Trump admin for strong and swift UN action
Tillerson urges Suu Kyi to address claims of rights violation as US announces addl $32m aid for Rohingyas
Politico
On behalf of US President Donald Trumps administration, Vice President Mike Pence yesterday urged the United Nations Security Council to take strong and swift action to bring Myanmars Rohingya crisis to an end, reports Politico.
Pence challenged the United Nations Security Council to take action on the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, as Rohingya Muslims continue fleeing to Bangladesh to escape what the U.N. has called an ethnic cleansing.
Pence urged the UN and the Security Council to take strong and swift action to bring this crisis to an end and give hope and help to the Rohingya people in their hour of need.
Pence, who addressed
the Security Council at the UN General Assembly yesterday morning, said the US under Trumps administration is firmly committed to human rights and keeping the peace.
Keeping the peace requires more than peacekeeping it requires action, reform, and lastly it also requires a willingness to call out senseless attacks on innocent people around the world, Pence said. At this very moment, in Southeast Asia, we see heartbreaking assaults on human rights.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees in recent weeks have fled Myanmar, where reports say entire villages have been burned down, women have been raped and soldiers have fired shots at civilians. Hundreds of people have been killed, according to the Myanmar government.
Pence said Americans have watched with horror at the great tragedy unfolding in Burma, another name for Myanmar, and accused Myanmars security forces of responding to militant attacks on government outposts with terrible savagery.
The images of the violence, and its victims, have shocked the American people, and decent people all across the world, he continued. And now we are witnessing a historic exodus. Over 400,000 Rohingya including tens of thousands of children have now been forced to flee from Burma to Bangladesh, and more following every day.
The US vice president renewed calls for Myanmars security forces to immediately cease their violence and back diplomatic efforts for a long-term solution.
Unless this violence is stopped, as justice demands, it will only grow worse and it will sow seeds of hatred and chaos that may well consume the region for generations to come and threaten the peace of us all, Pence said. As I said, keeping the peace requires more than peacekeeping. It requires action, courage, conviction. And so the United Nations must be prepared to do more.
Diplomatic Correspondent adds: The United States has called upon Myanmar to address the troubling allegations of human rights abuses and violations that took place in Rakhine against Rohingya population in the hands of the security forces of that country.
Washington also asked Naypyidaw to allow humanitarian aid for the displaced people in the affected areas.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called Burmese State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi on September 19, to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Burmas Rakhine State, said a readout issued by Heather Nauert, spokesperson of the state department, on Tuesday.
The Secretary welcomed the Burmese governments commitment to end the violence in Rakhine State and to allow those displaced by the violence to return home, it said.
He also urged the Burmese government and military to facilitate humanitarian aid for displaced people in the affected areas, and to address deeply troubling allegations of human rights abuses and violations, it added.
Meanwhile, the US yesterday announced that it is going to provide an additional nearly $32 million in humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs of Rohingya fleeing violence from Rakhine State as well as internally displaced persons in Rakhine State, and host communities in Bangladesh.
The United States is pleased to have announced this support during the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Among other priorities, one of the primary themes of this years General Assembly is bolstering support for humanitarian assistance to ongoing emergencies, in particular for refugees and the communities that host them, said a statement issued by the state department.
The new funding brings U S humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons in Burma and refugees from Burma in the region to nearly $95 million in FY 2017, and it reflects the US commitment to help address the unprecedented magnitude of suffering and urgent humanitarian needs of the Rohingya people. We applaud the Government of Bangladeshs generosity in responding to this severe humanitarian crisis and appreciate their continued efforts to ensure assistance reaches people in need, it said.
The rapid influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees has strained resources and overwhelmed humanitarian agencies and local authorities, said the statement.
Through this support, it said that the United States will help provide emergency shelter, food security, nutritional assistance, health assistance, psychosocial support, water, sanitation and hygiene, livelihoods, social inclusion, non-food items, disaster and crisis risk reduction, restoring family links, and protection to over 400,000 displaced persons in Burma and in Bangladesh.
U.S. humanitarian assistance supports the operations of the United Nations, other international organisations, and non-governmental organisations operating across the region, said the statement.
