Rohingya issues taken up by Ambassadors of OIC member states ahead of the UN Human Rights Council

RB News

May 18, 2013

Rohingya issues taken up by Ambassadors of OIC member states ahead of the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva; ARU Director General addresses the delegates at the UN

The Director General of Arakan Rohingya Union, Prof. Dr. Wakar Uddin, addressed the special session of OIC member states that was convened at the United Nations in New York on May 17, 2013. Over 40 delegates from the 57 member states attended the event. The special session was arranged to formulate a strong resolution backed by a common position taken up by the OIC member states on Rohingya human right issues. The highlights of the session include safeguarding the Rohingya and Myanmar Muslim population in Myanmar, to reinstate all the human rights and political rights of Rohingya in Myanmar, to bring a durable peace and stability to Arakan and elsewhere in Central Myanmar, to mobilize a sustained effort to bring communal harmony and peaceful co-existence among the people all ethnicity and faith in Myanmar, and several other positive initiatives. 

Dr. Wakar Uddin was given the floor to speak on the status of current situation in Arakan and Central Myanmar and the highlights of the Myanmar Government-appointed Commission Report. Dr. Uddin presented the Summary Report in English and the Full Report in Burmese language during his speech. He pointed out some particular inconsistencies between the two versions. “When one reviews the full version in Burmese, he/she will see how the Rohingya people were unfairly targeted by the Commission from the historical perspective to current status. On the other hand, the Summary Report in English version is relatively soft in tone; however, it also contained several highly objectionable terms and statements.” Dr. Uddin pointed out. 

“The persistent designation of Rohingya as Bengali by the Myanmar Commission throughout the report, implying the requirement of approval by Rakhine for the return of Rohingya IDPs to their respective homes, language requirements for Rohingya only as a criterion for citizenship, unfairly targeting Muslim children schools and failing to mention radical Buddhist monks preaching hate crimes against Rohingya and committing violence, and several other false allegations against Rohingya clearly undermined the reports – it has defeated the purpose” Dr. Uddin added. “Having said that, with objectivity, we also would like to point out that there are also some positive recommendations with regards to education, economic, and social infrastructure development in Arakan; these all sound good if intended for all people of Arakan, including Rohingya”, he explained. 

Dr. Uddin asked the OIC member states and the international community for appointment of an independent team of investigators by the United Nations. “The international community has given an opportunity to the Government of Myanmar to appoint a commission of inquiry to the violence in Arakan. Showing no respect for any standard of human ethics, the Myanmar commission has expressed its hostility towards Rohingya by not including a Rohingya member in the commission, expelling the Myanmar Muslim member from the commission, and finally compiling a report that is rife with allegations against Rohingya and siding with the Rakhine”, Dr. Uddin stated. “This is precisely why an independent team of investigators from the UN is needed – the international community deserves to know the truth with a fair, transparent, and balanced report”, he explained. 

Ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Albania, Bangladesh, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq were given the floor following Dr. Uddin’s speech. All the ambassadors spoke on a common and positive theme that called on all the 57 member states to dramatically increase the concerted efforts on Rohingya and Myanmar Muslim issues, to draft a strong resolution for the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, using each member state’s bilateral relation with the Government of Myanmar to the fullest to address the Rohingya issues, to work together with the Government of Myanmar for engagement with OIC for humanitarian supports for all the affected people in Myanmar, and some other constructive matters. 

Dr. Uddin was given the floor for the second time after the ambassadors spoke, and he appealed to the OIC member states and the international community to take an initiative for appointment of an independent team of investigators by the United Nations; to insist for a humanitarian office of OIC in Myanmar to assist the affected people; and to the Governments of Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and other countries to provide legal status to the undocumented Rohingya communities in these countries as done by the Government of Saudi Arabia.