BURMA: UN EXPERT CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS IMPUNITY FOR CRIMES IN RAKHINE

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From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 1 May 2013 13:00:00 -0400
Subject: BURMA: UN EXPERT CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS IMPUNITY FOR
CRIMES IN RAKHINE
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

BURMA: UN EXPERT CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO ADDRESS IMPUNITY FOR CRIMES IN
RAKHINE New York, May 1 2013 1:00PM While welcoming the most recent
efforts of Burma's Government to look into the sectarian violence that
erupted last year in Rakhine state, a United Nations expert today
stressed that much more needs to be done to end discrimination and
hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.

The Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burma, Tomás
Ojea Quintana, said that while the recommendations of the Rakhine
Investigation Commission report address the humanitarian situation in
the region, they still restrict the movements of the Muslim community
in particular.

"The Investigation Commission's report contains many worthwhile
recommendations, which I encourage the Government of Burma to
implement," said Mr. Ojea Quintana after reviewing the recommendations
of the 27-member Commission, set up last year by President Thein Sein
in the aftermath of the violence between Buddhists and Muslims that
spiked in June 2012 and then again in October.

Those recommendations included measures on addressing the dire
humanitarian situation in the Muslim camps for internally displaced
people (IDP), such as overcrowding, access to clean water and
sanitation, the risk of disease, food security and child malnutrition,
as well as on improving access to education and livelihoods.

"However, in implementing them, I urge the authorities, as a matter of
urgency, to ease the harsh and disproportionate restrictions on the
freedom of movement of Muslim populations in the IDP camps and also in
Muslim residential areas, such as Aung Mingala in Sittwe and across
northern Rakhine State, while also providing adequate security," he
said.

Those restrictions greatly exacerbated the humanitarian situation,
restricting access to food, healthcare, livelihoods and education, he
said, adding: "Now we are at the beginning of May and the harsh
restrictions for Muslim populations remain firmly in place." In a
report to the Human Rights Council, Mr. Ojea Quintana had previously
noted that the Taung Paw camp in Myebon felt more like a prison than
an IDP camp.

The Special Rapporteur praised the report's recommendations to double
the presence of police, military and border security forces in
Rakhine, but said accountability for human rights violations must also
feature prominently in the Government's agenda.

"I have received credible allegations that widespread and systematic
human rights violations by state officials targeted against the
Rohingya and wider Muslim populations have occurred and are continuing
in Rakhine state. These involve the most serious of allegations,
including extrajudicial killings, rape and sexual violence, arbitrary
detention and torture and ill-treatment in detention, deaths in
detention, and denial of due process and fair trial rights," He said.

"The Government has an obligation under international law to
investigate these allegations effectively, promptly, thoroughly and
impartially and, where appropriate, to take action against those
responsible, in accordance with domestic and international law," he
said, adding that accountability is an integral part of restoring
relations of trust and harmony among ethnic and religious communities.

Mr. Ojea Quintana also expressed concern over the recommendation that
communities should continue to be separated while emotions remain
high, noting that the Government must plan for integrated communities
as homes are rebuilt and people resettle to avoid permanent
segregation.

"I have always said that discrimination against the Rohingya Muslims
in Rakhine state is one of the underlying causes of the violent
conflict between communities there," he said. "The statelessness of
the 800,000 Rohingya population underlies their marginalization and
makes them particularly vulnerable to discrimination and human rights
violations."May 1 2013 1:00PM
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