UNHRC adopts resolution on Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims

The UN rights body today adopted without a vote a resolution on addressing the human rights situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, nearly a month after a regional crisis erupted with hundreds of migrants from the nation found adrift in the Bay of Bengal.
The resolution, which was to be considered yesterday but could not proceed due to the absence of the delegation of the country concerned - Myanmar - in a rare occurrence, was subsequently adopted in the UNHRC without a vote.
India yesterday disassociated itself from the resolution, saying it is "highly prescriptive and not consistent with the broad ethos" of the work of the Council.

"We have serious concerns on the draft resolution which focuses on issues that are sectarian in nature... With respect to Rakhine State, we have noted that the Government of Myanmar has taken steps towards restoration of law and order and has expressed readiness to cooperate with UN and other humanitarian agencies regarding rehabilitation of those affected by violence," said the Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Ajit Kumar.
"The draft resolution under consideration is highly prescriptive and not consistent with the broad ethos of the work of this Council. My delegation will also disassociate from the draft resolution and its contents," Kumar said in a statement.

Myanmar today rubbished the "notion" that the human rights of Muslims in the country were violated.

Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Maung Wai, said: "The draft resolution has nothing to do with the promotion and protection of human rights. Rather its real purpose is to raise the profile of a particular faith. Its adoption will do nothing good it will only prove counterproductive.
"The notion that human rights of Muslims in Myanmar are violated upon is totally wrong, is totally wrong. It is only a false perception not a reality. If you put a spin on the false story turning it to a human rights issue then you are making a very serious mistake."

Yesterday in a statement to the UNHRC, the EU recognised the diversity of minorities existing in Myanmar and "the need to recognise that the situation is more complex than a question of religious identity".
The resolution, among other things, condemns the systematic gross violations of rights and abuses committed against all, including Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State.
It urges "the Government of Myanmar to grant full citizenship rights, in keeping within a transparent due process, to Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, including by reviewing the 1982 Citizenship Law".
In recent years, tens of thousands of persecuted Rohingya Muslims besides Bangladeshi economic migrants have fled on boats across the Bay of Bengal in search of better prospects.