UN spl envoy starts ‘final mission’ today

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, today begins her final mission, which will last till January 23. 

Lee will visit Thailand and Bangladesh to speak to interlocutors and receive information about the situation in Myanmar from both sides of the border.

She has been denied her visit to Myanmar since December 2017.

“Myanmar’s denial of access has not dissuaded me from doing everything I can to impartially report to the international community accurate, first-hand information that has been provided to me during my visits to the region,” Lee said in a statement yesterday. 

“My mission and the end of my tenure comes at a critical time for human rights in Myanmar and I will continue to strive to do my utmost to improve the situation.”

Lee has held the mandate of Special Rapporteur since 2014 and enjoyed biannual visits to Myanmar until she was denied entry since 2017. 

She made critical comments on the atrocities carried out by the Myanmar military against the Rohingyas. Since August 2017, some 750,000 Rohingyas fled the Rakhine State and took shelter in Bangladesh. 

UN termed it classic case of ethnic cleansing.Last December, The Gambia filed a case accusing Myanmar of genocide, with the International Court of Justice, the top UN court. 

Lee will hold a press conference at 3:00pm on January 23 at the Le Meridien Hotel in the capital.

Following her mission, Lee will report to the Human Rights Council session in March.