UNFPA applauds as Rohingya woman declares her son born of rape in Myanmar
Nurul Islam Hasib
bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-07-03 00:48:21.0 BdST Updated: 2018-07-03 11:08:28.0 BdST
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The UNFPA executive director has applauded the declaration of a Rohingya woman to the UN secretary-general that her six-month old son is “a result of rape” in the Rakhine State.
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Natalia Kanem told
bdnews24.com she was “very pleased” to find that the woman spoke to the UN chief and the World Bank president during their joint visit to the Cox’s Bazar camps on Monday.
Over a million Myanmar nationals are living in Bangladesh after fleeing ‘ethnic cleansing’ back home.
UN chief António Guterres, has asked the international community to “unite” and put pressure “strongly” on Myanmar authorities to resolve the crisis.
The World Bank has announced $480 million in grants, which is “exceptional” for the lending agency to commit for humanitarian assistance to those persecuted people.
The UNFPA is working with sexual and reproductive health and rights in the camps.
Kanem who was traveling with the UN secretary general said their work has started paying off.
“I was very pleased that among the women who spoke to the secretary general and World Bank president was a woman with her baby.
“The baby was six months old and she declared her son was the result of rape and she has treated the son with full love and she was being treated with full respect from her community, which she deserves.
“This showed we made some progress,” she said, “Women should not be victimised twice for what happened to them.”
“We also believe that no matter what has happened to you in the past, the future should be different.”
This was her second time in the Cox’s Bazar camps one month apart.
During her earlier visit in May, she told
bdnews24.com that her agency wants the “same type of solidarity Bangladesh has shown” towards Rohingyas from others, and to increase their monetary contributions.
On Monday she said she was “delighted” to be back here.
“It’s inspiring for me to see that how all of the agencies of UN, civil society of Bangladesh, the host community in Cox’s Bazar and the World Bank have come together to assert two things – one is to express gratitude to Bangladesh… this is the country that has opened its heart at a time when there was real crisis.
“The second point was to show full solidarity with Rohingya people who have suffered so much.”
Kanem also lauded the role of Bangladeshi midwives deployed by the UNFPA at the camps to ensure safe birth.
“Already we see that in a conservative culture, women are being treated with respect and women are speaking directly to the powerful figures, to the head of the UN and the head of the World Bank directly.”
She said they are also coming to the centres operated by the UN agencies exclusively for women.
“So I believe that it’s going to be possible and that should be the expectation that the citizens of Myanmar will be protected on the journey back.
“During this medium-term we do have to work very closely to make sure that they have shelter and they find some confidence and peace when they are being hosted by Bangladesh.”
The UNFPA is running 19 women-friendly spaces at the Cox’s Bazar camps.
Nothing has changed despite efforts on Rohingya crisis: ICRC president
Senior Correspondent,
bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-07-03 11:43:09.0 BdST Updated: 2018-07-03 11:43:09.0 BdST
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Nothing has changed for Rohingyas despite the fact that there is no shortage of initiatives to solve the crisis, said Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross or ICRC.
“There is a “lose-lose situation for people” as they are suffering in both sides of the border – northern Rakhine State and the camps in Cox’s Bazar,” said Maurer at a press briefing in Dhaka on Tuesday after visiting Myanmar and Cox’s Bazar.
“Conditions to return will require not only humanitarian and mitigating activities, but also effective political steps towards ensuring freedom of movement, access to basic services, freedom to undertake economic activity and access to markets in Rakhine and most importantly trust in security arrangements for returnees.”
Maurer said he was not here to apportion blame. “Both governments are making efforts and I’m convinced of their goodwill.”
He met leaders of both Bangladesh and Myanmar – Sheikh Hasina and Aung San Suu Kyi, apart from meeting Myanmar’s generals.
“We have also seen the excellent recommendations from Kofi Annan’s Commission, which we support. Humanitarian organisations too are doing their best to alleviate the suffering,” Maurer said.
“But so far, despite all the talking and all the efforts, too little has changed for the people here,” the president said without using the word Rohingya for those persecuted people of Myanmar who denied their citizenships.”
The ICRC was the first international body that obtained the access in the Rakhine State following the Myanmar army's brutal crackdown on the country's ethnic Rohingya minority.
Over a million Rohingyas are now living in Bangladesh.
In both countries, ICRC’s activities range from detention visits to healthcare to humanitarian negotiation and diplomacy following the international humanitarian law.
Maurer who travelled both sides of the border—the northern parts of Rakhine State where people had fled violence and the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar—said he was leaving the region with “a sober assessment” of the situation.
“I met those who stayed and those who left and it is clear that people are suffering on both sides. People lack secure housing, electricity, latrines, medicine and healthcare. There are few options for people to earn an income to allow them to move beyond aid and emergency conditions.”
ICRC chief tells Hasina he is ‘encouraged by positive posture’ of Myanmar army chief
Senior Correspondent
bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-07-03 03:48:15.0 BdST Updated: 2018-07-03 03:48:15.0 BdST
The International Committee of Red Cross President Peter Maurer has met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and said he is “encouraged by the positive posture of the Myanmar army chief to take back the Rohingyas”.
Maurer called on Hasina at the Parliament Building on Monday after visiting the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar following a Myanmar tour.
He told the prime minister that he saw positive attitude of the commander-in-chief of the Myanmar army to take back the refugees when they met, the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ehsanul Karim told reporters.
“I was moderately encouraged by the positive posture of the army chief,” Karim quoted the Red Cross chief as saying in the meeting.
Hasina told him that she felt good after hearing this, Karim said.
Over 700,000 Rohingyas have fled Myanmar into Bangladesh since Aug 25 last year when the Myanmar army launched an operation dubbed ‘ethnic cleansing’ by the UN.
As the refugees recounted the horrific operation and gruesome reports including photos were published in the media, the international community is demanding justice for the Rohingyas.
The International Criminal Court recently asked Myanmar to respond to a prosecution request that they consider hearing a case on the alleged deportation of Rohingya minorities to Bangladesh.
Myanmar army chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, however, has denied the allegation of atrocities.
He has also hinted that they are not ready to grant citizenship to the Rohingyas as recommended by a commission formed by their government to resolve the crisis permanently.
Myanmar, however, has agreed to take back the recently arrived Rohingyas while Bangladesh has already provided shelter to around 400,000 fresh refugees.
Maurer visited 130 Rohingya villages in Myanmar, where around 250,000 Rohingyas still reside.
Karim said the Red Cross chief told Hasina about the ‘heartbreaking scenario of destruction’ in the Rakhine State.
Maurer emphasised stability in Rakhine to repatriate the Rohingyas and added his organisation would try its best to make it possible.
He also pledged to continue their support to Bangladesh to handle the refugees.
Rohingyas want justice and a safe return home: Guterres
Rezaul Bashar and Shankar Badua Rumi, from Cox's Bazar
bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-07-02 10:46:56.0 BdST Updated: 2018-07-02 16:39:40.0 BdST
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Rohingyas at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar have shared their traumatic experiences with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim during their visit to the camp.
The UN secretary general tweeted on Sunday that he had heard "unimaginable accounts" of murder and rape after meeting the Rohingyas, who have fled to Bangladesh following a crackdown by the Myanmar military.
"They want justice and a safe return home," he wrote.
View image on Twitter
António Guterres
✔@antonioguterres
https://twitter.com/antonioguterres/status/1013659245114318848
In Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, I’ve just heard unimaginable accounts of killing and rape from Rohingya refugees who recently fled Myanmar. They want justice and a safe return home.
10:42 PM - Jul 1, 2018 ·
Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
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In a separate tweet, Guterres called the Rohingyas one of the most vulnerable communities and referred to the refugee crisis as a "human rights nightmare."
He also thanked Bangladesh for "its generosity in hosting refugees."
Guterres and Kim flew to Cox’s Bazar from Dhaka on a special flight on Monday, accompanied by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali.
Upon their arrival in Cox’s Bazar they were taken to the Hotel Sayeman Beach Resort. They then visited the refugee camps in Kutupalong to inspect the situation and speak with the Rohingyas.
At least 700,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh since the Myanmar military began a crackdown in the state of Rakhine last August. Combined with the approximately 400,000 Rohingyas previously living in Bangladesh, the total refugee population has increased to 1.1 million.
The UN has called the military operation ‘ethnic cleansing’. The Rohingya situation has been considered Asia’s largest refugee crisis in recent history.
Though the Bangladesh and Myanmar governments have reached an agreement on the return of the refugees, progress on implementing the plan has been slow.
The UN has emphasised the need for a voluntary, safe and respectful return process that follows international law.
Guterres and Kim are on a two-day visit to Bangladesh in order to see the plight of the Rohingyas. Both have expressed their concern regarding the refugee crisis.
At a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday, the UN secretary general had discussed stepping up the pressure on Myanmar.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim had expressed his gratitude for the humane reception the Bangladeshi people and its government had given the Rohingyas, stating that international organisations had more work to do if the crisis was to be resolved and that this trip was part of those efforts.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and International Red Cross President Peter Maurer accompanied Guterres and Kim on the trip.
UN will put more pressure on Myanmar to resolve Rohingya crisis, says Guterres
Senior Correspondent,
bdnews24.com
Published: 2018-07-01 16:17:54.0 BdST Updated: 2018-07-01 17:17:47.0 BdST
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim (L) and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres meet with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Bangladesh Awami League/Facebook
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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the UN is pressuring Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
The UN chief and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim met Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her offices in Dhaka on Sunday as part of their trip to Bangladesh.
Guterres said there should be more pressure on Myanmar to make them understand what they should do on this issue, according to Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim.
The UN and World Bank officials also gave their assurances that the organisations would continue their support for Bangladesh on the issue.
Kim and Guterres are scheduled to visit the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar on Monday.
At least 700,000 Rohingyas have crossed the border from Myanmar to Bangladesh since the Myanmar military began a crackdown in the state of Rakhine last August. Combined with the approximately 400,000 Rohingyas previously living in Bangladesh, the total refugee population has increased to 1.1 million.
The UN has called the military operation ‘ethnic cleansing’. The Rohingya situation has been considered Asia’s largest refugee crisis in recent history.
Though the Bangladesh and Myanmar governments have reached an agreement on the return of the refugees, progress on implementing the plan has been slow.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her offices in Dhaka on Sunday. The two officials are in Bangladesh to visit the Rohingya refugee camps. Photo: PID
The UN has emphasised the need for a voluntary, safe and respectful return process that follows international law.
Guterres praised Sheikh Hasina and the Bangladesh government for opening the door to the Rohingya refugees and for giving them refuge.
He also discussed the possibility of providing education to the refugees in Bangladesh.
“Their main concern is that the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh may become involved in extremism,” Karim said.
The UN secretary general also praised the World Bank for stepping forward to provide help on the issue. The World Bank recently announced a $480 million fund for helping the Rohingyas.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim reiterated that Bangladesh was the organisation’s second largest client, saying that it showed the agency’s faith in the current government.
“The World Bank president mentioned that he would discuss offering Bangladesh World Bank loans at a concession rate despite the recent graduation to lower middle-income status,” said Karim.
Both Guterres and Kim also praised Bangladesh’s recent economic development.
Myanmar rejects citizenship reform at private Rohingya talks
>> Reuters
Published: 2018-06-27 10:02:46.0 BdST Updated: 2018-06-27 10:02:46.0 BdST
A senior Myanmar official has told Western diplomats that a proposal to review a citizenship law that effectively renders most Rohingya Muslims stateless could not be implemented, five people present at the meeting in Denmark in early June told Reuters.
At a meeting in Copenhagen on Jun 8, Myanmar's Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye told a group of diplomats, analysts and members of a commission chaired by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan that eight of its recommendations - including one that asks authorities to take steps to amend the 1982 law - were problematic in the current political climate and could not be immediately fulfilled, the people present said.
"He made it very clear that citizenship reform was a non-starter," said one of the people at the meeting. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because Myanmar had requested the talks be confidential.
Win Myat Aye and government spokesman Zaw Htay did not answer calls seeking comment.
Amending the law, which largely restricts citizenship to members of what it terms "national races" - the 135 ethnic groups deemed by the state to be indigenous - was a key recommendation of the Annan commission.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as an indigenous ethnic group and refers to them as "Bengalis", a term they reject as it implies they are interlopers from Bangladesh, despite a long history in the country.
The Annan commission was created by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2016 to find long-term solutions to deep-seated ethnic and religious divisions in Rakhine. A day after the panel issued its report in August 2017, Rohingya insurgents launched attacks on security forces, provoking a military crackdown the UN has called a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing".
The admission by Win Myat Aye, who is overseeing plans for reconstruction in violence-ravaged Rakhine state, casts further doubt on plans to repatriate the roughly 700,000 Rohingya currently sheltering in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Many Rohingya refugee leaders say they won't return without guarantees of citizenship.
However, Myanmar's National Security Adviser Thaung Tun, who was also at the meeting in Denmark, told Reuters authorities were implementing the Annan commission's recommendations "to the fullest extent possible and as expeditiously as we can".
"Over 80 recommendations have been carried out in less than 10 months," he said in an email.
Referring to the recommendations that had not been implemented, he said they were "also being looked into".
Annan's spokesman referred questions to the Myanmar government.
Refugees have reported killings, burnings, looting and rape by members of the Myanmar security forces and Buddhist vigilantes in Rakhine. Myanmar has rejected accusations of ethnic cleansing, and dismissed most accounts of atrocities.
"PATH TO CITIZENSHIP"
In January, Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a deal to repatriate the refugees within two years, but disagreements have held up the implementation of the plan.
Many Rohingya refugees say they will not return unless the 1982 law is changed.
People who identified themselves as Rohingya were excluded from Myanmar's last nationwide census in 2014 and many had their identity documents taken or nullified, blocking them from voting in a landmark 2015 election.
Suu Kyi, who before coming to power said the government should have the "courage" to review the law, is now urging Rohingya to accept the National Verification Card, a residency document that falls short of full citizenship.
However, many Rohingya refuse to accept the document, which they say classifies life-long residents as new immigrants and does not allow them to travel freely.
The military, with whom Suu Kyi shares power, flatly rejects Rohingya calls for citizenship. In a speech in March, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said Rohingya "do not have any characteristics or culture in common with the ethnicities of Myanmar" and that the current conflict had been "fuelled because the Bengalis demanded citizenship".
DIPLOMATIC DIFFICULTIES
At the Copenhagen meeting, diplomats were about to break for lunch when Win Myat Aye said Myanmar had begun implementing only 80 of the 88 recommendations made by the commission, due to political and practical differences with the remaining eight, one of those present said.
According to a second person present, Annan responded: "You said you're having difficulties with eight – which are those? Let's get back to this after the break."
Win Myat Aye then listed the recommendations he said Myanmar was struggling to implement. They included commitments to create an independent body to review complaints about citizenship verification, empower community leaders and civil society, and establish a mechanism for feedback on government performance.
"In diplo-speak when you say that something is difficult it tends to be a rejection," the second source said. "That is how I understood this."
Secret UN-Myanmar deal on Rohingya offers no guarantees on citizenship
>> Reuters
Published: 2018-06-30 12:57:02.0 BdST Updated: 2018-06-30 13:04:34.0 BdST
File Photo: A Rohingya refugee child is handed food rations at Jamtoli refugee camp near Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh, Mar 29, 2018. Reuters
Rohingya refugees returning to Myanmar will have no explicit guarantees of citizenship or freedom of movement throughout the country, under a secret agreement between the government and the United Nations seen by Reuters.
The UN struck an outline deal with Myanmar at the end of May aimed at eventually allowing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims sheltering in Bangladesh to return safely and by choice, but did not make the details of the deal public.
Reuters on Friday reviewed a copy of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed between the UN and Myanmar authorities. The draft also leaked out online.
Citizenship and rights of refugees who return to Myanmar were key points of contention during negotiations over the agreement to restore access to conflict-ravaged Rakhine state for UN agencies that have been barred since last August.
The MoU states "returnees will enjoy the same freedom of movement as all other Myanmar nationals in Rakhine State, in conformity with existing laws and regulations".
However, it does not guarantee freedom of movement beyond the borders of Rakhine or address the laws and regulations that currently prevent Rohingya from travelling freely, according to the text seen by Reuters.
Refugee leaders and human rights groups say the agreement fails to ensure basic rights for the Rohingya, some 700,000 of whom have fled a military crackdown some Western countries have called "ethnic cleansing".
"As it stands, returning Rohingya to Rakhine means returning them to an apartheid state – a place where they can't move around freely and struggle to access schools, hospitals and places they rely on for work," said Laura Haigh, Amnesty International's Myanmar researcher. "Nothing in this document provides any guarantees that this will change."
The UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency, has previously called the MoU a "first and necessary step to establish a framework for cooperation" with the government.
Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay and Social Welfare Minister Win Myat Aye did not answer multiple phone calls seeking comment. The director of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, and Population said he was not authorised to comment and directed enquiries to the permanent secretary, who did not answer the phone.
Reuters confirmed the contents of the MoU with sources at two international non-governmental organisations. The May 30 draft seen by Reuters was written a day before the deal was signed, but the phrasing of key sections was consistent with a background briefing by UNHCR for diplomats and NGOs also seen by Reuters, and a letter from UNHCR explaining the agreement delivered to refugees in Bangladesh.
"VERY ANGRY"
Rights groups and aid agencies said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Development Programme, which spent months negotiating the deal, had not won strong concessions from the Myanmar government, especially on the key issues of citizenship and freedom of movement.
A UN spokeswoman said its policy was "not to comment on leaked documents".
"UNDP and UNHCR and the government of Myanmar continue the discussion about publicly releasing the text of the MoU," the spokeswoman said in an emailed statement.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as an indigenous ethnic group and so denies citizenship to most. The government refers to them as "Bengalis", a term they reject as it implies they are interlopers from Bangladesh even though many trace their roots in the country back generations.
The MoU, which does not refer to refugees as Rohingya, requires the government to "issue to all returnees the appropriate identification papers and ensure a clear and voluntary pathway to citizenship for those eligible".
But most Rohingya leaders say they will not return without guarantees of citizenship and reject the National Verification Card, an alternative identity document Myanmar has been pushing them to accept, saying it classifies life-long residents as new immigrants and does not allow free travel.
On Monday, Reuters reported a senior Myanmar official told Western diplomats that a proposal to review a citizenship law that effectively renders Rohingya stateless could not be implemented.
"We are very angry with this MoU," said Mohibullah, chairman of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights, a Rohingya organisation based in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. "It does not mention the term Rohingya. Also it says free movement within Rakhine state, but that is very difficult for us."
He said Rohingya had been told by UNHCR officials that the agreement was solely about granting access to northern Rakhine for aid agencies. "We will not accept this MoU."
ICC gives Myanmar deadline over Rohingya case jurisdiction
>> Reuters
Published: 2018-06-22 03:30:58.0 BdST Updated: 2018-06-22 03:30:58.0 BdST
Demonstrators in front of the European Union headquarters in Brussels call for an end to the genocide of Rohingyas in Myanmar's Rakhine State. File Photo: mostafigur rahman
Judges at the International Criminal Court have given Myanmar a deadline to respond to a prosecution request that they consider hearing a case on the alleged deportation of Rohingya minorities to Bangladesh.
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In a decision published on Thursday, the judges asked Myanmar to reply by July 27 to the request made in April that the ICC should exercise jurisdiction over the alleged crimes.
About 700,000 mostly Muslim Rohingya have fled largely Buddhist Myanmar to Bangladesh after a military crackdown in August 2017 that the United Nations has called ethnic cleansing.
"Considering that the crime of deportation is alleged to have commenced on the territory of Myanmar, the chamber deems it appropriate to seek observations from the competent authorities of Myanmar on the prosecutor's request," the decision said.
The world's first permanent war crimes court does not have automatic jurisdiction in Myanmar because it is not a member state.
However, the prosecutor asked the court to look into the Rohingya crisis and a possible prosecution through Bangladesh, which is a member.
Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has argued that, given the cross-border nature of the crime of deportation, a ruling in favour of ICC jurisdiction would be in line with established legal principles.
However, she acknowledged uncertainty around the definition of the crime of deportation and limits of the court's jurisdiction.
The judges asked Myanmar to respond to the matter of jurisdiction and circumstances surrounding the crossing of the border by members of the Rohingya minority.
