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London, UK - Burma Human Rights Network vehemently opposes plans by the Bangladeshi and Burmese governments to begin repatriation of the nearly 800,000 Rohingya refugees in mid-November of 2018, which would put that at risk of serious harm and deprivation of human rights. The plan was announced on October 30th in Bangladesh after the third Joint Working Group (a collection of 30 representatives from Bangladesh and Burma) meeting on the repatriation of the Rohingya. The move comes only a week after the Chair of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar said that the Genocide against the Rohingya was ‘ongoing’.
“To return the Rohingya to Burma at a time where there are no mechanisms to ensure their safety, dignity, or human rights is unconscionable. These are survivors of a genocide and they are being asked to return to a place where they face the risk of future attacks, life-threatening restrictions on travel, institutional discrimination and disenfranchisement, and indefinite detention in displacement camps, all under the supervision of the same people who murdered and raped their loved ones.” said BHRN Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
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London - BHRN’s Findings on Suffering in Northern Rakhine State Reinforced by UN Investigator. The Burma Human Rights Network has documented evidence which corroborates statements made on October 24th, 2018 by the chair of the UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar, Markuzi Darusman, who stated that those Rohingya who remain inside of Burma face severe restrictions and repression in what he described as an ongoing genocide. The remarks were made during a press conference in New York City ahead of the UN Security Council briefing. BHRN has spoken to villagers inside of Northern Rakhine State who complain of severe travel restrictions, lack of food and medical aid, and children suffering from dehydration.
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Burma Human Rights Network applauds Canada’s House of Commons for unanimously passing a motion on the Rohingya which acknowledges the findings of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission and recognizes the crimes against the Rohingya amount to genocide which responsible parties in the Burmese military should be prosecuted for. The motion also backed calls to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and welcomed the decision by the ICC to recognize its jurisdiction in regards to the crime of forced deportation of the Rohingya from Burma to Bangladesh.
“Canada is leading the world in taking a bold stand for human rights and for the Rohingya. This motion is extremely welcome and should be applauded. It is the hope of many that the rest of the world, especially United State of America, the United Kingdom and European Union, will follow Canada’s example and take a stand for the Rohingya, acknowledge the findings of the UN Fact-Finding Mission, and support the referral of Burma to the ICC so that justice may be possible for the victims and peace may come for the country’s most vulnerable," said BHRN Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
