European Parliament resolution

Stop killing, raping, burning homes in Myanmar

Implement Annan report now, says EU high representative

The European Parliament yesterday called upon the military and security forces in Myanmar to immediately cease the killings, harassment and rape of the Rohingya people, and the burning of their homes.

“The Myanmar authorities have a duty to protect, without discrimination, all civilians from abuse and to grant immediate access to humanitarian aid organisations to all conflict areas and displaced people” , stated the parliament in a resolution titled ‘Myanmar, in particular the situation of Rohingyas’.

The resolution calls on the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the EU member states to significantly increase their pressure on the Myanmar Government and security forces to halt the rights abuses, to fully cooperate with minority”, said a press release posted on the parliament’s website.  

They reminded the 1990 Sakharov Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that this prize is awarded to those who defend human rights, safeguard the rights of minorities and respect international law.

The MEPs also wondered whether the Sakharov Prize could be revoked in cases where laureates violate those criteria after the prize has been awarded.

Taking part in the debate, high representative/vice-president of the European Union Federica Mogherini said, “Let me start by stating clearly one thing: that the European Union has condemned the attacks of 25 August by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, as well as the violence that followed in Northern Rakhine State. And we believe that perpetrators must be brought to justice in line with the rule of law.”

“But let me also state as clearly as what I just stated: that we are very much aware and concerned about the excesses during the security operations conducted by Myanmar’s security forces. This has led to a massive flow of refugees into Bangladesh – one of the most terrible refugee crises of our time.

“This situation is completely unacceptable and risks destabilising the wider region,” she added. The high representative said, “We have two immediate priorities, and I was glad to see that the UN Security Council discussed this issue last night. The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, expressed similar priorities to the ones I will share with you in a moment.”

“First immediate priority: end the tensions, the violence, de-escalate. Violence must stop immediately. Human rights must be respected by all – but it is very clear, security forces face a special responsibility to refrain from any violence against unarmed civilians,” she said. And, she said that humanitarian aid should be brought to those in need, urgently.

“There are 350,000 vulnerable people in Rakhine: they need to be urgently reached by humanitarian aid and aid workers. For many of them, this is a matter of life and death,” Mogherini said.

She said that upon EU insistence the Myanmar government agreed that the International [Committee of the] Red Cross will be able to fly in and aid 30,000 of them.  “Let me be clear: this is a welcome step but can only be the beginning of a path that we have to see continuing,” she added.

The EU senior official said, “The Bangladeshi authorities have welcomed the many refugees who fled their homes and the international community, first of all – I believe – should not only praise but also support their efforts. As an immediate response to the current situation, the European Union has decided to increase our support to Bangladesh with another €3 million on top of the €2 million aid already provided to Myanmar and Bangladesh together.”

Following the end of the violence and ensuring humanitarian aid, she said, “We have another important task to carry out. We will continue to work with everyone involved to find lasting peace in Myanmar, to the benefit of the whole population, addressing the structural issues of Rakhine [State].

“As you mentioned, this is not the first time we see this issue. This means that beyond the acute moment of crisis, we have responsibility to work on the political scene. There is no doubt that one of the underlying causes of instability in the region is the status of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and the underdevelopment of the Rakhine State,” said Mogherini.

“Addressing this situation is what we have always asked for in our political dialogue with Myanmar over the years, including at high-level meetings and in the EU-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue. As you know, the last Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council, last March, has also been a European Union initiative,” she said.

“The recommendations of the final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, headed by Kofi Annan, are our point of reference. The Government of Myanmar has committed itself to take this report forward and I have personally discussed this issue with Aung San Suu Kyi [State Counsellor and Leader of the National League for Democracy of Myanmar] during her visit to Brussels just a few months ago,” said the high representative.

Recommendations include the issue of discrimination, poverty alleviation, the assurance of basic rights, equal access to education and social services, as well as the promotion of trust and reconciliation, she said.

“The time to implement the Annan report is now because we are seeing what the people of Rakhine are facing and they cannot wait any longer. We are ready to support the implementation of these recommendations in all possible ways,” she added.

The Government of Myanmar should also continue its cooperation with the United Nations and make it stronger, including with UN Special Rapporteur [Yanghee Lee] and the UN Human Rights Council’s Independent Fact-Finding Mission, Mogherini said.

In the resolution voted yesterday, the MEPs strongly condemned all the attacks in Rakhine state and expressed grave concernabout the increasing gravity and scale of human rights violations, including killings, violent clashes, destruction of civilian property and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians;

They called upon the Myanmar government grant immediate and unhindered access to independent monitors, international human rights organisations, journalists and other international observers, and the United Nations, notably the UN Fact-Finding Mission established by the UN Human Rights Council in March, with a view to ensuring independent and impartial investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by all parties.

The MEPs calls for humanitarian aid organisations to be granted access to all conflict areas and displaced people, without discrimination, to allow aid workers to assist people in danger. The Myanmar government has been asked to immediately remove all landmines on the border with Bangladesh.

The resolution acknowledged the effort by Bangladesh, in the face of this humanitarian catastrophe, to facilitate protection for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and strongly encouraged the authorities of Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries to admit all those fleeing violence in Rakhine State, and to respect the principle of non-refoulement.

The MEPs urged China and other international and regional actors to use all channels to demand an end to the atrocities and bring about a peaceful resolution. They also supported the establishment of an office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Myanmar with a full mandate.

European Parliament resolution

Stop killing, raping, burning homes in Myanmar

Implement Annan report now, says EU high representative

The European Parliament yesterday called upon the military and security forces in Myanmar to immediately cease the killings, harassment and rape of the Rohingya people, and the burning of their homes. The Myanmar authorities have a duty to protect, without discrimination, all civilians from abuse and to grant immediate access to humanitarian aid organisations to all conflict areas and displaced people , stated the parliament in a resolution titled Myanmar, in particular the situation of Rohingyas. The resolution calls on the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the EU member states to significantly increase their pressure on the Myanmar Government and security forces to halt the rights abuses, to fully cooperate with minority, said a press release posted on the parliaments website. They reminded the 1990 Sakharov Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that this prize is awarded to those who defend human rights, safeguard the rights of minorities and respect international law. The MEPs also wondered whether the Sakharov Prize could be revoked in cases where laureates violate those criteria after the prize has been awarded. Taking part in the debate, high representative/vice-president of the European Union Federica Mogherini said, Let me start by stating clearly one thing: that the European Union has condemned the attacks of 25 August by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, as well as the violence that followed in Northern Rakhine State. And we believe that perpetrators must be brought to justice in line with the rule of law. But let me also state as clearly as what I just stated: that we are very much aware and concerned about the excesses during the security operations conducted by Myanmars security forces. This has led to a massive flow of refugees into Bangladesh one of the most terrible refugee crises of our time. This situation is completely unacceptable and risks destabilising the wider region, she added. The high representative said, We have two immediate priorities, and I was glad to see that the UN Security Council discussed this issue last night. The UN Secretary General, Antnio Guterres, expressed similar priorities to the ones I will share with you in a moment. First immediate priority: end the tensions, the violence, de-escalate. Violence must stop immediately. Human rights must be respected by all but it is very clear, security forces face a special responsibility to refrain from any violence against unarmed civilians, she said. And, she said that humanitarian aid should be brought to those in need, urgently. There are 350,000 vulnerable people in Rakhine: they need to be urgently reached by humanitarian aid and aid workers. For many of them, this is a matter of life and death, Mogherini said. She said that upon EU insistence the Myanmar government agreed that the International [Committee of the] Red Cross will be able to fly in and aid 30,000 of them. Let me be clear: this is a welcome step but can only be the beginning of a path that we have to see continuing, she added. The EU senior official said, The Bangladeshi authorities have welcomed the many refugees who fled their homes and the international community, first of all I believe should not only praise but also support their efforts. As an immediate response to the current situation, the European Union has decided to increase our support to Bangladesh with another 3 million on top of the 2 million aid already provided to Myanmar and Bangladesh together. Following the end of the violence and ensuring humanitarian aid, she said, We have another important task to carry out. We will continue to work with everyone involved to find lasting peace in Myanmar, to the benefit of the whole population, addressing the structural issues of Rakhine [State]. As you mentioned, this is not the first time we see this issue. This means that beyond the acute moment of crisis, we have responsibility to work on the political scene. There is no doubt that one of the underlying causes of instability in the region is the status of the Rohingya minority in Myanmar and the underdevelopment of the Rakhine State, said Mogherini. Addressing this situation is what we have always asked for in our political dialogue with Myanmar over the years, including at high-level meetings and in the EU-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue. As you know, the last Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council, last March, has also been a European Union initiative, she said. The recommendations of the final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, headed by Kofi Annan, are our point of reference. The Government of Myanmar has committed itself to take this report forward and I have personally discussed this issue with Aung San Suu Kyi [State Counsellor and Leader of the National League for Democracy of Myanmar] during her visit to Brussels just a few months ago, said the high representative. Recommendations include the issue of discrimination, poverty alleviation, the assurance of basic rights, equal access to education and social services, as well as the promotion of trust and reconciliation, she said. The time to implement the Annan report is now because we are seeing what the people of Rakhine are facing and they cannot wait any longer. We are ready to support the implementation of these recommendations in all possible ways, she added. The Government of Myanmar should also continue its cooperation with the United Nations and make it stronger, including with UN Special Rapporteur [Yanghee Lee] and the UN Human Rights Councils Independent Fact-Finding Mission, Mogherini said. In the resolution voted yesterday, the MEPs strongly condemned all the attacks in Rakhine state and expressed grave concernabout the increasing gravity and scale of human rights violations, including killings, violent clashes, destruction of civilian property and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians; They called upon the Myanmar government grant immediate and unhindered access to independent monitors, international human rights organisations, journalists and other international observers, and the United Nations, notably the UN Fact-Finding Mission established by the UN Human Rights Council in March, with a view to ensuring independent and impartial investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by all parties. The MEPs calls for humanitarian aid organisations to be granted access to all conflict areas and displaced people, without discrimination, to allow aid workers to assist people in danger. The Myanmar government has been asked to immediately remove all landmines on the border with Bangladesh. The resolution acknowledged the effort by Bangladesh, in the face of this humanitarian catastrophe, to facilitate protection for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees and strongly encouraged the authorities of Bangladesh and other neighbouring countries to admit all those fleeing violence in Rakhine State, and to respect the principle of non-refoulement. The MEPs urged China and other international and regional actors to use all channels to demand an end to the atrocities and bring about a peaceful resolution. They also supported the establishment of an office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Myanmar with a full mandate.