Rushanara Ali MP calls on the UK Government to put pressure on Burma to urgently address the humanitarian crisis facing the Rohingya ahead of President Thein Sein’s visit to the UK

For immediate release

As President Thein Sein of Burma prepares for his upcoming visit to London, Rushanara Ali MP, Shadow Minister for International Development, has called on the UK Government to exert pressure on the Burmese authorities to address the humanitarian crisis in Burma and put human rights at the heart of their reform process. She said:

“While it is right to acknowledge the progress towards political and economic reform that has been made in Burma since President Thein Sein took office, it is also right to express our deep concerns about the humanitarian situation in Rakhine State and the ongoing human rights abuses against the Rohingya, the wider Muslim community and other minorities in Burma. The international community should not ignore the considerable work that the Government of Burma still needs to do.

“I welcome President Thein Sein’s pledge to end all forms of discrimination and ensure not only that inter-communal violence is brought to a halt, but that all perpetrators are brought to justice. However, it is crucial that the UK Government and the international community continue to press him to make real that commitment. There are growing concerns regarding the disparity between the President’s words and his actions as Burma’s human rights record remains poor.

“Since inter-communal violence first broke out last year, Rohingya Muslims have been forced into segregated settlements and their movements have been restricted, stripping them of their livelihoods and rendering them reliant on aid. Displaced people are living in constant fear of violence, abuse and harassment both from the security services and from fears of a further attack from sections of the Rakhine population.

“There can be no impunity for those committing human rights abuses in Burma. Human Rights Watch’s recent report “All we can do is pray” concluded that crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing were being committed towards Burma’s Rohingya. Progress on ethnic reconciliation must remain the highest priority.

“Action is also urgently needed to address the mounting humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine State. Those in overcrowded displacement camps face multiple challenges and difficult or no access to basic humanitarian needs including healthcare, food and drinking water. They are also often the victims of violence and exploitation, and women in particular are especially vulnerable to sexual violence. For many in these camps, the only thing preventing an all out humanitarian disaster is the help and support provided by NGOs.

“President Thein Sein’s visit to London is a unique opportunity for Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague to press him and his Government to address some of these key human rights issues. It is crucial that this state visit does not lead to complacency from either the British or the Burmese Government.”

Rushanara called on the UK Government to:

• Work with the international community to apply the strongest pressure on the Burmese authorities to facilitate immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access to affected areas and continue to support those living in displacement camps, in Rakhine State and also in other areas of major displacement, such as Kachin State.
• Exert pressure on the Government of Burma to make urgent shelter arrangements during the rainy season and make healthcare and sanitation urgent priorities.
• Continue to press for democratic reforms and complete respect for human rights in Burma and address the culture of marginalisation and discrimination of the Rohingya community by reviewing and restoring their citizenship rights where appropriate.
• Encourage the Burmese authorities to support a safe and voluntary return process for the Rohingya with adequate protection.
• Exert pressure on our international counterparts for an international inquiry into the events of June and October 2012 and March 2013.

For Immediate Release

Following her recent visit to Rakhine State with Refugees International, Rushanara Ali MP, Shadow Minister for International Development, spoke in a Westminster Hall debate to call for an end to the discrimination against the Rohingya community in Burma and an urgent resolution to their citizenship status.

The humanitarian situation

Since inter-communal violence broke out a year ago in Rakhine State, Rohingya Muslims have been forced into segregated settlements, completely unsuitable for displacement camps, and many have been cut off from lifesaving aid. Rushanara said that the humanitarian situation she witnessed was dire with tens of thousands of people living in makeshift camps lacking food, water, sanitation, adequate shelter and access to healthcare. She said:

“One camp I visited, in Pauk Taw township, was accessible only by means of a two-hour boat journey. Non-governmental organisations had to bring drinking water in on boats, and primary health care was provided just one morning a week. The shores adjacent to the camp were covered in faeces, and dead rats floated in the water just metres from children who were bathing to keep cool in the scorching heat.”

“I heard stories of many people—particularly women—dying unnecessarily because of the lack of health care. That experience—observing hospitals turning people away in life-and-death situations because of their ethnicity and the fact that they are not recognised—echoed, to me, apartheid. I do not use that term lightly. Being forced into camps and not allowed out is the equivalent of being a prisoner in one’s own country.”

Citizenship rights and human rights violations

At the heart of this humanitarian crisis lies the question of citizenship. The Rohingya have been described by the United Nations as “one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.” Rushanara condemned the discriminatory orders against the Rohingya, including a directive placing a two-child limit on Rohingya couples and restrictions on their movements, cutting them off from their livelihoods and rendering them reliant on aid. She said:

“When I visited camps, where malnutrition rates are dangerously near emergency levels and where people are forced to live in segregated areas cut off from their livelihoods and are struggling to survive, I did not expect citizenship and identity to top the list of issues that people wanted to talk about. However, every group of Rohingya men and women, including children, to whom I spoke told me that their priority was recognition of their Rohingya identity and the restoration of their Burmese citizenship rights, which were taken away from them in the 1980s.”

“Many Rohingyas were keen to insist that ethnic Rohingya Muslims had been in Burma for centuries, yet the national and state Governments deny them their Burmese citizenship and their ethnic Rohingya identity, instead claiming that they are “Kala,” a racist derogatory term, or Bengali migrants from Bangladesh. One woman lost her entire family—I met a group of women, many of whom had similar stories—and she told me, “If, after having lost everything, including my whole family, because we are Rohingya Muslims, the Government still don’t recognise me as Rohingya in my own country, then I might as well be dead.”

Following the lifting of EU sanctions she called on the Government to use what leverage remained to exert influence on the Burmese authorities to prevent human rights violations.

Rushanara also called on the UK Government to:

• Press the Burmese authorities to facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access to Rakhine State and other parts of Burma.
• Improve conditions for displaced people, particularly in flood prone areas, and address shelter needs as a matter of urgency.
• Exert pressure on the Burmese authorities to restore the Rohingya’s Burmese citizenship status as a matter of urgency.
• Encourage the Burmese authorities to support a safe and voluntary return process for Rohingya with adequate protection.
• In light of Human Rights Watch’s recent report ‘All we can do is pray’ which concluded that crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing were being committed towards Burma’s Rohingya Muslims, she called on the UK Government to exert pressure on our international partners for an international inquiry into the events of June and October 2012 and March 2013.

A full transcript of the debate can be found here.

Rushanara Ali

Guardian

June 3, 2013

The international community must put pressure on Burma to protect Rohingya Muslims and end segregation in Rakhine state

How desperate and distrustful of your government do you have to be to refuse an offer of relocation when a cyclone is about to hit your home? That many of the displaced Rohingya people in Burma's Rakhine state took this decision demonstrates how difficult their lives have become.

For months now, the Rohingya Muslim people have been targeted in a campaign that a Human Rights Watch report (pdf) has described as "ethnic cleansing". Rohingya Muslims in Burma have been forced into segregated settlements and camps, and – in many cases – cut off from lifesaving aid.

I visited displacement camps in Rakhine in May with Refugees International and Burma Campaign UK, meeting with displaced people who – after suffering horrific attacks by members of the Rakhine Buddhist community in October –were forced to flee into remote areas of the countryside, areas completely unsuitable for displacement camps.

Drinking water had to be brought in on boats by NGOs, and primary healthcare was provided one morning a week. If you needed medical help at other times, you had to hope an NGO would come by boat to get you.

Residents of this squalid community fall ill frequently due to insanitary conditions. I travelled by boat for two hours to Pauktaw, where a UNHCR-supported camp is home to thousands of Rohingya people. The shores adjacent to the camps were covered in faeces, with dead rats floating in the water just metres from where children were bathing to keep cool in the heat.

Since it was attacked, the Rohingya community has been totally cut off from markets and job opportunities; living in a segregated area, its people are barred by the authorities from travelling to the sites where they used to work and trade. Donor governments – including the UK – have helped provide some basic services, but it is nowhere near enough to give these people a safe and dignified existence.

The Rohingyas I met were living in flimsy tents so close to the shore that there was no way they could survive the monsoon season, let alone a cyclone. Even the emergency evacuations now underway will not be enough to get them safely through the coming months. During my visit, I was told that it would take at least two months to build temporary shelters on higher ground, and the government has delayed allocating the necessary land, perhaps in an attempt to assuage local Rakhine extremists. All of this demonstrates the unwillingness of the government to prioritise the safety of the Rohingya community.

Aid agencies have had real difficulties in getting help to people. Apart from the logistical problems created by the camps' isolation, the government has introduced bureaucratic obstacles, including serious delays in providing travel authorisations and visas for aid staff. Most troubling, some Rakhine Buddhist political and religious leaders have made threats against aid agencies because they object to assistance being offered to to the Rohingyas. Instead of taking action, the government refuses to let aid workers operate in areas where threats are made.

Displaced people told me about family members they had lost in the October attacks, speaking of their grief. Most wanted to return home, but were too scared to do so without appropriate protection. And they were aware that rather than focusing on moving people to higher ground during April, the government was conducting a "verification exercise" in displacement camps, in which they tried to force Rohingyas to sign forms admitting that they were "Bengalis". This only added to their distrust of the authorities, which was already high after many of the security services either committed or condoned attacks on their community last year. People told me that they would never be allowed to return home because local authorities were trying to create Muslim-free zones.

In a discussion with a group of Rohingya women, I listened to stories of family members being killed; some had lost seven, eight, nine loved ones. After hearing these testimonies, I wasn't surprised that some Rohingya people took the seemingly irrational decision to refuse relocation in the face of a cyclone. They are so desperate that they do not know who to trust or where they may be sent next. And, as a woman who lost her entire family said, "If, after having lost everything – including my whole family – because we are Rohingya Muslims, [the government] still don't recognise me as Rohingya in my own country, then I might as well be dead".

The UK government, together with the rest of the international community, must keep the pressure on the Burmese government to facilitate full humanitarian access to the Rohingya, end segregation in Rakhine state, provide them with the protection they need to return home, and restore their Burmese citizenship.