
The deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in Myanmar warrants a strong and unified response from the European Union (EU) and its member states at several crucial opportunities in the coming weeks.
Since October 2016, more than 750,000 Rohingya women, men and children have fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh as a result of unjustified and grossly disproportionate attacks by security forces in northern Rakhine State. Security forces are believed to have killed thousands of Rohingya[1], have raped Rohingya women and girls and burned their villages to the ground in a devastating campaign of ethnic cleansing that amounts to crimes against humanity. The violations and crimes continue to this day, as Myanmar security forces starve, abduct and rob Rohingya in an attempt to force even more of them to flee the country.
Meanwhile, in Kachin and Shan States, fighting between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups has intensified in recent weeks, with reports of civilian casualties and further displacement. Across Myanmar, there has also been a worrying erosion of the space for freedom of expression, and journalists and other media workers have faced arrest and prosecution for their work.
Our organisations strongly urge the EU and its member states to respond in a way that is proportionate to the massive scale and serious nature of the violations being committed, and send an unequivocal message to the Myanmar authorities – both civilian and military – that ongoing violations and impunity will not be tolerated.
The EU must also continue to express its full support to United Nations (UN) Special Procedures – in particular the UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar and the UN Fact-Finding Mission (FFM). Since March 2017, the Myanmar government has refused to cooperate with, or allow access to, the FFM – the only viable body currently working towards accountability for violations in Myanmar – and has also publicly declared its intention to stop cooperating with the Special Rapporteur, who has been barred from accessing the country.
At the same time, the EU and its member states must act to ensure that any return of Myanmar refugees from Bangladesh are safe, voluntary, and dignified as required under international law – and not coerced, which would amount to refoulement. This rules out any state-organised, massive and time-constrained returns such as those envisaged in the agreements reached between Myanmar and Bangladesh last year. The EU’s endorsement of this plan – despite serious concerns by UN agencies and others – was both irresponsible and premature.
At the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) meets on 25 February, we urge the EU and its member states to issue strong Conclusions that:
· Condemn, and call for the dismantling of, the state-sponsored system of segregation and discrimination against the Rohingya in Rakhine State
In addition, we urge the EU and its member states to put forward a strong, robust and comprehensive resolution on Myanmar at the 37th session of the UN Human Rights Council, which is fully reflective of the situation on the ground and incorporates the above recommendations. The EU and member states should likewise act to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur under Item 4.
Finally, the EU must ensure that any human rights dialogue with Myanmar is used to push for concrete and meaningful progress on human rights, and not simply conducted “business as usual” given the scope and scale of the human rights violations in Myanmar. For the upcoming human rights dialogue to be meaningful, the EU must raise the concerns above in the strongest possible terms, and make clear the requirement for progress. In order to ensure a robust and meaningful dialogue, the EU should set clear benchmarks for its engagement in the process. It should further commit to transparency and accountability by publishing a written statement after the dialogue, setting on record the issues raised and recommendations made by the EU delegation, in addition to details of any responses or concrete commitments made by the Myanmar authorities.
[1] Surveys conducted by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in refugee settlement camps in Bangladesh estimate that at least 9,000 Rohingya died in Rakhine State between 25 August and 24 September. As 71.7% of the reported deaths were caused by violence, at least 6,700 Rohingya, in MSF’s most conservative estimations, have been killed, including at least 730 children below the age of five years. http://www.msf.org/en/article/myanmarbangladesh-msf-surveys-estimate-least-6700-rohingya-were-killed-during-attacks
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