UN Myanmar Expert Urges Bangladesh to Halt Rohingya Repatriation Plan

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A United Nations’ expert on Myanmar urged Bangladesh on Tuesday to “shelve plans” to begin repatriating Rohingya refugees to Myanmar’s Rakhine state this month to avoid persecution.

Nearly three-quarters of a million of Myanmar’s Rohingya fled Rakhine state in August 2017 after a military crackdown. Amid refugee and journalist accounts of widespread killings and rape and the torching of villages, the Rohingya settled in crowded camps in neighboring Bangladesh.

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The two countries agreed on Oct. 30 to begin returning Rohingya refugees to Rakhine state by mid-November, but U.N. rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said the time is not right for their return.

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“The Myanmar government has failed to provide guarantees they would not suffer the same persecution and horrific violence over again,” Lee said in a statement. Lee added that the underlying causes of the crisis must first be addressed, including the right of citizenship.

Lee’s warning followed a Facebook admission Monday that the social media network played a role in the genocide against the Rohingya people.