PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 55 – UK Statement on Interactive Dialogue on Myanmar [March 2024]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 1 March 2024.
Interactive Dialogue: High Commissioner’s Update on Myanmar. Delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French.
High Commissioner, we share your deep concern about rising atrocity risks across Myanmar.
Military airstrikes and the shelling of civilian targets continues to demonstrate a shocking disregard for innocent lives.
The systemic discrimination of the Rohingya continues. The Rohingya are denied citizenship, they are denied freedom of movement and access to services, leaving them vulnerable to human trafficking.
This suffering has been compounded by further restrictions on humanitarian access and the escalation of the conflict in Rakhine state.
The UK is grateful to the Government of Bangladesh for its continued hosting of nearly 1 million Rohingya refugees, and we remain committed to supporting those Rohingya until conditions are suitable for their return. Since 2017, we have provided over £370 million to Bangladesh and over £30 million for the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Myanmar.
Any returns of the Rohingya to Myanmar must be voluntary, safe, and dignified.
Accountability is paramount. In November, the UK with partners filed a joint declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice, in the case brought by The Gambia against Myanmar. The UK also continues to support the collection of evidence, including by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM).
High Commissioner,
What more can the Council do to respond to the risk of further atrocities?
