{"id":903,"date":"2017-10-05T17:57:31","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T17:57:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/?p=903"},"modified":"2017-10-05T17:57:31","modified_gmt":"2017-10-05T17:57:31","slug":"rohingya-crisis-un-suppressed-report-predicting-its-shortcomings-in-myanmar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/2017\/10\/05\/rohingya-crisis-un-suppressed-report-predicting-its-shortcomings-in-myanmar\/","title":{"rendered":"Rohingya crisis: UN &#8216;suppressed&#8217; report predicting its shortcomings in Myanmar"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content__article-body from-content-api js-article__body\">\n<p>The UN commissioned and then \u201csuppressed\u201d a report that criticised its strategy in Myanmar and warned it was ill-prepared to deal with the impending\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/rohingya\">Rohingya<\/a>crisis, sources have told the Guardian.<\/p>\n<p>The review, written by a consultant and submitted in May, offered a highly critical analysis of the UN\u2019s approach and said there should be \u201cno silence on human rights\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The report, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, accurately predicted a \u201cserious deterioration\u201d in the six months following its submission and urged the UN to undertake \u201cserious contingency planning\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is recommended that, as a matter of urgency, UN headquarters identifies ways to improve overall coherence in the UN\u2019s system approach,\u201d wrote independent analyst Richard Horsey, the report\u2019s author.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--supporting element-rich-link--upgraded\">\n<div class=\"rich-link tone-news--item \">\n<div class=\"rich-link__container\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__image-container u-responsive-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/6c46ff9649cec162c61bd058f065fe97f68696b3\/297_305_3371_2023\/master\/3371.jpg?w=460&amp;q=55&amp;auto=format&amp;usm=12&amp;fit=max&amp;s=362230bbcf530294504b7e99922f6891\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more\">\n<div class=\"rich-link__arrow\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-link__read-more-text\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Security forces would be \u201cheavy-handed and indiscriminate\u201d in dealing with the Rohingya, said Horsey \u2013 a prediction that rang true when Rohingya militants\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/aug\/25\/rohingya-militants-blamed-as-attack-on-myanmar-border-kills-12\">attacked<\/a>\u00a0dozens of outposts on 25 August, prompting a massive military crackdown.<\/p>\n<p>In little more than a month, more than half a million Rohingya have fled over the border to Bangladesh amid\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/sep\/07\/massacre-at-tula-toli-rohingya-villagers-recall-horror-of-myanmar-army-attack\">allegations of massacres<\/a>\u00a0by Myanmar\u2019s armed forces and Rohingya insurgents. On Thursday Bangladesh announced that it would build one of the world\u2019s biggest refugee camps to house all those who have sought asylum.<\/p>\n<p>The UN report, entitled The Role of the\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/unitednations\">United Nations<\/a>\u00a0in Rakhine state, was commissioned by Renata Lok-Dessallien, the UN resident coordinator and the organisation\u2019s most senior figure in Myanmar. It made 16 recommendations. Horsey outlined the need for new staff positions and \u201cfrank\u201d discussions with government, and called for the report to be widely distributed among aid agencies.<\/p>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline1\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--inline1 ad-slot--rendered\"><\/div>\n<p>The UN was urged to ensure that the\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sg\/en\/content\/ban-ki-moon\/human-rights-front-initiative\">human rights up front<\/a>\u00a0initiative, a strategy introduced by former secretary general Ban Ki-moon to prevent mass atrocities, was fully implemented. Horsey said the initiative should \u201cbe at the core of how the UN operates\u201d, adding that there should be \u201cno silence on human rights and protection concerns\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>However, sources within the UN and humanitarian community claimed the recommendations were ignored and the report was suppressed.<\/p>\n<p>A source close to events, who asked not to be named, said the paper was \u201cspiked\u201d and not circulated among UN and aid agencies \u201cbecause Renata [Lok-Dessallien] didn\u2019t like the analysis\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was given to Renata and she didn\u2019t distribute it further because she wasn\u2019t happy with it,\u201d said another well-placed source.<\/p>\n<p>The 28-page document said its author would be expected to provide feedback to the UN\u2019s humanitarian country team, a group consisting of UN agencies such as the World Food Programme and the UN refugee agency as well as other aid groups such as Save the Children. The Guardian understands this meeting never took place.<\/p>\n<p>A media representative for the office of the resident coordinator in\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/myanmar\">Myanmar<\/a>\u00a0said a briefing meeting on the initial findings, open to all UN agencies, took place in April.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UN agreed with the document\u2019s outline of some of the challenges of providing peace, humanitarian and development assistance in Rakhine state, and the risk of further outbreaks of violence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn fact, the UN in Myanmar was already putting in place some of the changes suggested in the document prior to its release,\u201d said the representative, adding that this included the \u201ccrucial\u201d human rights up front mechanism.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-pullquote element--supporting\">\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"pullquote-paragraph\">The UN must acknowledge a significant share of blame in letting this situation descend this far, this fast<\/p>\n<footer><cite class=\"pullquote-cite\">Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch<\/cite><\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The final report was \u201cshared with some senior officials\u201d, said the representative, who declined to identify the individuals concerned. Sources in Myanmar said the report was \u201cmentioned at meetings on two occasions\u201d before it \u201cdisappeared off the agenda\u201d. No one was able to access the document subsequently.<\/p>\n<p>A senior aid official said the final report was \u201ckept very low-key\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCriticisms, constructive ones, are rarely taken as learning opportunities but are received as personal attacks and provoke defensive responses,\u201d the source added.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Lok-Dessallien faces fresh\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"http:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-41420973\">charges<\/a>\u00a0that she undermined attempts to publicly promote the rights of the Rohingya, the stateless Muslim minority. Aid workers said the UN prioritised good relations with the Myanmar government over humanitarian and human rights advocacy.<\/p>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline2\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--offset-right ad-slot--inline2 ad-slot--rendered\"><\/div>\n<p>A spokesperson for the UN secretary general\u00a0<a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sg\/en\/content\/sg\/note-correspondents\/2017-09-29\/note-correspondents-myanmar\">denied<\/a>\u00a0the allegations. \u201cThe resident coordinator has been a tireless advocate for human rights,\u201d said the spokesperson. \u201cHuman rights stand at the centre of everything the UN does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Guardian approached Horsey, the author of the report, for comment. \u201cThe UN knew, or should have known, that the status quo in Rakhine was likely to evolve into a major crisis,\u201d he said in an emailed response.<\/p>\n<p>However, he added that the severity of the criticism directed at Lok-Dessallien was unwarranted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt may be true that the resident coordinator could have done some things differently or better, [but] primary responsibility for any UN failings lies with its headquarters over the last several years,\u201d wrote Horsey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey did not have a coherent or well-coordinated approach to Myanmar, and especially Rakhine, and did not provide the required political support and guidance to their in-country team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His report said senior UN figures in New York had sent \u201cmixed messages\u201d and there was no replacement special adviser to the secretary general, a high-level UN official with \u201cdiplomatic clout\u201d, leaving the resident coordinator in an impossible position.<\/p>\n<p>The study cited a \u201cwidely-held perception\u201d that there had been \u201ctrade-offs between advocacy and access that have in practice de-prioritised human rights and humanitarian action, which are seen as complicating and undermining relations with government\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>A UN official in Yangon said: \u201cHuman rights up front isn\u2019t being implemented. It just isn\u2019t. They can say that they are ticking some boxes but in terms of actions that lead to results we\u2019re seeing nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: \u201cIt\u2019s not been human rights up front, it\u2019s been human rights down in back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UN is going to have to acknowledge their significant share of blame in letting this situation descend this far, this fast.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 1rem\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The UN commissioned and then \u201csuppressed\u201d a report that criticised its strategy in Myanmar and warned it was ill-prepared to deal with the impending\u00a0Rohingyacrisis, sources have told the Guardian. The review, written by a consultant and submitted in May, offered a highly critical analysis of the UN\u2019s approach and said there should be \u201cno silence on human rights\u201d. The report,&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/2017\/10\/05\/rohingya-crisis-un-suppressed-report-predicting-its-shortcomings-in-myanmar\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":904,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903\/revisions\/904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/southandcentralasiablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}