The United Nations views Myanmar's 2020 general election campaign as an chance for peaceful reconciliation between ethnic Rohingya and government forces, provided fighting eases between government troops and the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army (AA), UN Special Envoy Christine Schraner-Burgener said in a speech to the General Assembly on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st July, 2019) The United Nations views Myanmar's 2020 general election campaign as an chance for peaceful reconciliation between ethnic Rohingya and government forces, provided fighting eases between government troops and the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army (AA), UN Special Envoy Christine Schraner-Burgener said in a speech to the General Assembly on Monday."In this critical period, I will urge for national efforts and public campaigns to counter racism and mobilize the UN system to work collectively in addressing divisive rhetoric," Schraner-Burgener said. "I will encourage Myanmar to show in greater action, its commitment to upholding international norms and standard, a cornerstone of any responsible member state of this organization."
Prior to the election campaign, Schraner-Burgener urged greater efforts to end fighting between government troops and the Arakan Rohingya Solidarity Army, an Islamist group responsible for a series of August 2017 attacks on police stations in Rakhine State that prompted an Army crackdown and the exodus of nearly 700,000 mainly Muslim refugees to neighboring Bangladesh.
The United Nations is pressing for voluntary repatriation of the refugees in Bangladesh, as well as 128,000 Muslims who languish in camps inside Myanmar, many for the past seven years, Schraner-Burgener said.
The UN Special Envoy cited a recent agreement between Myanmar and United Nations relief and development agencies to create conditions that would allow refugees to safely return to their homes and villages.
"Let me be clear," Schraner-Burgener said, "the only viable solution for the refugees is the safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation to Myanmar, and the key responsibility for creating conducive conditions in Rakhine lies with Myanmar."
For the effort to succeed, Myanmar should allow access to Rakhine state for UN and other international groups as well as quick impact projects to promote economic gains, Schraner-Burgener added.
