UN agency alarmed by deaths of displaced persons in Myanmar's Rakhine state

June 28,2013

UN News Centre

A displaced mother and her two children in Rakhine state. They originally came from the Pauktaw area. Photo: UNHCR/P. Behan

28 June 2013 – The United Nations refugee agency today voiced concern about a violent incident in western Myanmar's Rakhine state that killed two internally displaced persons (IDPs) and wounded six others, including two minors.
The incident took place yesterday morning in the Kyein Ni Pyin IDP camp in Pauktaw township, a site where the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been building temporary shelters for some 4,400 ethnic Rohingya displaced by last year's inter-communal violence.
“The [latest] violence is believed to have been triggered by a dispute between displaced people and a village leader,” UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a news conference in Geneva. “A reportedly poor relationship between them had been compounded by false rumours that displaced people would be isolated and prevented from returning to their places of origin.
“When some of the displaced gathered at a nearby military post asking that the leader be handed over, gunfire was used by the authorities to disperse the crowd and resulting in the fatalities and wounding,” he said.
UNHCR staff arrived at the scene shortly after to follow up with the victims' families and facilitate medical attention to the injured. “We are also concerned about the safety of the village leader and his family,” said Mr. Edwards.
The agency is calling for an investigation into the incident, and appealing to the authorities to handle the matter in a peaceful and calm way to avoid fuelling further violence and loss of life. It is also calling for dialogue between the involved parties to resolve the grievance.
“Joint efforts by the Government, community leaders and humanitarian actors are also needed to dispel rumours about the rights of displaced people to return to their places of origin in Kyein Ni Pyin and other villages where these sentiments have been emerging,” said Mr. Edwards.
UNHCR is the lead agency for shelter, camp coordination, camp management and protection in the humanitarian response in Rakhine state. Its current priority is to provide temporary relief for the displaced during the rainy season.
“We strongly believe that the Government must build confidence with the communities and promote reconciliation, so that those displaced can eventually return to their areas of origin,” Mr. Edwards stated.
He added that Thursday's tragic incident also highlights the urgent need to strengthen the camp coordination and camp management work which is grossly underfunded despite current needs. A year after the first wave of inter-communal violence erupted, there are still up to 140,000 people displaced within Rakhine state.        

Failure to address discrimination could undermine reforms in Myanmar – UN official

An assessment team talks to displaced people in Pauktaw camp in rural Rakhine, Myanmar, where more than 20,000 Rohingya live. Photo: mildren/OCHA

UN News Centre

19 June 2013 

 The United Nations human rights chief today urged Myanmar’s Government to tackle continuing discrimination against ethnic minorities, warning that failure to act could undermine the reform process in the country.
“Myanmar today can act as a source of inspiration by showing how governments can be transformed by a renewed commitment to human rights,” said the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.
“However, the ongoing human rights violations against the Rohingya community in Rakhine state and the spread of anti-Muslim sentiment across the State and beyond is threatening the reform process and requires focused attention from the Government.”

Myanmar today can act as a source of inspiration by showing how governments can be transformed by a renewed commitment to human rights.

Several waves of clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims, the first of which occurred in June 2012, have affected hundreds of thousands of families in the country’s western region. Some 140,000 people, mostly Rohingya, remain displaced in Rakhine and tens of thousands of others have fled by boat.
In March, anti-Muslim violence spread to Meiktila in Mandalay region, leaving 43 people dead and more than 1,500 buildings destroyed, according to Government figures. Last month in Lashio Township, Shan State, anti-Muslim violence displaced some 1,400 people and destroyed property, including a mosque and an Islamic boarding school.
“The President of Myanmar has made some important statements on the need to end discrimination and violence and foster mutual respect and tolerance between people of different faiths and ethnicities,” Ms. Pillay said. “I believe that the political will is there, but encourage the Government to translate this will into concrete actions.”
The High Commissioner said she hoped that discussions on Myanmar during the session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva earlier this month would further encourage the Government to combat discrimination.
In its latest session, the Council urged the Government to allow humanitarian assistance and aid to reach the people and communities affected, and called on authorities to end impunity for all violations of human rights.
Ms. Pillay noted that her Office (OHCHR) continues to receive reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations against Muslims in Rakhine, including arbitrary detention and torture by security forces, as well as extrajudicial killings and sexual violence.
“I am concerned that those involved in mob violence against Muslim communities in Meiktila, Lashio and elsewhere are not being held to account, which sends out a message that violence directed against Muslim communities in Myanmar is somehow acceptable or justified,” Ms. Pillay said.
“The Government must urgently pursue legal and institutional reforms, including reforming local orders and national laws that discriminate along lines of ethnicity and religion.”
Ms. Pillay also condemned a local order limiting the number of children Rohingya Muslims can have to two, as well as a citizenship law that discriminates against unlisted groups and has left some 800,000 Rohingya stateless.
“This is blatantly discriminatory,” Ms. Pillay said. “This order should be rescinded immediately.”
In addition, she urged for a full investigation into the shooting of three Rohingya women earlier this month. The women were killed as they took part in a peaceful demonstration in Rakhine, when police allegedly fired into a crowd of demonstrators in Pa Rein village, Mrauk-U Township.
“My Office is ready to support the Government’s progressive reforms and to assist in addressing all forms of discrimination and other human rights challenges. I therefore hope to see quick progress in the establishment of an OHCHR Country Office in Myanmar with a full mandate,” Ms. Pillay added.        

Myanmar authorities must do more to curb abuses against the Rohingya – UN expert

A Rohingya woman and her child at a makeshift camp outside Sittwe in Myanmar's western Rakhine State. Photo: IRIN

June 11, 2013

UN News Centre

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.

Relief operations in Myanmar’s Rakhine state receive boost from UN emergency fund

26 April 2013 

UN News Centre

Women in Thea Chaung camp, Rakhine State, Myanmar, prepare a meal. Photo: UNOCHA/ Nicole Lawrence

The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has made available $5 million in additional funding to provide life-saving assistance to some 69,000 people displaced by the violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
This is the third allocation of funds from CERF for urgent humanitarian operations in Rakhine state following inter-communal violence that erupted there in June and October 2012, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The violence led to large-scale internal displacement and a marked increase in people fleeing by boat from the region, OCHA Myanmar said in a news release. “The violence caused not only displacement, but also a loss of life, livelihoods and property.”
Currently, the UN estimates there are more than 140,000 people displaced throughout the state.
“Thanks to CERF’s immediate funding, humanitarian agencies are able to respond in a decisive manner to provide urgent life-saving aid such as emergency shelter, improved sanitation, water facilities, and healthcare. However, additional funding is still needed to meet all the needs,” said the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, Ashok Nigam.
The latest allocation brings the total CERF disbursement for the humanitarian situation in Rakhine to more than $15 million since June 2012. The $5 million will go towards the activities of four UN agencies and their humanitarian partners so they can carry out activities in health, shelter, water and sanitation. It is especially timely, as UN agencies prepare to step up operations ahead of the monsoon rains in June.
Since its launch in 2006, CERF has provided $76 million in response to disasters and underfunded emergencies in Myanmar, with Rakhine state receiving $37 million.
CERF enables the fast delivery of life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters and other crises worldwide. It is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States, non-governmental organizations, regional governments, the private sector and individual donors.

Myanmar: UN official voices concern at reports of increased sectarian violence

Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng. Photo: Rick Bajornas

March 25, 2013

UN News Centre

The United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide today voiced deep concern at reports of increased violence between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Myanmar, and called on leaders to promote respect for diversity and peaceful coexistence.

Last week President Thein Sein reportedly declared a state of emergency and imposed martial law in four central townships after several days of unrest between Buddhists and Muslims, including in Meiktila where at least 30 people were killed.

“The recent episode of violence in Meiktila in central Myanmar raises concerns that sectarian violence is spreading to other parts of the country,” stated Special Adviser Adama Dieng. “In the context of last year’s violence between Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, there is a considerable risk of further violence if measures are not put in place to prevent this escalation.” 

Mr. Dieng said these measures must address not only the immediate consequences of the current violence but also the root causes of the problem. “Failing to do so can have serious future consequences which the international community has solemnly promised to prevent,” he stated.

“The Government of Myanmar must clearly demonstrate that it is serious about holding accountable those responsible for the past and present violence, regardless of their religious or ethnic affiliations,” he urged. “The Government must also take measures to protect populations still at risk.” 

Noting that the State has the primary responsibility to protect its population, the Special Adviser called on the Government of Myanmar to address this situation as a matter of urgency, develop a comprehensive national strategy that upholds international human rights standards and promotes reconciliation and tolerance among Buddhist and Muslim communities in the country. 

“I call upon all religious leaders, local leaders and the communities themselves, to promote a culture of respect for diversity and peaceful coexistence that is fundamental in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society such as the one in Myanmar,” stated Mr. Dieng 

“As a country that has positively surprised the international community with its recent transformation towards democracy, Myanmar needs to demonstrate that the rule of law will prevail and that all those living within its borders are and will be protected from violence and discrimination, particularly on the basis of religion or ethnicity.”

Source:Here