UN Security Council urges safe return of Rohingya Refugees

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The United Nations Security Council on Monday urged Myanmar to step up efforts for Rohingya refugees to return to the country safely and voluntarily.

During a closed-door meeting, the 15 council members called for more social and economic development aid and facilitating the return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons to their homes in Rakhine state.

A Rohingya refugee woman and child wait to collect aid during a rain storm at Balukhali refugee camp in Ukhia on July 21, 2018. /VCG Photo

"The members of the Security Council continued to stress the importance of undertaking independent and transparent investigations into allegations of human rights abuses and violations," a statement read.

The UN envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, said the government was favorable toward a return to Rakhine for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas who fled the area.

UN Special Envoy to Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener (C in grey shirt) accompanied by local officials visiting Maungdaw district by the border of Bangladesh on June 20, 2018. /VCG Photo

But she noted that tensions remain in Rakhine between Rohingyas -- a Muslim minority -- and the Buddhist majority.

"So they want to bring them back but they have to come back voluntarily, safe, in dignity and in a sustainable manner," said Burgener.

Talks with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi were "very constructive, very open, very friendly," the envoy added.

Burgener said that Suu Kyi, who has been criticized internationally for her handling of the crisis, "is aware about the difficulties and challenges." The envoy has traveled to Myanmar twice since taking office two months ago and is set to visit the country again in September, with plans to travel to other states in the country.

The high-level 15-member delegation of the UN Security Council talk to Rohingya refugees during their visit to Tombru in the Bangladeshi district of Bandarban on April 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

In late August 2017, rebels from the Rohingya Muslim community took up arms, denouncing the ill-treatment of this stateless minority in Myanmar.

More than 700,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled an offensive by Myanmar troops launched nearly a year ago in reprisal for attacks on border posts by Rohingya rebels.

Source(s): AFP