Action against Rohingya rights violation a must: Bachelet

FE Team | Published: September 14, 2020 23:29:12

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Monday said action must now be taken to properly remedy the serious violations the Rohingya have suffered, and include them into the life of their country, reports UNB.
"Myanmar has repeatedly stated that it wishes to resolve the Rohingya crisis and ensure the Rohingya can return to their places of origin in dignity and safety," she said in a statement.
Bachelet said it is troubling that a number of satellite images and eyewitness accounts indicate that areas in northern Rakhine have been burnt in recent months.
She made the statement at the 45th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on enhanced interactive dialogue on the implementation of recommendations from the Fact-Finding Mission on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
Bachelet noted that the government has contested this, based on its own review of satellite data- this only underscores the need for independent, on-the-ground investigation.
Government administrators are reclassifying areas where Rohingya villages were previously located, removing the names of villages from official maps and potentially altering how the land may be used.
"This should end immediately, and the prior situation should be restored. Such acts victimise those who have been forced to flee, and could prevent Rohingyas from returning to their homes, reclaiming their rights and rebuilding their lives," said Bachelet.
She said she is also concerned that they risk destroying evidence relevant to determining legal responsibility for acts committed during military operations both before and after 2017.
Bachelet said three years have passed since the military operations in Rakhine created a terrible human rights crisis.
"The situation of many hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced people remains unresolved," she said.
In 2019, the Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar concluded that Myanmar incurred State responsibility under the prohibition against genocide and crimes against humanity, as well as for other violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law.