Myanmar: Joint Ministerial Statement Marking the 5th Anniversary of the Myanmar Military’s Attack against Rohingya and Ensuing Crisis
The following is the
text of a joint statement by the High Representative on behalf of the European
Union, and the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the
United Kingdom and the United States, marking the fifth anniversary of the
Myanmar military’s attack against Rohingya.
Five years ago, the Myanmar military launched a violent attack
on Rohingya communities in Rakhine, killing, raping, and torturing thousands of
Rohingya men, women, and children and forcing over 700,000 to seek refuge in
Bangladesh – where they joined other Rohingya, who had fled earlier attacks and
decades of systemic discrimination. These deplorable actions against Rohingya
precipitated one of the largest mass exoduses of a minority in recent
history. We are concerned by the UN Fact Finding Mission’s establishment
of consistent patterns of serious human rights violations and abuses, of which
many amount to grave crimes under international law. We also recognize other
initiatives to hold perpetrators accountable, including The Gambia’s efforts
before the International Court of Justice, which is currently examining whether
the atrocities committed by the Myanmar military against Rohingya amounted also
to genocide. We reiterate that Myanmar must comply with the International
Court of Justice’s provisional measures order.
The same actors that committed these reprehensible actions led
the military coup d'état in February 2021, and today continue to perpetrate
atrocities against political dissidents and vulnerable populations, including
other ethnic and religious minorities across Myanmar, and have done so for
decades. The Rohingya themselves suffer human rights violations and
abuses, discrimination, systematic persecution, and denial of access to basic
services – including the right to citizenship. Around 150,000 Rohingya have
been confined to camps without freedom of movement in Rakhine for a
decade. Women and girls continue to be at extreme risk under the current
conditions.
As we mark five years since the brutal 2017 campaign against
Rohingya, we commend the courage of Rohingya communities and remember all the
victims. We reiterate our commitment to holding the perpetrators of these
violations and abuses to account, and acknowledge the work of the Independent
Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and others contributing to this
objective. We call on the military regime to cease its violence against
those who have suffered under its rule, including the decades of grave human
rights violations and abuses endured by Rohingya and other communities in
Myanmar. We thank the UN relevant bodies, Bangladesh, and other hosting
nations for their generosity and providing lifesaving support to Rohingya and
remain dedicated to supporting Bangladesh to ensure that the needs and rights
of all refugees and impacted host communities are met. We also appreciate
the important efforts of humanitarian organizations to extend protection and
assistance for Rohingya communities. At the same time, we call on the
international community to help to ensure justice for Rohingya victims, support
host communities, and foster conditions that will allow for the safe,
voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return to their communities. Rohingya
must be meaningfully included in discussions around the future of Myanmar.
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