By AFP
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled to bordering Bangladesh
since last August
The UN human rights chief warned on Monday that possible
acts of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” against Myanmar’s Rohingya minority
could fuel a religious-based conflict that spreads beyond the country’s borders.
“Myanmar faces a very serious crisis – with a potentially
severe impact on the security of the region, “UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said during a speech in Jakarta.
His remarks follow the publication of a report last week
about mass graves of Rohingya in Myanmar’s crisis-hit Rakhine state, where
government troops have been accused of waging an ethnic cleansing campaign
against the minority.
Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled to bordering Bangladesh
since last August.
Myanmar denied the mass grave report and wider
allegations of rights abuses, saying it launched a proportionate crackdown on
Rohingya rebels.
But it has blocked reporters and UN investigators from
independently accessing the conflict zone and investigating refugee claims
about genocide.
Zeid on Monday said Myanmar had enjoyed strong growth
including a focus on socio-economic development in the Rakhine region, but that
this could not mask “institutionalised discrimination” against the minority.
The UN rights chief is due to meet with Indonesian
President Joko Widodo as well as top government officials and rights groups
during his three-day visit.
Among the issues expected to be discussed is a crackdown
on the LGBT community in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority
country.
Parliament is set to pass a long-dormant bill to make sex
outside marriage illegal. Gay marriage does not exist in Indonesia, meaning
homosexual relations would be effectively outlawed.