UN Mission Head Says Risk of Genocide Recurring in Myanmar

Sub-title: 

The head of a U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar says that "there is a serious risk of genocide recurring" against the country's Rohingya Muslim minority.

Description: 

"The head of a U.N. fact-finding mission on Myanmar warned Tuesday that "there is a serious risk of genocide recurring" against the estimated 600,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority still living in the country. Marzuki Darusman told the General Assembly's human rights committee that "if anything, the situation of the Rohingya in Rakhine state has worsened," citing continued discrimination, segregation, restricted movement, insecurity and a lack of access to land, jobs, education and health care. The government of Myanmar, a Buddhist-majority nation, has refused to recognize Rohingya as citizens or even as one of its ethnic groups, rendering the vast majority stateless. Myanmar's military began a harsh counterinsurgency campaign against the Rohingya in August 2017 in response to an insurgent attack. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh to escape what has been called an ethnic cleansing campaign involving mass rapes, killings and burning of their homes. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which Darusman heads, said in its final report last month that Myanmar should be held responsible in international legal forums for alleged genocide against the Rohingya..."

Creator/author: 

Edith M. Lederer

Source/publisher: 

Associated Press (USA) via US News (USA)

Date of Publication: 

2019-10-22

Date of entry: 

2019-10-23

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar, Bangladesh

Administrative areas of Burma/Myanmar: 

Rakhine State

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good