Arakan News Agency
Peace, stability and the issue of citizenship for the minority Rohingya Muslims are the answers to resolving the plight of the Rohingyas, says United States (US) Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, Anne C. Richard.…
“These are the solutions and they have to be dealt with, at the root cause which has caused thousands of Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar. Now, at the moment, there is a tremendous persecution of Rohingya there.
“They (Rohingya) do not have citizenship and we are concerned about the human rights. Some of them have come to Malaysia as refugees and we (US) have resettled many of them in the US,” she told a media conference here Monday.
Richard arrived in Malaysia on Saturday, with the Rohingya issue top on the agenda of discussions with Malaysian officials.
She left for Indonesia for a three-day trip beginning today, to meet with government officials, and representatives of international organisations and rescued migrants and asylum seekers.
She however, said that resettlement was not the solution for most of the refugees, expect for a small group who were in need of medical care and those who were tortured in their home nation.
“We see resettlement as a way we can contribute to the refugees crisis. We see that Americans are comfortable doing this because the nation has many descendants from migrants.
“But, it is not the single solution to the crisis and certainly not an important solution, so that people do not have to leave their own country,” she stressed.
Richard praised Malaysia for doing a lot for the migrants despite not being a signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention, and appreciated Malaysia’s contributions by providing temporary shelter for them.
“During this trip (here in Malaysia) in the last couple of days, I have met with (officials from) the foreign ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office to discuss the crisis at hand,” she said.
She described her visit to a facility where the ‘boat people’ were kept as modern and clean, and that the migrants were given clean clothes and medical check-up.
She also urged Malaysia to work closely with the International Organisation for Migrants and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“I am encouraging UNHCR to help the Malaysian authorities. Malaysia has a history of being a haven for refugees and we have resettled many refugees, 59,000 in the last 10 years, out of Malaysia.”
On surveillance operation in the regional waters, Richard said: “The US aircraft had pinpointed vessels that might be smuggling migrants and that information has been forwarded to the Government of Malaysia. More than that, I cannot tell you.”
Source : Bernama
