UN urges Myanmar, Bangladesh to Halt rushed Rohingya Repatriation
Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed to start repatriating Rohingya to Rakhine state in November without safety and security.
Bangladesh and Myanmar should drop plans to start repatriating hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State as they face a "high risk of persecution", a top United Nations' human rights investigator has warned yesterday.
"I urge the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar to halt these rushed plans for repatriation," Yanghee Lee, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, said on Tuesday, calling on the country to grant the Rohingya their long-sought right to citizenship, freedom of movement and access to public services.
Lee said Myanmar "failed to provide guarantees they [the Rohingya] would not suffer the same persecution and horrific violence all over again".
"To be clear … UNHCR, which is in lead on the issues of refugees, was not consulted on this matter," said Dujarric.
Chris Melzer, UNHCR's senior external officer based in Cox's Bazar, reiterated this, saying: "UNHCR was not a party to that agreement".