FILE - Displaced Rohingya are seen in a fenced-in
camp during a government-organized media tour to a no-man's land between
Myanmar and Bangladesh, near Taungpyolatyar village, Maung Daw,
northern Rakhine State, Myanmar, June 29, 2018.
GENEVA - The United Nations says Rohingya Muslims and
other minorities in Myanmar are experiencing an upsurge in violations
and abuse fueled by prejudice and hate speech. The U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights submitted a report on the root causes of
abuse in Myanmar to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. Introducing
the report, U.N. rights chief Michele Bachelet said laws and policies
promoting discrimination and exclusion against religious and ethnic
minorities in Myanmar have existed for more than half a century.
“They
have contributed to and perpetuated violence, extreme poverty,
exploitation and dispossession. Notably, the 1982 citizenship law
rendered stateless a significant proportion of the Rohingya and other
Muslims, compounding their vulnerability,” Bachelet said.
Oppression
of the stateless Muslim minority peaked in August 2017. That was when
violence and persecution, reported killings and rapes by the Myanmar
military triggered a mass exodus of more than 700,000 Rohingya to
Bangladesh.
Bachelet said other ethnic and religious minorities
across Myanmar also suffer serious human rights violations at the hands
of the military. She said its counter-insurgency policies and tactics at
times have deliberately targeted civilians.
“The recent upsurge
of xenophobia and violence can also be partly attributed to the
stresses and uncertainties of Myanmar’s current transition from decades
of authoritarian rule. The dramatic expansion of public access to social
media has enabled extremist and ultra-nationalist movements to
propagate messages inciting hatred and violence, fueling communal
tensions,” the U.N. rights chief said.
Rohingya refugees wait after their boat capsized near the Saint
Martin's island in the Bay of Bengal, in Teknaf, near Cox's Bazar,
Bangladesh, February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Stringer NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES
Bachelet urged Myanmar’s government to de-escalate xenophobic,
discriminatory practices and to promote inter-faith and inter-ethnic
tolerance.
Myanmar’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Kyaw Moe
Tun, said his government’s efforts to achieve national reconciliation
and peace with ethnic armed groups are advancing. But he added that
transforming the country from authoritarian rule into a democratic
federal union takes time.
He said his government is concerned
about the conflict in Rakhine state and those affected by it, but
disclaimed responsibility for the events that triggered the exodus of
the Rohingya.
He blamed the mass displacement and current
humanitarian situation of the Rohingya on terrorist attacks by ARSA, a
Rohingya insurgent group active in northern Rakhine state.
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