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September 12th, 2017

NDP statement on the situation in Myanmar

Statement by Hélène Laverdière, NDP Foreign Affairs Critic and Cheryl Hardcastle, Vice-Chair of the House of Commons Subcomittee on International Human Rights:

"The NDP unequivocally condemns ongoing violence directed at the Rohingya people in the northern Rakhine State of Myanmar. Since the latest round of violence began on August 25, at least 400 people have been killed and entire villages destroyed. We note that attacks on the Rohingya are not new, but have been ongoing for years, leading to an increasingly desperate situation. More than 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have now fled to neighbouring Bangladesh. Yesterday, United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein declared that Myanmar’s treatment of its Muslim Rohingya minority appears to be a “textbook example” of ethnic cleansing.

Aung San Suu Kyi's response to the violence against the Rohingya is wholly unacceptableand entirely disappointing. Under her leadership, Myanmar has refused access to human rights investigators, and Suu Kyi has denied ethnic cleansing. This is shameful. As a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Myanmar is bound to protect the rights of all individuals within its territory, without distinction of any kind.

Canada must call on the government of Myanmar to stop blocking unfettered access to independent monitors and humanitarian workers, and must lead a call to the international community to take measures – which could include sanctions – to pressure the Myanmar government to stop the violence and ensure that those responsible for violations are held to account.​"