in refugee camps in Bangladesh. An estimated 600,000 remain in Myanmar where they continue to be deprived of their basic rights.

UN agencies face funding challenges in feeding Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

daily obsever
Tuesday, 30 May, 2023

Olivier De Schutter, U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights addresses a press conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, May 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Al-emrun Garjon)

Bangladesh should not bear the burden of more than 1 million Rohingya refugees alone while U.N. agencies are facing challenges to feed them, a United Nations official said Monday, AP reports.

UN To Cut Food Rations Again For Rohingya Refugees In Bangladesh

euroasiareview
BenarNews
Kamran Reza Chowdhury and Abdur Rah
May 24, 2023

Rohingya children look at food offered at a shop in the Leda refugee camp in Teknaf, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Photo Credit: Abdur Rahman/BenarNews

 

The United Nations food agency is reducing rations for Rohingya in Bangladesh for the second time this year citing a funds shortage, a move that refugees fear could push them to the brink of starvation.

Starting June 1, the World Food Program will cut food aid to U.S. $8 a month per person from $10 – after having cut the monthly food ration from $12 in March – marking a total decline of 33% to date this year, a Bangladeshi official confirmed on Tuesday.

UN expert exposes $1 billion “death trade” to Myanmar military

United Nation

17 May 2023

NEW YORK / GENEVA (17 May 2023) – The Myanmar military has imported at least $1 billion USD in arms and raw materials to manufacture weapons since the coup in February 2021, according to a new report today by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews.

UN Member States are enabling this trade either through outright complicity, lax enforcement of existing bans, and easily circumvented sanctions, according to the report.

“Despite overwhelming evidence of the Myanmar military’s atrocity crimes against the people of Myanmar, the generals continue to have access to advanced weapons systems, spare parts for fighter jets, raw materials and manufacturing equipment for domestic weapons production,” Andrews said. “Those providing these weapons are able to avoid sanctions by using front companies and creating new ones while counting on lax enforcement.

Airstrikes by Burmese military kill dozens at anti-junta event

THE GUARDIAN
Min Ye Kyaw and Rebecca Ratcliffe
Tue 11 Apr 2023

Attack targeted opening ceremony for office set up by military’s opponents in Sagaing region of Myanmar

An anti-coup protest in Sagaing, Myanmar, last year. Sagaing, where the attack on Tuesday happened, is one of the frontlines in the battle against the junta. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Myanmar’s military has killed dozens of people in airstrikes on an event organised by its domestic opponents, in what is feared to be one of the deadliest attacks since the junta seized power more than two years ago.

Local independent media reported that the attack on Tuesday morning targeted a ceremony marking the opening of an office set up by the military’s opponents in the village of Pa Zi Gyi, in Sagaing region.

UN must act and investigate its agencies involvement in Rohingya refugees repatriation pilot project

Progressive Voice
April 3rd, 2023 

It has been over five years since the Myanmar military has launched its genocidal campaign against the Rohingya in Rakhine State that drove out more than 800,000 Rohingya to the Bangladesh border. The same military has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against other ethnic and religious minorities including mass killings, rape and gang rape, torture, forced displacement, arbitrary arrests and detention, and burning of villages to ashes. They continue to enjoy blanket impunity fueled by international community’s apathy and inability to hold them accountable.

Bangladesh seeks unity, concerted efforts from int’l community to resolve Rohingya crisis

Dhaka Tribune
UNB
Published: March 22, 2023 

Dhaka Tribune

 

 

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has underscored the urgent need for unity and concerted efforts from the international community to resolve the Rohingya crisis, in the true spirit of responsibility and burden sharing.

He urged the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, to enhance her engagements with Myanmar authorities as well as other stakeholders to improve the conditions in Rakhine so that the Rohingyas can return to their homes without delay.

UN must resist Myanmar junta’s plan for Rohingya refugees

The Frontier Post
Dr. Azeem Ibrahim
2023,March 23,

 

The refugee crisis in Bangladesh, caused by the genocide in Myanmar, has been acute for many years. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people, most of them with nothing but themselves, are confined to 34 refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. They are poor, they are often hungry and malnourished, and crime and violent misery thrive among them. Most have been there for almost six years, since the 2017 expulsion of the Rohingya from their homes and villages in Rakhine State by the Myanmar military. Their problem is a long-standing one, complicated by the 2021 coup in Myanmar and the multifaceted civil war that has been fought there ever since.

 

FM calls to resolve Rohingya crisis in true spirit of burden sharing

dailyobserver

Published : Wednesday, 22 March, 2023

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen at a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer held on Tuesday at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York
 C

 Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has underscored the need for unity and concerted efforts of the international community to resolve the Rohingya crisis in all its dimensions, in the true spirit of responsibility and burden sharing.

He made the suggestion at a bilateral meeting with UN Secretary General's Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer held on Tuesday at the Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN in New York, according to a press release received in Dhaka on Wednesday (March 22, 2023).

The worsening situation in Myanmar means conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of the Rohingya are not in place: UK Statement at the UN

GOV.UK
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
and Fergus Eckersley, UK Political Coordinator at the UN
Published16 March 2023

Statement by Political Coordinator Fergus Eckersley at the UN General Assembly debate on Myanmar 

Thank you Mr. President, and the UN Special Envoy for the very sobering briefing.

Mr. President, it has now been over two years since the military’s coup. Since then, over 3,100 people have been killed by the military regime. Over 20,000 people have been arbitrarily detained and over 17 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Concerns mount over UN food aid cut for Rohingya in Bangladesh

Aljazeera
7 Mar 2023

The UN and the Bangladesh government call for more international aid to help the refugees as they face a ‘difficult year’.

Rohingya refugees wait to receive food supplies at a World Food Programme (WFP) distribution centre in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh [File: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]

Concerns are mounting over the World Food Programme’s (WFP) decision to slash food support for the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh due to a funding crisis.

On March 1, the WFP, citing a $125m donation shortfall, cut the monthly food vouchers for the refugees from $12 to $10 per person, warning further cuts were “imminent” without an immediate cash injection.

Will the UN’s plea to help Rohingya refugees be answered?

Aljazeera
By Inside Story
Published On 7 Mar 2023

.

 

The UN is appealing to global powers to help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

The United Nations is appealing for nearly $900m to help Rohingya refugees who have fled to Bangladesh from their native Myanmar.

So, how will the international community respond?

And can the Rohingya ever hope for an end to the stateless limbo they’re trapped in?

UN probing origin of Rohingya boat in Indonesia

Dhaka Tribune

Agencies
December 27, 2022

They landed there after at least 20 reportedly died after weeks adrift in the Indian Ocean.

A policeman stands guard next to a group of Rohingya refugees waiting to be transferred to a temporary shelter following their arrival by boat in Krueng Raya, Indonesia's Aceh province on December 25, 2022 AFP

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) is seeking information about the voyage of nearly 200 Rohingya Muslim refugees who landed on an Indonesian beach this week, and warned yesterday that there will likely be more, reports UNB citing AP. They landed there after at least 20 reportedly died after weeks adrift in the Indian Ocean.

Dozens of Rohingya rescued from stricken vessel after weeks adrift at sea, but fears grow for those still aboard

CNN
By Rhea Mogul, CNN
Mon December 26, 2022

Indonesian military personnel inspect a wooden boat used to carry Rohingya refugees after it landed on Indra Patra beach in Ladong village, Aceh province, Indonesia, Sunday, December 25, 2022.

( CNN )After spending more than a month adrift on a stricken boat without food or water, dozens of starving Rohingya have been rescued in Indonesia, the United Nations refugee agency said Sunday, offering a glimmer of hope for the persecuted group who fled their refugee camps last month in search of a better life.

Babar Baloch, an Asia spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), said 58 people believed to be from the boat were rescued in Aceh, though fears remain for the lives of an estimated 130 more – including many women and children – who are still stranded aboard the vessel.

“Some indications suggest local Indonesian fishermen may have done the rescue,” said Baloch. “We still are worried about (the remaining persons’) lives. Hoping they would be rescued soon.” 

At least 180 Rohingya feared dead - U.N. refugee agency

REUTERS
December 25, 2022 

A logo is pictured on a banner at the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland June 13, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

NEW DELHI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - At least 180 ethnic Rohingya stranded at sea for weeks after leaving Bangladesh in November are feared dead, as their rickety boat is thought to have sunk this month, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) said.

Citing unconfirmed reports, the agency said the "unseaworthy" boat probably sank after it went missing in the sea.

"Relatives have lost contact," the UNHCR wrote on Twitter on Saturday. "Those last in touch presume all are dead."

154 Rohingya drifting in Andaman Sea rescued, handed to Myanmar authorities

AA

SM Najmus Saki
DHAKA, Bangladesh
10.12.2022

Rohingya rights group worries about fate of rescued Rohingya in hands of Myanmar junta

A group of Rohingya, who had been drifting in a boat on the Andaman Sea along the Thailand coast, were rescued by a Vietnamese oil service vessel and handed to the Myanmar military government.

The boat was floating in Thai territory.

The Thai Navy went to examine the boat but did not help its occupants with food for people who had been starving for days.

Relatives of the victims received a message that they were rescued by the Vietnamese, according to a Rohingya rights group.

UN says Myanmar military uses death penalty to ‘crush’ opposition

Aljazeera
3 Dec 2022

UN rights chief Volker Turk said that more than 130 opponents of Myanmar’s military regime have been sentenced to death.

Myanmar soldiers stand on military vehicles during a parade to commemorate the 77th Armed Forces Day in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, in March 2022 [File Nyein Chan Naing/EPA]

Myanmar’s military government is using capital punishment as a tool to crush opposition to its rule and has sentenced more than 130 opponents of the regime to death since February 2021, a senior United Nations official said.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Friday that at least seven university students were sentenced to death behind closed doors on Wednesday, and there are reports that as many as four more youth activists were also sentenced on Thursday. 

Rohingya NGO claims Myanmar military defying UN court on Rohingya genocide

mizzima

03 December 2022

Rohingya refugees walk along a makeshift camp in Kutubpalang, Ukhiya Cox Bazar district, Bangladesh, 24 August 2022. Photo: EPA

The Rohingya continue to face a genocide that puts their very survival at risk, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) said in a new report released 2 November.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered provisional measures to prevent ongoing genocide against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar. However, a new report by the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK exposes how the Burmese military and other organisations are ignoring the provisional measures and that genocide is ongoing. It is the responsibility of the United Nations Security Council to uphold the ruling of the UN court, but it is failing to do so.

UN adopts Rohingya resolution by consensus

USA NEWS
November 16, 2022 

USANewsOnline.Com, New York : Today 16 November the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly adopted the annual resolution on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar by consensus. The resolution, jointly tabled by the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the European Union (EU), was cosponsored by 109 countries, the highest number of countries since 2017. 

The primary focus of the resolution was the human rights situation of the Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, including in the context of current political developments. It called upon Myanmar to address the root causes of the Rohingya crisis and create conducive environment in Rakhine to facilitate voluntary, safe and dignified return of the Rohingyas to their homeland in Myanmar. The resolution also called upon Myanmar to cooperate fully with the Special Envoy of the Secretary General on Myanmar and all the human rights mechanisms of the UN. The resolution recognized the important role of the regional countries and the regional organizations, such as ASEAN in addressing the political and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, and in this regard called for swift implementation of ASEAN’s 5-point consensus. The resolution noted the ongoing justice and accountability processes and welcomed the developments in the case against Myanmar in the International Court of Justice and the investigation by the Prosecution of the International Criminal Court.

Third Committee Approves Six Draft Resolutions, Including Texts on Human Rights in Iran, Myanmar, Syria, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Crimea

United Nation
General Assembly
Third Committee

Seventy-seventh Session,

52nd & 53rd Meetings (AM & PM)

GA/SHC/4369

16 November 2022

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved six draft resolutions today, five of which focused on country-specific situations, while the last drew attention to the rising number of refugees and displaced persons in Africa.

A draft resolution on the human rights situation in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol — approved by a recorded vote of 78 in favour to 14 against, with 79 abstentions — would have the Assembly condemn the ongoing temporary occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, as well as its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine.