UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern over the deteriorating situation in Myanmar amid the ongoing violence in the country.
According to the UN Human Rights Office, the military and the Arakan Army have committed human rights violations against the minority Rohingya community in Myanmar, despite their obligations to protect the Rohingya community under international humanitarian law and the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). These violations include forced recruitments, beheadings, extrajudicial killings, and indiscriminate bombardments of towns.
Türk stated that tens of thousands of individuals, including a substantial number of Rohingya, fled a major offensive by the Arakan Army in the past four months. Dozens were killed on August 5 in an attack along the Naf River, near the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, forcing thousands of Rohingya to flee on foot to increasingly hazardous locations.
This month marks seven years since the military operations which drove 700,000 across the border into Bangladesh. Despite the world saying “never again” we are once more witnessing killings, destruction and displacement in Rakhine [State]. Parties to the armed conflict are issuing statements denying responsibility for attacks against the Rohingya and others, acting as though they are powerless to protect them. This stretches the bounds of credulity … Despite repeated warnings and calls for action, the ongoing violence underscores the prevailing sense of impunity and the persistent challenges in ensuring protection of civilians in accordance with international law.
Türk highlighted that a rising number of Rohingya are seeking assistance for conflict-related injuries, and some have died from preventable conditions such as diarrhea. Hospitals in the towns of Buthidaung and Maungdaw in Rakhine State remain closed due to the violence. Türk urged both the military and the Arakan Army to take responsibility and protect civilians, emphasizing that those responsible must be held accountable and justice pursued relentlessly.
[T]hose responsible must be held accountable, and justice must be pursued relentlessly … Recurrence of the crimes and horrors of the past must be prevented as a moral duty and a legal necessity. It is the responsibility of the international community, with [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] at the forefront, to take all necessary measures to protect the Rohingya and other civilian victims of this cruel conflict.
The Rohingya are a minority Muslim community primarily residing in Rakhine State. A report released in January indicated that ethnic and religious minorities in the predominantly Buddhist country are being targeted by the military. Earlier this year, a UN official expressed ongoing concerns for the Rohingya community amidst escalating violence conducted by the junta.
The ICJ also issued provisional measures in January 2020, ordering Myanmar to take steps to prevent acts of genocide against the Rohingya. The effectiveness of these provisional measures was questioned at the time. Human Rights Watch reported ongoing abuses against the Rohingya in Myanmar despite the measures.
In a related call to action, 89 civil rights groups urged the UN Security Council to coordinate an intervention to halt escalating violence and atrocities and to protect the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in Myanmar. Liz Throssell, a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson, also urged Bangladesh and other states to protect the Rohingya community effectively.
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