Aljazeera
3rd November 2019
Guterres addresses ASEAN summit, where leaders try to salvage progress towards what could be world's biggest trade bloc.
Myanmar is responsible to 'ensure a conducive environment for the safe,
voluntary, dignified and sustainable repatriation of refugees', Guterres
said [Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters]
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has expressed "deep" concern over the plight of hundreds of thousands of
Rohingya refugees, urging
Myanmar to assume responsibility by dealing with the "root causes" of their flight and work towards their safe repatriation.
A brutal army campaign in August 2017 forced more than 740,000 members of the mostly-Muslim minority to flee Myanmar's Rakhine state, most seeking refuge in overcrowded camps across the border in Bangladesh. During its crackdown, which was launched in response to attacks by an armed group, the military carried out mass killings and gang rapes with "
genocidal intent", according to United Nations-mandated investigators.
