Perpetrators must be held accountable for atrocities against Rohingya: UN

UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu has said they must hold accountable those who perpetrated vicious crimes against the Rohingya.

“The Rohingya refugees that I engaged with expressed their wish to return home to Myanmar, but only when they can do so in a safe manner, with access to equal rights,” she said highlighting the importance of holding accountable those who perpetrated crimes against the Rohingya.

The UN undersecretary general who recently visited Cox’s Bazar refugee camps said it is shocking that after almost five years since the 2017 violence against the Rohingya in Myanmar, which resulted in over 700,000 fleeing to Bangladesh, the risk of the atrocity faced by the population in their home country remains unchanged.

Nderitu also met State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam and other government officials during her visit.

She thanked the government of Bangladesh for facilitating her first official visit to Bangladesh to meet with the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, other government officials, civil society representatives, and religious leaders.

Having suffered decades of discrimination and dehumanisation, including to citizenship, the Rohingya continues to be one of the most vulnerable communities in the world, said the UN special adviser.

“We must work more collectively to secure their safety, protection, and basic human rights,” she said.

Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and Bhasan Char Island.