HRC43: Oral Statement during ID on Rohingya

Agenda Item 2:Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner on the situation for Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar

Organisation: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker: Claire Denman

Thank you Madame President,

CSW welcomes the report of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.

We fully share the concerns of the High Commissioner, the situation of the Rohingya community is one of the most severe human rights crises in the world today.

As the report notes, approximately one million Rohingya refugees currently reside in Bangladesh, China and Thailand, having fled mass violence by the Myanmar Army in August 2017 following decades of persecution and discrimination.

We welcome the recent International Court of Justice ruling which ordered Myanmar to take immediate measures to prevent further genocide against the Rohingya, and to preserve evidence of past violations against them.

We call on Myanmar to comply fully with the ICJ ruling, by bringing an end to all violations against the Rohingya.

We support the High Commissioner’s claim that violations against minorities in Myanmar are “engrained in the history and fabric of society at large.”

In addition to the widespread violations against the Rohingya detailed in the report, CSW regularly receives reports of violations against the Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Rakhine, Shan, and Ta’ang ethnic minorities.

Violations against these communities include killing, arbitrary detention, torture, targeted religious persecution, sexual violence, and restriction of access to basic services.

CSW calls on Myanmar to ensure that citizens are afforded all the rights enshrined in the UDHR, regardless of ethnicity, religion or belief. Finally, we call on Myanmar to investigate all allegations of human rights violations against ethnic minorities, holding those responsible to account.

Thank you.