Arakan News Agency
UN officials and human rights activists on Tuesday, during the High-Level Conference on the Rohingya Crisis and other minorities in Myanmar, called for strengthened international solidarity and the development of sustainable political solutions to end decades of oppression, displacement, and humanitarian suffering.
Courtney Rattray, Chef de Cabinet of the UN Secretary-General’s Executive Office, delivered a statement on behalf of the Secretary-General, stressing that the crisis, which has worsened since the Myanmar military seized power in 2021, violates human rights, dignity, and security, and threatens regional stability.
He said that minorities in Myanmar, particularly the Rohingya, have endured decades of exclusion, violence, and exploitation, noting that the Rohingya have been denied citizenship, subjected to hate speech, deadly force, and destruction, and forced to live in internal displacement camps under severe restrictions on their movement.
Rattray explained that over one million refugees fled to Bangladesh, which has shown great generosity in hosting them, pointing to his solidarity visit to the Cox’s Bazar camps during Ramadan, where he listened to harrowing stories of abuses in Myanmar.
He added that 150,000 people have been forced to flee over the past 18 months to Bangladesh, while others risk dangerous sea journeys that often end in tragedy.
He also noted that cuts in international aid have reduced access to healthcare, education, and livelihoods, warning that food assistance may run out by the end of November, and that insecurity exposes women and girls to sexual violence, human trafficking, and early marriage.
Rattray urged the international community to work together for a sustainable political solution that ensures a safe future for all the people of Myanmar.
For her part, Wai Wai Nu, founder and director of the Women’s Peace Network in Myanmar, said that minorities have endured decades of oppression, violence, and displacement amid a failure to hold perpetrators of war crimes and genocide accountable.
She stated that the conference should be “the beginning of change toward a sustainable solution defined by the people of Myanmar themselves,” emphasizing the need to stop ongoing killings and military crimes, including airstrikes, forced conscription, and the rape of women and girls.
Wai Wai Nu added that Rohingya in Rakhine State face the threat of complete destruction, pointing out that the military cuts off aid, uses them as human shields, and continues systematic repression. She stressed that the genocide did not end in 2017 but has worsened with Rohingya now targeted by the Arakan militias controlling most of the state, while massacres, arson, torture, forced recruitment, and displacement continue.
The UN High-Level Conference on the Rohingya Crisis and other minorities in Myanmar kicked off today on the sidelines of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, with the participation of international, diplomatic, and human rights delegations.
Meanwhile, the Rohingya community remains hopeful yet anxious for the outcomes of this unique conference, hoping it will bring an end to a crisis that has persisted for decades. Hundreds of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh camps gathered in recent days to issue an urgent appeal to the UN and the international community to deliver justice and recognize their rights.
