UN condemns Myanmar human rights abuses against Muslim Rohingya
The resolution Myanmar’s government “to expedite efforts to eliminate statelessness and the systematic and institutionalized discrimination.”
By RACHEL WOLFRohingya Muslim men look out from inside a police vehicle, as they are transported from a court hearing on charges of illegally travelling without proper documents, in Pathein, Ayeyarwady, Myanmar December 20, 2019(photo credit: ANN WANG/REUTERS)
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) approved a resolution condemning human rights abuses against Muslim Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar on Friday. Additionally, the resolution calls on Myanmar to fight the incitement of hatred against other minorities as well, according to media sources. The human rights abuses laid out in the resolution include torture, rape and random arrests, The Guardian reported.The resolution expressed “deep distress at reports that unarmed individuals in Rakhine State have been and continue to be subjected to the excessive use of force and violations of international human rights law [and] international humanitarian law by the military and security and armed forces,” according to The Guardian. It also called on Myanmar’s government “to expedite efforts to eliminate statelessness, and the systematic and institutionalized discrimination.”Myanmar’s ambassador to the UN Hau Do Suan called the resolution “another classic example of double standards [and] selective and discriminatory application of human rights norms.” He added that the resolution would, “sow seeds of distrust and will create further polarization of different communities in the region,” according to multiple media sources.The conflict between Myanmar and its Rohingya citizens started when the country’s military began a campaign in 2017, in response to an Internet attack carried out by a Rohingya group, according to The Guardian. This campaign forced the Rohingya to Bangladesh; those who escaped accused security forces of destroying homes and carrying out mass rapes and killings. Concern over the exodus of Rohingya to Bangladesh was also expressed in the resolution.Despite the fact that the Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, the country’s Buddhist majority often considered them to be 'Bengalis' from Bangladesh,” The Guardian reported, adding that almost all the Rohingya have been denied Myanmar citizenship since 1982.UNGA resolutions are not binding, but are often said to reflect world opinions.
