{"id":122124,"date":"2018-11-19T12:00:30","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T12:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=122124"},"modified":"2018-11-26T11:23:56","modified_gmt":"2018-11-26T11:23:56","slug":"bachelet-returning-rohingya-refugees-to-myanmar-would-place-them-at-serious-risk-of-human-rights-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/11\/bachelet-returning-rohingya-refugees-to-myanmar-would-place-them-at-serious-risk-of-human-rights-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"Bachelet: Returning Rohingya Refugees to Myanmar Would Place Them at Serious Risk of Human Rights Violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>13 Nov 2018<\/em> \u2013 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet today urged the Government of Bangladesh to halt plans for the repatriation of more than 2,200 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, warning that the returns would be in violation of international law and put their lives and freedom at serious risk.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The refugees in Cox\u2019s Bazar are the victims of human rights violations committed in the midst of the violence that erupted in August 2017, which led to the flight of more than 725,000 people. Many witnessed the killings of members of their families and the burning down of their homes and villages. Refugees have stated repeatedly that they do not wish to return under current conditions.<\/p>\n

The Office also continues to receive reports of ongoing violations of the rights of Rohingya remaining in northern Rakhine, which include allegations of killings, disappearances and arbitrary arrests, as well as widespread restrictions on the rights to freedom of movement, health and education. About 130,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), many of whom are Rohingya, remain in camps in central Rakhine. Another 5,000 IDPs remain in No Man\u2019s Land between Myanmar and Bangladesh while more than 4,000 are in Aung Mingalar ward in Sittwe, where they are subjected to a wide range of restrictions. Hundreds of thousands of people in other parts of Rakhine also remain deprived of their rights to freedom of movement, to basic services and livelihood \u2013 as well as their right to a nationality.<\/p>\n

Some of the refugees have threatened suicide if they are forced to repatriate, and two elderly men in Cox\u2019s Bazar have already attempted suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are witnessing terror and panic among those Rohingya refugees in Cox\u2019s Bazar who are at imminent risk of being returned to Myanmar against their will,\u201d High Commissioner Bachelet said. \u201cForcibly expelling or returning refugees and asylum seekers to their home country would be a clear violation of the core legal principle of non-refoulement<\/em>, which forbids repatriation where there are threats of persecution or serious risks to the life and physical integrity or liberty of the individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe human rights violations committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar amount to the worst atrocities, including crimes against humanity and possibly even genocide. With an almost complete lack of accountability \u2013 indeed with ongoing violations \u2013 returning Rohingya refugees to Myanmar at this point effectively means throwing them back into the cycle of human rights violations that this community has been suffering for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bachelet called on the Government of Myanmar to show its seriousness in creating the conditions for return by addressing the root causes of the crisis in Rakhine state, in particular the systematic discrimination against and persecution of Rohingya.<\/p>\n

High Commissioner Bachelet appealed to the Government of Bangladesh to ensure scrupulously that any repatriation takes place in line with international standards of voluntariness, safety and dignity, with full transparency, and only when the conditions are right.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe history of the Rohingya in Myanmar is one filled with repeated episodes of violence, flight and return,\u201d Bachelet said. \u201cWe need to speak with one voice to stop this cycle from repeating itself yet again.\u201d<\/p>\n

2018 is the\u00a0<\/em>70th\u00a0anniversary<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights<\/em><\/strong>, adopted by the UN on 10 December 1948.\u00a0The Universal Declaration \u2013 translated into a world record 500 languages \u2013 is rooted in the principle that \u201call human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.\u201d It remains relevant to everyone, every day. In honour of the 70thanniversary of this extraordinarily influential document, and to prevent its vital principles from being eroded, we are urging people everywhere to\u00a0<\/em>Stand Up<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>for Human Rights<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0www.standup4humanrights.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 ohchr.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

13 Nov 2018 \u2013 UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet today urged the Government of Bangladesh to halt plans for the repatriation of more than 2,200 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, warning that the returns would be in violation of international law and put their lives and freedom at serious risk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":117520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[677,82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-updates-on-myanmar-rohingya-genocide","category-united-nations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}