Ambassador Nikki Haley
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Mission to the United Nations
New York City
May 14, 2018
Thank you, Madam President, and congratulations again on
your presidency. Thank you to our co-leads, Kuwait, the United Kingdom, and
Peru, for their work arranging the visit. I’d also like to thank the
Governments of Kuwait, Bangladesh, and Burma for hosting the Security Council.
It was absolutely critical for the Security Council to
see the crisis in Rakhine State and the challenges facing Rohingya refugees
first-hand. One of the main reasons for the trip is the continuing,
disheartening response from the Burmese government. Judging from the reaction
of the government and the Burmese military, it seems like they have failed to
acknowledge their role in this crisis. This is unacceptable and unsustainable
if we’re going to make any progress in ending the violence in Rakhine State.
We are thankful to the Government of Bangladesh for
everything it has done to support the Rohingya refugee population and its
willingness to work with the UN agencies to meet their needs. International
support for humanitarian assistance to the refugees in Bangladesh is more
critical now than ever before. We must continue to support them.
More than that, we must have the will as a Council to do
something now. Time is not on our side. The monsoon season has already begun
and is putting hundreds of thousands of refugees at further risk. We must
continue to work with Bangladesh and UN agencies to ensure the refugees have
what they need as the rain begins to fall, flooding the land beneath their
feet, and eroding the hills in which they shelter. We cannot allow these
refugees to remain in unsafe or unhealthy conditions.
The ultimate solution does not lie in Bangladesh. It is
for the refugees to return to their homes and their own land. We, the Security
Council, must remain focused on creating the conditions for the voluntary,
safe, dignified, and sustainable return of the Rohingya and all displaced
communities to their places of origin in Burma.
We are glad to see some cooperation between the
Governments of Bangladesh and Burma toward this goal, but the ultimate
responsibility for creating these conditions rests squarely with Burmese
authorities. We appreciate the transparency the Burmese demonstrated during the
visit. However, Burma must do far more to accept its responsibilities and take
the steps needed to end this crisis. Burma must work with the international
community to focus on real solutions. This means putting their energy toward
working with the UN and others to create the conditions on the ground that will
reassure Rohingya who fled that they will be safe to return in a dignified and
voluntary manner.
Justice is an essential precondition for the voluntary
return of refugees. It is important for Burma to cooperate with credible,
independent investigations into reports of atrocities. There needs to be
accountability for the perpetrators, including those in the security services.
Impunity cannot continue to be the order of the day.
As part of this effort, the Burmese government should
allow access to the UN Fact-Finding Mission and restore access for the Special
Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma. Burma must also
demonstrate respect for the fundamental human rights of Rohingya, including
respecting their freedom of movement and their freedom of religion.
They must address the conditions that are causing people
to continue to flee Rakhine State. Burma needs to do more to address the root
causes of the crisis by comprehensively implementing the recommendations of the
Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, including those related to citizenship.
Burma also needs to recognize the scope of the physical and logistical
challenges involved in creating the proper conditions for safe, dignified,
voluntary, and sustainable returns for more than one million refugees. No
country could handle this challenge alone, and Burma should accept the expert
help that the UN mandated agencies have offered. The United States stands ready
to support Burma in addressing both the immediate crisis as well as the
long-term solution.
A democratic, pluralistic government that protects the
rights of all minority communities, including the Rohingya, is the only
sustainable solution. As a sign of good faith, Burma should immediately sign
the Memorandum of Understanding with UNHCR and UNDP. Burma should also allow
the UN and all other humanitarian partners immediate and unhindered access into
Rakhine State. This is critical to build the confidence of not only the
international community but of the refugees.
The Burmese government should provide immediate and
unhindered access to Rakhine State for media as well, and provide for the
protection of press freedoms, including the safety of journalists. We again
call for the Government of Burma to release the two Reuters journalists who
remain jailed and on trial for simply reporting on and documenting atrocities
in Rakhine State.
The active involvement of the Security Council is
essential to bring an end to the Rohingya crisis. We know what we need to do
and cannot allow politics and short-term economic interests to keep us from
doing what is right. We have unique tools to encourage Burma to take real steps
towards resolving this crisis, and we must use them. We should move quickly to
adopt a resolution that institutes real steps to resolve this enormous, and
growing, humanitarian and human rights crisis. That, too, will be a challenge,
as some members of the Council have kept us from taking action for cynical and
self-interested reasons. Some undermined the unity the Council demonstrated
during the trip with unhelpful edits that only weakened the Council’s message.
We have all heard horrifying accounts of what the
Rohingya people have suffered – what “ethnic cleansing” means to those on the
ground. Now members of the Council have seen with their own eyes what this
crisis has wrought. That leaves us with no choice but to act now.
Thank you.