Monday, 30 July 2012 15:38 Mizzima News
The UNHCR has started building shelters in several internally displaced persons camps in Rakhine State, a spokesman said on Friday.
Unhcr logoSome 80,000 people are estimated to be displaced as a result of clashes in communities in Rakhine State in western Burma, said the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
In Geneva, UN spokesperson Andrej Mahecic Mahecic also expressed concerns over three UNHCR staff members who have been detained in Rakhine State by the authorities.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday also expressed serious concerns over the ongoing human rights violations in Myanmar and called for a “prompt, independent” investigation by a credible body.
Violence sparked between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas on May 28, following the rape and murder of a Rakhine Buddhist woman. According to official figures, violence in the region has claimed at least 78 lives.
Last week, Mizzima reported that the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) urged Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to help end the violence against the Muslim Rohingya community in Burma.
OIC head Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu asked the newly elected lawmaker to work to convince the government to accept “an international inquiry into the recent violence, granting free access to humanitarian aid groups and international media” in Arakan (Rahkine) State, which saw deadly clashes last month between Muslims and Buddhists, althought the violence is not solely due to religious differences.
The head of the 57-member pan-Muslim body called for the quick return of the victims to their respective areas, expressing his “deep concern about the unabated and continuous violation of Rohingya rights in Myanmar.”
A state of emergency is still in place after the outbreak of violence, which prompted reformist President Thein Sein to warn it sectarian unrest could damage the speed of the country's emergence from decades of military rule.
About 800,000 Rohingya live in Burma, according to the United Nations, which views them as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.
The UNHCR has started building shelters in several internally displaced persons camps in Rakhine State, a spokesman said on Friday.
In Geneva, UN spokesperson Andrej Mahecic Mahecic also expressed concerns over three UNHCR staff members who have been detained in Rakhine State by the authorities.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday also expressed serious concerns over the ongoing human rights violations in Myanmar and called for a “prompt, independent” investigation by a credible body.
Violence sparked between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas on May 28, following the rape and murder of a Rakhine Buddhist woman. According to official figures, violence in the region has claimed at least 78 lives.
Last week, Mizzima reported that the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) urged Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to help end the violence against the Muslim Rohingya community in Burma.
OIC head Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu asked the newly elected lawmaker to work to convince the government to accept “an international inquiry into the recent violence, granting free access to humanitarian aid groups and international media” in Arakan (Rahkine) State, which saw deadly clashes last month between Muslims and Buddhists, althought the violence is not solely due to religious differences.
The head of the 57-member pan-Muslim body called for the quick return of the victims to their respective areas, expressing his “deep concern about the unabated and continuous violation of Rohingya rights in Myanmar.”
A state of emergency is still in place after the outbreak of violence, which prompted reformist President Thein Sein to warn it sectarian unrest could damage the speed of the country's emergence from decades of military rule.
About 800,000 Rohingya live in Burma, according to the United Nations, which views them as one of the world's most persecuted minorities.
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