United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee arrived in the capital yesterday to visit various locations in Cox’s Bazar, where Myanmar nationals, commonly known as Rohingyas, who had fled from Myanmar since October 9, 2016, are residing temporarily in makeshift shelters. She is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali today, said sources at the Foreign Ministry. Tomorrow, Lee, a South Korean national, will visit Cox’s Bazar to have firsthand information about the situation, they said.
“The human rights expert, who plans to visit Cox’s Bazar and related areas, will focus on the situation of the specific population from Myanmar who had crossed into Bangladesh in the past 4-5 months and the events which have led to their crossing over into the country,” said a media advisory issued by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Lee visited Myanmar including Rakhine state from January 9 to 21. Later, in a statement, she detailed the atrocities orchestrated by the security forces and said that she was denied access to some places by the Myanmar authorities.“Following her three-day visit to Bangladesh, the human rights expert will issue an end of mission statement and share her findings when she presents a new report to the UN Human Rights Council on 13 March 2017,” said the media advisory.