Arakan News Agency
The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday expressed deep concern about the situation of the minority of the Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar, especially with regard that they are considered stateless persons in the country.The Committee said in a statement that there were reports of serious human rights violations and continued repression, discrimination as well as the lack of recognition of the Muslim minority as part of the Myanmar society.
The Committee called for the decision of the Government of Myanmar to return citizenship to Rohingya and to open the troubled state of Arakan, where the minority lives for humanitarian and international organizations, non-governmental organizations and journalists.
At the same time, the Committee discussed the status of stateless persons in South and South-East Asia, noting that there were about 10 million people living in statelessness and 2 million alone in Myanmar-inhabited in the area of the Rohingya minority.
“The European Union should encourage countries hosting the majority of stateless persons to ensure a path to citizenship for them and children in particular,” the committee urged in a resolution adopted by 54 votes against two.
The resolution called on the EU to hold talks on the issue with key regional entities such as the EU
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), while a resolution on statelessness is expected to be voted by the full European Parliament in June.
