A Rohingya woman and her child at a makeshift camp outside Sittwe in Myanmar's western Rakhine State. Photo: IRIN |
June 11, 2013
The fatal shooting of three Rohingya women is the latest example of law
enforcement officials operating with complete impunity in western
Myanmar, an independent United Nations expert today said, calling on
Government authorities to investigate the incident.
“The human rights violations being committed against the Rohingya in
Rakhine State are widespread and systematic and there continues to be
absolutely no accountability for what is occurring there,” said the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana.
Calling for authorities to investigate all reported violations of human
rights against the minority group, he added that there is no way of
“glossing over this state of affairs” with the genuine progress that is
being made in other areas.
The police reportedly fired indiscriminately on 4 June into a crowd of
Rohingyas protesting peacefully against the proposed location of new
shelters in Pa Rein village. Their homes had been destroyed last year
during inter-communal violence. In addition to the three women killed,
at least five other people were reportedly injured.
Mr. Ojea Quintana said Government authorities have “an obligation to
conduct prompt, thorough and impartial investigations” into such
accidents and hold those responsible to account.
Since the violence in Rakhine State erupted last June, “I have seen
absolutely no evidence that the Government is fulfilling this
obligation,” he added.
In his report to the Human Rights Council in March, the Special
Rapporteur said he had received consistent and credible allegations of a
wide range of human rights violations being committed against the
Rohingya and wider Muslim population in Rakhine State. These include
“sweeps” against Muslim villages, arbitrary detentions, sexual assault
and torture.
Restating the offer he made in the report, Mr. Ojea Quintana said that
if the Rakhine Investigation Commission fails to properly address such
allegations of human rights violations, he will offer his support to the
Government to pursue further investigations.
“I reiterate my offer of support to the Government to address the
impunity which is enabling widespread and systematic human rights
violations to continue against the most vulnerable of all ethnic
minority groups in Myanmar,” he noted.
The President of the Human Rights Council, Remigiusz Henczel, is expected this week to make a statement on Myanmar.
Independent experts, or special rapporteurs, are appointed by the
Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back, in an
unpaid capacity, on specific human rights themes.
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