End impunity for atrocitiys commited to Rohingyas

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has appealed to the UN Security Council to demand Burma to grant the persecuted Rohingya minority their civil rights and to find a political solution to the Rohingya conflict. The human rights organization also emphasized that the Rohingya refugees should not be sent back to Burma as long as they are denied their civil rights there. In this context, the STP also called on the UN Security Council to use the International Criminal Court to punish crimes against humanity against the Rohingya and to end impunity in the country.

On Sunday, a delegation of the UN Security Council visited a refugee camp in Bangladesh – for the first time since the escalation of the Rohingya crisis in August 2017. There, the refugees reported about the crimes committed by Burmese soldiers and militiamen, causing a mass exodus of around 700,000 Rohingya. On Monday and Tuesday, the delegation will visit the traditional home of the Rohingya in Rakhine State, Burma.

“Most of the refugees are afraid of returning to Burma, as the Rohingya are systematically marginalized and deprived of their rights there. They fear that they will not be allowed to return to their demolished villages, but might be penned up in a refugee camp instead,” explained Ulrich Delius, the STP’s director, in Göttingen on Monday.

“The UN Security Council must finally put an end to impunity for the serious crimes against the Rohingya, and the International Criminal Court in The Hague must be able to bring to justice those who are responsible for the crimes against the minority group,” Delius emphasized. So far, all efforts have failed, primarily because of the resistance of the veto powers Russia and China. Leading diplomats from both countries are taking part in the delegation visit of the UN Security Council.

The human rights organization urged the delegation of the UN Security Council to demand Burma’s government to grant the Rohingya people freedom of movement in the country and to abolish the discriminatory laws on religion and race. Apart from that, it would be necessary to initiate a reform of the controversial 1982 Citizenship Act to give the members of the minority group a realistic chance of becoming citizens of the country. “Even the most influential Burmese military officials and politicians may find it difficult to provide proof that their families have been living in the country since 1830 – as the law calls for,” Delius stated.