UN rights chief urges Suu Kyi’s govt to end discrimination against Rohingya
21st June 2016
BURMA’S new government has been urged to end discrimination and human rights violations against the Rohingya Muslims and other minorities by the U.N. human rights chief in a report released on Monday.
Zeid Ra-ad al-Hussein, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, is pushing Ang Sang Suu Kyi’s government to eradicate restrictions of movement, forced labor and sexual abuse against the Rohingya Muslims, among other violations.
The 18-page report, requested by the U.N. Human Rights Council, said it found a “pattern of gross violations against the Rohingya… [which] suggest a widespread or systematic attack” which has given rise to the possibility of “crimes against humanity”.
It calls on the Burmese government to abolish “all discriminatory local orders” in the western Rakhine state, where some 120,000 Rohingya and Kaman Muslims live in camps for internally displaces people.
The Rakhine state also has one of the lowest literacy rates in the country, according to the report, and non-citizens are barred from studying certain professions – including medicine, economics and engineering.
“Local orders” in the northern Rakhine state which include a series of discriminatory policies and directives from local authorities target the Rohingya community and have been in place in a number of years.
Zeid said in a statement: “The new government has inherited a situation where laws and policies are in place that are designed to deny fundamental rights to minorities, and where impunity for serious violations against such communities has encouraged further violence against them.
“It will not be easy to reverse such entrenched discrimination. This will be a challenging provess that requires resolve, resources and time. But it must be a top priority to halt ongoing violations and prevent further ones taking place against Myanmar’s ethnic and religious minorities.”
However, the Burmese government is still intent on avoiding the term “Rohingya”, as Suu Kyi told the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights on Monday during a visit to the capital Naypyitaw.
According to Reuters, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “At their meeting here this morning, our Foreign Minister Daw Aung San Suu Kyi explained our stance on this issue that the controversial terms should be avoided.”
The Rohingya are not officially recognized by Burma as an ethnic group, and conflict over land and resources in Rakhine has spurred on fatal violence between Buddhists and Muslims. More than 100,000 Rohingya were forced to flee their homes and now live in decrepit camps.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
