New York : The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar Yanghee Lee on Wednesday called on the country’s authorities to address ongoing challenges to the democratic reform process, UN news centre reported.
“I was very disturbed by reports on 10 March that excessive and disproportionate force had been used against students and other civilians and that 127 people were subsequently arrested,” Yanghee Lee said during the presentation of her first report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
More needs to be done to address the underlying issues at the heart of the conflicts, including discrimination against ethnic minorities. Four bills currently before Parliament risk increasing tension, she emphasized.
“During my last visit in January 2015, I witnessed how dire the situation has remained in Rakhine state. The conditions in Muslim IDP (internally displaced persons) camps are abysmal and I received heart-breaking testimonies from Rohingya people telling me they had only two options: stay and die or leave by boat,” she said.
UNSR Lee drew attention to the pressure on human rights defenders, including prosecutions under outdated defamation and national security laws, which have a “chilling effect on civil society activities.”
“I am concerned that journalists are still being interrogated and arrested, and that 10 journalists were imprisoned in 2014. This needs to stop if Myanmar wants to create a meaningful democratic space,” Lee said in a news release.
Lee also expressed concern over the alarming escalation of fighting in the Kokang region, where over 100 civilians are reported to have died and tens of thousands have been displaced.
“Even during a state of emergency, the government has an obligation to strictly uphold fundamental human rights,” she reiterated.