UN Security Council urges Myanmar to allow aid to Rohingya

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The United Nations Security Council issued a statement on Wednesday urging Myanmar to allow aid access to Rohingya Muslims that have been displaced by regional violence.

The 15-member body reached the agreement following a visit by Council envoys to Bangladesh and Myanmar last week to see the aftermath of a Myanmar military crackdown that Britain, the US and others have denounced as ethnic cleansing of the minority Rohingya. Myanmar denies ethnic cleansing.

Fleeing refugees have reported killings, rapes and arson on a large scale, but Myanmar has said its operations in in its western Rakhine state were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents.

The statement, issued by this month’s Council President Joanna Wronecka, noted that the envoys “were struck by the scale of the humanitarian crisis and remain gravely concerned by the current situation.” Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar in neighboring Bangladesh.

The Council also proposed that the Myanmar government hold accountable those who are responsible for such violence.

“The members of the Security Council, in light of the importance of undertaking transparent investigations into allegations of human rights abuses and violations, urge the government of Myanmar to fulfill, based on respect for the rule of law. Its stated commitment to holding accountable perpetrators of violence including sexual violence, abuse and violence against children,” the statement said.

The Security Council stated that it intends to discuss how it can work with Bangladesh, Myanmar and the United Nations “to resolve the crisis and create the conditions allowing the safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation of refugees to their homes in Rakhine State.”

All 15 members of the UN Security Council have agreed on the formal statement. Previously, 14 of them wanted a resolution, but after negotiations with China, the countries unanimously agreed on a presidential statement (PRST), which China's state news agency Xinhua described as "a step below a resolution, which carries the weight of international law."

(With input from agencies.)

(Cover photo: Refugees are seen at the Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, near Rakhine state, Myanmar, during a trip by United Nations envoys to the region on April 29, 2018. /Reuters Photo)