BANGKOK / GENEVA (6 March 2018) - "The ethnic
cleansing of Rohingya from Myanmar continues. I don’t think we can draw any
other conclusion from what I have seen and heard in Cox's Bazar," said
Andrew Gilmour, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, at the end of
a four-day visit to Bangladesh that focused on the situation of the
approximately 700,000 refugees who have fled from Myanmar since last August.
File Photo |
The rate of killings and sexual violence in Rakhine State
has subsided since August and September last year. But recently arrived
Rohingya interviewed by Gilmour and other UN officials in Cox's Bazar provided
credible accounts of continued killings, rape, torture, and abductions, as well
as forced starvation. With Maungdaw township on the border of Bangladesh
already largely emptied of its Rohingya population, those arriving now are
coming from townships further inside.
"It appears that widespread and systematic violence
against the Rohingya persists," Gilmour said. "The nature of the
violence has changed from the frenzied blood-letting and mass rape of last year
to a lower intensity campaign of terror and forced starvation that seems to be
designed to drive the remaining Rohingya from their homes and into
Bangladesh."
A number of people told Gilmour that Rohingya who try to
leave their villages or even their homes are taken away and never return. One
man told how his father was abducted by the Myanmar military in February. He
was instructed a few days later to collect the body. He recounted that he was
too afraid to ask the military what had happened to his father, but that the
corpse was covered in bruises.
Another man described being tied up by Border Guard
Police in his own home in January as his 17-year-old daughter was abducted.
When he screamed, they pointed a gun at his head and kicked him repeatedly.
When he later tried to find her, he was picked up by them and badly beaten
again, this time with the butts of guns. His daughter has not been seen since
15 January.
This is a recurring theme - of women and girls abducted,
never to be seen again. Their relatives fear the worst - that they were raped
and killed.
"The Government of Myanmar is busy telling the world
that it is ready to receive Rohingya returnees, while at the same time its
forces are continuing to drive them into Bangladesh," Gilmour said.
"Safe, dignified and sustainable returns are of course impossible under
current conditions. The conversation now must focus on stopping the violence in
Rakhine State, ensuring accountability for the perpetrators, and the need for
Myanmar to create conditions for return."
During his visit, Gilmour interviewed recently arrived
refugees in Kutupalong-Balukhali, which in the seven months since August last
year has become the largest refugee camp in the world. After meeting with
Bangladeshi officials, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations involved
in the humanitarian response in Cox's Bazar, he raised alarm at the prospect of
the loss of life in the camps due to the imminent rains.
The Bangladeshi and international humanitarian response
to the Rohingya crisis has been very impressive but the rainy season is likely
to have a devastating effect on camps such as Kutupalong, a sprawling complex
of shelters made of plastic sheeting and bamboo poles located across steep
valleys and hillsides that have been stripped of all vegetation, including the
roots.
"Having suffered so much from the man-made disaster
inflicted by Myanmar, the fear is that this will be compounded by a natural
disaster of heavy rainfall that will almost certainly lead to landslides and
flooding. It will have the additional effect of polluting water sources through
fecal sludge, causing outbreaks of cholera that could lead to many
deaths," Gilmour said.
In Dhaka, Gilmour met with senior officials of the
Bangladesh Government. He commended the country's great hospitality in
providing protection and shelter.
"In welcoming such a massive influx of Rohingya
refugees, Bangladesh has shown a level of generosity that is sadly lacking in
many parts of the world, including in this region. This is especially true
given the strain that the refugees and the humanitarian response have put on
the local economy, society and environment," Gilmour said.
He added that it was absolutely essential for
international donors to demonstrate their appreciation and support to
Bangladesh by making long-term commitments to assist the refugees, as well as
Bangladeshi host communities, in order to share the burden.
Gilmour underlined the broad consensus that it is
inconceivable to expect refugees to return to Myanmar at this point. This is
based on three factors: (1) the immediate threat of almost certain killings,
rape and other forms of violence; (2) in the short term, the impossibility of
living there, given that all sources of food and livelihood have been destroyed
or declared off-limits for most of the remaining Rohingya; and (3) in the
longer term, the apparent absence of any will to address the root causes of
this issue, which has resulted from decades-long policies of discrimination
against the Rohingya, particularly the refusal of Myanmar authorities to
recognise their right to self-identification and to grant them citizenship.
"Ultimately, the world cannot allow the authors of
this brutal case of ethnic cleansing - which many believe may constitute
genocide - to be rewarded. Repatriation of the Rohingya to their homes and
their country will be necessary, as will accountability for the crimes against
humanity that may have been committed against them," continued Gilmour.
"But while the refugees remain in Bangladesh, we call for the authorities
to ensure that they can live in dignity, including by permitting access to some
livelihood opportunities and by upholding the right to education of all
Rohingya children."
Gilmour expressed his gratitude to the Government of
Bangladesh for its support to his mission and his deep admiration for their
extraordinary response to the Rohingya in their hour of need.
ENDS
B-roll and a brief interview with Gilmour in Cox's Bazar
available on: https://owncloud.unog.ch/index.php/s/voKkNz3RkWcDFkO
Andrew Gilmour (United Kingdom) assumed his functions as
UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights on 1 October 2016, heading
OHCHR’s Office in New York. In October 2016, Mr. Gilmour was designated by
the UN Secretary-General as senior official to lead the efforts within the UN
system to address intimidation and reprisals against those cooperating with the
UN on human rights.
For more information, please contact:
For media enquiries, please contact
In Bangkok: Xabier Celaya (+66 22 882 627 / Cell: +66 84
700 4671 / xabier.celaya@un.org)
In Geneva: Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org)
In New York: Fred Kirungi (+1 917 254 3352 / newyork@ohchr.org
Also read here: Myanmar's 'ethnic cleansing'
of Rohingya continues, says U.N. human rights official https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKCN1GI0C1