Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


UN: Myanmar's Rohingya Subject to Increased Prejudice, Violence

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - The United Nations says Rohingya Muslims and other minorities
   in Myanmar are experiencing an upsurge in violations and abuse fueled
   by prejudice and hate speech. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human
   Rights submitted a report on the root causes of abuse in Myanmar to the
   U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

   Introducing the report, U.N. rights chief Michele Bachelet said laws
   and policies promoting discrimination and exclusion against religious
   and ethnic minorities in Myanmar have existed for more than half a
   century.

   "They have contributed to and perpetuated violence, extreme poverty,
   exploitation and dispossession. Notably, the 1982 citizenship law
   rendered stateless a significant proportion of the Rohingya and other
   Muslims, compounding their vulnerability," Bachelet said.

   Oppression of the stateless Muslim minority peaked in August 2017. That
   was when violence and persecution, reported killings and rapes by the
   Myanmar military triggered a mass exodus of more than 700,000 Rohingya
   to Bangladesh.

   Bachelet said other ethnic and religious minorities across Myanmar also
   suffer serious human rights violations at the hands of the military.
   She said its counter-insurgency policies and tactics at times have
   deliberately targeted civilians.

   "The recent upsurge of xenophobia and violence can also be partly
   attributed to the stresses and uncertainties of Myanmar's current
   transition from decades of authoritarian rule. The dramatic expansion
   of public access to social media has enabled extremist and
   ultra-nationalist movements to propagate messages inciting hatred and
   violence, fueling communal tensions," the U.N. rights chief said.

.