UN: Rohingya refugees claim rights

UN High Commissioner Spends Two Days Visiting Bangladesh

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ANKARA – UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi says it is virtually impossible to Rohingya refugees to return to their hometown of Rakhine if Myanmar fails to secure its rights. The Rohingyas, he said, were not just refugees, but stateless and stateless.

"They want Myanmar to grant them the necessary rights," he said at a meeting with UNHCR chief of mission Melissa Fleming. Bangladesh, Tuesday (3/7) local time

Grandi goes on, when refugees are asked what they need, they unanimously say that they want Myanmar to grant them their rights. "Very interesting, of course, their houses are destroyed, their land is seized and all the material has to be filled," he said.

"They say one thing unanimously: We need our rights We must be able to move in our homeland We can not be discriminated against, especially we need citizenship," he added.

The Rohingyas, explains Grandi, want to feel an identity when they return home. But he thought it was very difficult. "If that is not possible, my badysis is that it will be very difficult," he said.

The UN High Commissioner spent two days visiting camps in Bangladesh, including a day with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Grandi also compared his last visit to the camp in September 2017.

According to him, the camp is now much more organized. "It's always remarkable, it's still the biggest refugee in the world," said Grandi.

At least 9,400 Rohingyas were killed in Rakhine State in Myanmar from 25 August to 24 September 2017, according to Médecins Sans Frontières. In a report released last December, the global humanitarian group said 71.7 percent of the dead or 6,700 rohingyas were caused by violence. They include 730 children under 5 years old.

The Rohingyas, described by the United Nations as the most persecuted people in the world, are increasingly afraid that dozens of people were killed in community violence in 2012.

The UN documented mbadive rapes, killings – including infants and young children – brutal beatings and disappearances by security personnel. In his report, UN investigators claim that the offense may constitute a crime against humanity.