MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Burma
20.11.2012 - (2012/2878(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 122 of the Rules of Procedure
Véronique De Keyser, Robert Goebbels, Ana Gomes, Liisa Jaakonsaari, Lidia Joanna Geringer de Oedenberg, Marc Tarabella on behalf of the S&D Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B7-0503/2012
The European Parliament,
- having regard to Articles 18 to 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948,
- having regard to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto,
- having regard to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar to the UN General Assembly of 25th October 2012
- having regard to the statement of the UN Secretary General on the situation in Myanmar's Rakhine State of 25th October 2012
- having regard to the recent visit of EU Commission President Barroso to Burma/Myanmar
having regard to the statement by the EU High Representative on the crisis in Northern Rakhine State in Burma/Myanmar of 26th October 2012,
- having regard to the Council conclusions on Burma/Myanmar (23rd April 2012)
- having regard to its previous resolutions on Burma/Myanmar, in particular the ones of 13 September 2012 and of 20 April 2012
having regard to Rule 122 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas in June 2012 deadly clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State led the government to impose a state of emergency there while the acts of violence left many civilians dead, hundreds of homes destroyed and tens of thousands of people internally displaced;
B. whereas a new round of violence broke out on 21 October in Minbya and Mrauk U townships and quickly escalated, spreading to Kyaukpyu, Kyauktaw, Rathidaung, Pauktaw, Thandwe, and Rambree townships;
C. whereas, according to UN data at least 89 people have been killed and 35,000 displaced while more than 5,300 houses and religious buildings have been destroyed since the eruption of the second wave of intercommunal violence in the Rakhine State;
D. whereas at least 4,000 people have fled by boats to Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, where the government has separated Muslims, including Rohingya, from the rest of the population and relocated them to camps; whereas at least 3,000 Rohingya are believed to have fled the latest violence by sea to the Burma-Bangladesh border, where Bangladeshi security forces have been ordered since June to push back all persons approaching the border;
E. whereas in the last weeks at least two boats carrying Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in western Burma's Rakhine State sank near the Bangladeshi coast, with dozens of people missing and probably dead;
F. whereas, according to the estimation of the United Nations humanitarian agency, more than 110,000 displaced people are in urgent need of food, shelter and health care assistance after the latest recent wave of violence;
G. whereas the displaced Rohingya are living in camps in unacceptable conditions: with severe overcrowding, alarming levels of child malnutrition, totally inadequate water and sanitation, and almost no education available and without adequate humanitarian access;
H. whereas the Burmese law and policy discriminate against Rohingya and the 1982 Citizenship Law denies them citizenship of Burma/Myanmar,
I. whereas there are credible allegations of human rights abuses against Rohingyas and other Rakhine Muslim carried out by both Rakhine Buddhists and the state forces;
J. whereas on 26 October, Rule of Law Committee of the Lower House of Burmese parliament submitted an emergency proposal regarding the latest violent clashes, calling on the central government to increase security in the region in order to stop the riots and to investigate human rights abuses through transparent judicial procedures;
K. whereas Aung San Suu Kyi declined to take a stance on the plight of Rohingya and called for the establishment of rule of law as a first step;
L. whereas the commission set up by the government to investigate the Rahkine State violence is lacking independence and impartiality as some of its members have publicly expressed strong anti-Rohingya sentiments while none of the members are Rohingya; whereas the commission has been hindered by local authorities’ failure to cooperate with the investigation;
1. Is alarmed at the continuing ethnic violence in western Burma that is an obstacle to the national reconciliation process and could even put at risk the transition to democracy in the country;
2. Believes that the current upsurge in communal violence in Rakhine State is a tragic consequence of long-standing discriminatory policies against Muslim Rohingya; stresses that little has been done so far either to prevent the ethnic cleansing or to address the root causes of communal tension and racial discrimination;
3. Urges the Burmese authorities to take immediate measures to put an end to the ethnic violence against the Rohingya population in Rakhine state, to prevent further violence and defuse tensions between the two communities;
4. Strongly recommends that the government puts in place a policy of integration and long-term reconciliation between the Rohingya and the Arakanese addressing the underlying causes of the tensions; renews its call on the political forces to take a clear stand in favour of a pluralist society with an inclusive dialogue with local communities;
5. Reiterates its call for a transparent investigation into the violent clashes, including the role played by the state security officials, and exhorts the government to hold accountable all those responsible for criminal acts;
6. Urgently demands that the government of Burma provide the UN agencies and humanitarian non-governmental organisations unhindered access to all areas of Rakhine State and guarantees unrestricted delivery of humanitarian aid to all affected populations; further calls on the Burmese authorities to ameliorate the conditions in the Rohingya displacement camps as a matter of urgency;
7. Welcomes the proposals made by the Rule of Law Committee of Burmese Parliament and urges the government to swiftly implement legislative, institutional, and policy reforms to end serious human rights violations in areas affected by ethnic and other armed conflicts and tackle the on-going impunity for human rights abuses, especially among the state forces;
8. Supports wholeheartedly the appeal launched by the United Nations refugee agency on governments in Southeast Asia to keep their borders open to the victims of communal violence fleeing Myanmar by sea, in order to share the burden of receiving refugees in the situation of a growing humanitarian emergency;
9. Calls on the government of Burma to end discriminatory practices against the Rohingya; reiterates its earlier calls for amending or repealing the 1982 Citizenship Law so as to offer the Rohingya minority the possibility to obtain Burmese citizenship,
10. Calls on the EU to continue its support to the democratisation of the country while at the same time placing the human rights issues at the centre of its relations with Burma/Myanmar; stresses that the reinstatement of GSP preferences should be preceded by an enhanced scrutiny and monitoring of the progress in introducing and implementing substantial reforms necessary to establish the rule of law and democratic institutions and to protect human rights;
11. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Governments and Parliaments of Burma/Myanmar and of Bangladesh, the EU High Representative, the Commission, the parliaments and governments of the Member States, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights and the UN Human Rights Council