A United Nations’ special envoy is calling to stop plans to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled ethnic violence in Myanmar for Bangladesh.
The 2 countries have agreed to start the return of the ethnic minority in the middle of this month. But Yanghee Lee, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar says in a statement that the Myanmar government has failed to guarantee Rohingya will not face persecution and horrific violence back home.
She said there is no evidence that Myanmar’s government is taking concrete measures to create an environment for a safe return. She also said there is a deep fear from refugees in Bangladesh being named to the list of people to be repatriated.
She added Rohingya’s right to citizenship and freedom of movement needs to be guaranteed before they can return.
The repatriation was originally planned to start in January this year, but has been stalled due to safety concerns.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh after Myanmar’s security forces launched a crackdown on Rohingya militants in the western state of Rakhine.
UN investigators have concluded that Myanmar’s military carried out “genocide” and “crimes against humanity,” something Myanmar denies.
Source: NHK