Crimes against Rohingyas continue with impunity

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has said both the military and the Arakan Army have committed and continue to commit serious atrocities against the Rohingya with impunity.

This is "flagrant violation of international law, including the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice," he said in a statement in Geneva yesterday.

The statement comes ahead of eighth anniversary of the Rohingya influx when about 750,000 Rohingyas fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State.

Since 2023 when the military and Arakan Army conflicts flared up in Rakhine, about two lakh more fled to Bangladesh. None of them have returned to their homeland.

The rebel group Arakan Army, meanwhile, took control of more than 80 percent of the Rakhine state, adding new dimension to the Rakhine crisis.

Volker Türk said, "As we near the passing of another year with no justice for the violence which started on 25 August 2017 in Myanmar, we are left to ask the question of when the enduring misery for these and ongoing crimes will end, particularly for the long-suffering Rohingya community."

Ending impunity and ensuring the Rohingya's rights to security, citizenship and equality are essential for breaking the cycle of violence, he said.

Since November 2023, the human rights and humanitarian situation in Rakhine have sharply deteriorated, further deepening the already life-threatening conditions faced by the Rohingya, the UN rights chief said.

"Amidst a global funding crisis, Rohingya in both Myanmar and Bangladesh are enduring dire conditions compounded by drastic cuts to food assistance," he said.

Türk implored the international community to step up support for the Rohingyas by increasing humanitarian funding to secure access to basic needs and essential services, and to resolutely support international accountability processes.