MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation of the Rohingua minority in Myanmar
13.12.2016 - (2016/3027(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Cristian Dan Preda, Jeroen Lenaers, Eva Paunova, Thomas Mann, Stanislav Polčák, Luděk Niedermayer, Tomáš Zdechovský, Lefteris Christoforou, Bogdan Brunon Wenta, Csaba Sógor, Ivan Štefanec, Pavel Svoboda, Marijana Petir, Tunne Kelam, Romana Tomc, Milan Zver, Eduard Kukan, Jaromír Štětina, Giovanni La Via, Dubravka Šuica, Ildikó Gáll-Pelcz, David McAllister, Sven Schulze, Laima Liucija Andrikienė, Michaela Šojdrová, Deirdre Clune, József Nagy, Adam Szejnfeld, Brian Hayes, László Tőkés, Ivana Maletić, Therese Comodini Cachia, Andrey Kovatchev, Seán Kelly, Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso on behalf of the PPE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-1345/2016
B8‑1357/2016
European Parliament resolution on the situation of the Rohingua minority in Myanmar
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Myanmar and the Rohingya, in particular those of 7 July 2016, 20 April 2012[1], 13 September 2012[2], 22 November 2012[3], 13 June 2013[4] and 21 May 2015[5],
– having regard to the statement by the spokesperson of the EU External Action Service of 5 December 2016 on the recent escalation of violence in Myanmar,
– having regard to the 3rd Myanmar-EU Human Rights Dialogue of 22 November 2016,
– having regard to the report of the Special Rapporteur of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of 26 August 2016 on the situation of human rights in Myanmar,
– having regard to the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of 20 June 2016 entitled ‘Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar’,
– having regard to the resolutions of the UN Human Rights Council of 24 March 2016 on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and of 3 July 2015 on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar,
– having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 1 June 2016 entitled ‘Elements for an EU strategy vis-à-vis Myanmar: A Special Partnership for Democracy, Peace and Prosperity’ (JOIN(2016)0024),
– having regard to the Council conclusions of 20 June 2016 on an EU strategy vis-à-vis Myanmar,
– having regard to the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders,
– having regard to the EU Human Rights Guidelines on Freedom of Expression Online and Offline,
– having regard to the joint communication from the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 18 May 2015 entitled ‘The EU and ASEAN: a partnership with a strategic purpose’ (JOIN(2015)0022),
– having regard to the ‘Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) in support of an investment protection agreement between the European Union and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar’, published in April 2016,
– having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 10 December 1948,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966,
– having regard to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966,
– having regard to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto,
– having regard to Burma/Myanmar’s Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law of 2012 and the amendments thereto of 2014, and to its new Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law of 31 May 2016,
– having regard to the report of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliamentarians for Human Rights of April 2015 entitled ‘The Rohingya Crisis and the Risk of Atrocities in Myanmar: An ASEAN Challenge and Call to Action’,
– having regard to Rules 135(5) and 123(4) of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas on 9 October unknown assailants attacked three police outposts, killing nine Boarder Guard Police officers and seizing weapons and ammunition; whereas the authorities, accusing Rohingya groups of responsibility, responded by initiating a major security operation, sealing off parts of northern Rakhine State and conducting sweeps to find the perpetrators and uncover the stolen weapons;
B whereas Myanmar has announced to establish a Commission of Inquiry into the recent violence in Rakhine State;
C. whereas the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, asked the Government of Myanmar on 4 December 2016 to stop the violence against the Rohingya;
D. whereas the Rohingya are an ethno-religious Muslim minority who have for decades suffered brutal oppression, systematic persecution, segregation, exclusion, discrimination and other serious human rights violations;
E. whereas the Rohingya represent the largest percentage of Muslims in Myanmar, with the majority living in Rakhine State;
F. whereas the approximately one million Rohingya are one of the world’s most persecuted minorities, and have been officially stateless since the 1982 Burmese Citizenship Law; whereas the Rohingya are unwanted by the Myanmar authorities and by neighbouring countries, although some of the latter host large refugee populations; whereas ongoing clashes in Rakhine State are resulting in continued human suffering and undermining confidence in the peace process;
G. whereas UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, in his report of 20 June 2016, described the continued serious rights violations against the Rohingya, including arbitrary deprivation of nationality, which renders them stateless, severe restriction of freedom of movement, threats to life and security, denial of the rights to health and education, forced labour, sexual violence and limitations on their political rights, ‘which may amount to crimes against humanity’; whereas Mr Al Hussein indicated that Rohingya are excluded from numerous professions and need special paperwork to access hospitals, which has resulted in delays and in the deaths of babies and their mothers during childbirth;
H. whereas, according to ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, some 120 000 Rohingya remain in more than 80 internal displacement camps in Rakhine State, with limited access to humanitarian aid, while more than 100 000 others have fled by sea or land, often at the hands of human traffickers, to other countries in recent years; whereas many thousands risk their lives every year in an attempt to flee by land or sea and many have perished on the way;
I. whereas Myanmar has made clear efforts to advance the peace process, in addition to its preparations for a national peace conference (the 21st-Century Panglong Conference); whereas it is essential to maintain the national ceasefire and to include all ethnic armed groups in order to ensure peace, prosperity and unity in the country;
1. Welcomes the announcement by the Government of Myanmar to establish a Commission of Inquiry into the recent violence in Rakhine State;
2. Urges the Government of Myanmar to guarantee humanitarian access to northern Rakhine State and insists that the authorities should, as a matter of urgency, ensure free and unimpeded access to Rakhine State for humanitarian actors, the UN, international human rights organisations, journalists and other international observers;
3. Welcomes the Council conclusions of 20 June 2016 on an EU strategy vis-à-vis Myanmar; emphasises that the EU has a strategic interest in strengthening its relationship with Myanmar; believes that the new government has a historic opportunity to consolidate democracy and to achieve peace, national reconciliation and prosperity;
4. Welcomes the decision of the Government of Myanmar to make peace and national reconciliation a key priority; stresses that fighting must cease immediately, and that disputes need to be resolved through negotiation;
5. Understands that reforms take time, but stresses that the gravity of the continuing persecution of certain minorities, as documented in the recent report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled ‘Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar’, demands immediate remedies, and calls on the government to act on the report’s recommendations, including those to abolish discriminatory ‘local orders’ in Rakhine State, to remove restrictive measures in respect of emergency medical treatment and to lift restrictions on freedom of movement;
6. Urges the government and the relevant authorities of all countries in the region to fully comply with the principle of non-refoulement and to protect Rohingya refugees, in line with their international obligations and with international human rights standards;
7. Reiterates its deepest concern about the plight of Rohingya refugees in South-East Asia and calls for regional and international mobilisation to provide them with urgent assistance in their extremely vulnerable situation; expresses its condolences to the families of victims of human traffickers, violence and lack of protection from official authorities in destination countries;
8. Emphasises that the EU has taken positive note of the efforts of the Government of Myanmar to begin work on addressing the challenges facing Rakhine State, including the situation of the Rohingya;
9. Calls on the Myanmar Government to condemn unequivocally all incitement to racial or religious hatred, to take concrete steps to end such hatred immediately, and to implement specific measures and policies to prevent direct and indirect discrimination against the Rohingya in the future;
10. Echoes the European Council in calling for the building of effective democratic institutions, including an independent and impartial judiciary and a strong civil society, and for the promotion of good governance with a view to making Myanmar into a democracy with full respect for the rule of law and fundamental rights;
11. Calls on the elected government to develop an open democracy in which human rights are respected and all people are guaranteed freedom of expression, assembly and movement, free from any form of discrimination;
12. Urges the Government of Myanmar to implement immediately the recommendations set out in the resolution adopted at the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the situation of human rights in Myanmar;
13. Calls on the Government of Myanmar to safeguard the Rohingya people from any form of discrimination and to end impunity for violations against the Rohingya; recalls the long-overdue statement of 18 May 2015 by the spokesperson for Ms Suu Kyi’s party, the NLD, that the Government of Myanmar should grant citizenship to the Rohingya minority; calls on Ms Suu Kyi, a winner of the Sakharov Prize, to use her key positions in the Government of Myanmar to improve the situation of the Rohingya minority;
14. Calls on the Government of Myanmar to reform the 1982 Citizenship Law and to restore the Rohingya minority’s citizenship; urges the Government of Myanmar and the Rakhine State authorities to immediately start registering all children at birth; asks the Government of Myanmar to repeal all discriminatory provisions;
15. Calls for the EU to continue to support the UNHRC in its efforts to help Rohingya refugees in the South and South-East Asia region;
16. Calls for the EU and its Member States to support the UNHRC Global 2014-24 Action Plan to End Statelessness;
17. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of Myanmar, the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Human Rights Council and the governments and parliaments of other states in the region.