The Stateless Rohingya Blog

File photo of Yanghee Lee, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma (PHOTO: Reuters) By   Jacob Robinson October 31, 2014 UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee has expressed concern about “possible signs of backtracking” that could undermine Burma’s reform process, according to a UN press statement released yesterday which highlighted some key points of Ms. Lee’s speech to the UN General Assembly about Burma’s human rights situation. Ms. Lee’s speech on 28 October was designed to inform the UN General Assembly about the findings contained in her report about human rights issues in Burma. The report—which was released on 23 September—said that Burma’s “far reaching reforms have dramatically transformed the political, economic, social and human rights landscape…since the establishment of the new Government.” But during her speech Ms. Lee also said, “more is required if gains are to be genuine, sustainable and win the support of the people of Myanm...

By PETER JAMES SPIELMANN Associated Press November 19, 2013 The General Assembly's human rights committee passed a resolution urging Myanmar to give the stateless Rohingya minority equal  access to citizenship and to crack down on Buddhist violence against them and other Muslims in the southeast Asian nation. The resolution, passed by consensus Tuesday, received mixed reaction in Myanmar. The director of the president's office, Maj. Zaw Htay, said steps were being taken to address the issue, and the opposition party headed by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi accused the rights committee of "interfering" in the country's internal affairs. Under General Assembly rules the body will unanimously pass the resolution later this year. Myanmar emerged from a half-century of military rule in 2011, but its transition to democracy has been marred by sectarian violence that has left more than 240 people dead and sent another 240,000 fleeing their homes, most of them...

A family that belongs to the ethnic Rohingya community from Myanmar gathered at a makeshift camp in New Delhi on May 14, 2012.  Adnan Abidi/Reuters By Bibhas Bhattachrya  Hindustan Times  September 10, 2013 With neither the government of Myanmar nor Bangladesh ready to take responsibility for the Rohingya Muslims who are currently languishing in correctionals across the state, the Indian government is now eyeing funds to be released by the United Nations for proper rehabilitation of the displaced. Caught while fleeing Myanmar and trying to sneak into India through the porous Bangladesh border, the Rohingya Muslims had been put behind bars and continue to await word on their fate. “As many as 160 (displaced) Rohingya Muslims are currently in jail custody. Twenty of them have already served their sentence and another 130 were arrested while trying to sneak into India this year. With their identities disputed and nationalities unknown, neither the go...

The OIC plans to take the issue of attacks against Muslims in Burma to the United Nations OnIslam News: March 31, 2013 CAIRO – A global Muslim body is planning to take the issue of persecution of Muslims in Buddhist-majority Burma to the United Nations to help stop continuing attacks against the minority. “The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) intends to raise the issue in the Security Council and the Human Rights Council to find a solution that contributes to putting an end to religious persecution against Muslims in Burma,” an OIC official told Arab News on Sunday, March 31. “The OIC had previously tried to contact government officials in Burma to no avail.” The Jeddah-based group plans to hold a meeting in Saudi Arabia on April 14 to discuss attacks against Muslims in Burma. OIC chief Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu said the organization was “ready to take all necessary measures and actions” in dealing with the impending crisis. Ihsanoglu also urged...

Chittagong, Bangladesh:  The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today called on Thai authorities to give United Nations refugee agencies unhindered access to Rohingya boat migrants, so that they can ascertain whether or not they are asylum seekers and if they are eligible for refugee status,” according to a AIPMC statement. Rohingya boat people near Bon Island in Phuket province “Thai authorities should suspend plans to deport at least 73 Rohingya migrants back to Burma.” “Thailand has a history of mistreatment of Rohingya refugees, and their push-back, or ‘help on’

GENEVA (20 November 2012) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, welcomed today the latest commitments from the Government of Myanmar on human rights as significant steps forward in the ongoing reform process, and encouraged the authorities to focus now on their prompt implementation. These pledges announced by the Government on 18 November include the resumption of prison visits for the International Committee of the Red

Arakan Rohingya Union Director General, Professor Dr. Wakar Uddin, urged the international community, including Malaysia, to be persistent in exerting pressure on the Myanmar government to permanently cease hostility toward the Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar and reinstate their citizenship with ethnic rights.

After a visit to the troubled Rakhine state of Myanmar recently, a U.S. team has said people there continue to face persecution and displacement. Kelly Clements, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, who led the team, strongly recommended immediate humanitarian assistance and access to international aid for the affected people. The team was in Myanmar from September 7 to 10 and in Bangladesh from September 11th to 13th to assess the situation and hold talks with officials on how to reduce tensions and improve humanitarian situation. (Many Rohingya refugees fled to

By Patrick Barta YANGON—Intolerance toward Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar has dented some Americans’ perceptions of the country, but hasn’t significantly altered Washington’s views on easing sanctions, the U.S.’s new ambassador in Yangon said.