18 Nov 2023
( The following is the full text of a statement from Ministry of Foreign Affair, Myanmar respond to UN's the Third Committee resolution)
During the 78th United Nations General Assembly held in New York, a combined briefing on reports on Myanmar by the United Nations Secretary-General, Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar (IIMM) and Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar was made at the Third Committee on 23 October 2023. Additionally, the resolution entitled “Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar” was adopted on 15 November 2023 without the participation of legitimate representatives of the concerned country, Myanmar.
The combined briefing was participated and briefed by Mr Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) who was never mandated for such a task. Mr Thomas Andrews, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar also presented his unethical and unprofessional report on 23 October 2023. Regarding the IIMM, the accuracy of the so-called twenty-three million pieces of information items said to be collected by the IIMM remains unknown since a functional tool to scrutinize them does not exist but solely depends on the self-interpretation of the mechanism. Myanmar has registered its objection with the United Nations against the acts of Kyaw Moe Tun in respective meetings under the banner of Myanmar as he has been representing the NUG terrorist group.
As in its previous versions, the resolution tabled by the EU and OIC on 15 November 2023 contained unfounded allegations from opposition groups and certain biased media. While the resolution was tabled due to the incident in northern Rakhine State that occurred in August 2017, it intentionally excluded the root causes of that incident and reality on the ground. In fact, the mass displacement started in late September 2017, following threats, killings and coordinated attacks committed by the so-called ARSA aka Aqua Mul Mujahidin terrorist group in northern Rakhine State. Hundreds of displaced persons from camps in Bangladesh have been killed for not following the agenda of the terrorist group and for advocating the repatriation process whose realization has been affected by such life threats. Myanmar stands ready to receive those who are verified as displaced persons from Rakhine State under the existing laws and bilateral arrangements signed between Myanmar and Bangladesh. The two sides keep negotiating to kick-start the repatriation of verified displaced persons. The Government of Myanmar has been repeatedly requesting Bangladesh’s support for the early repatriation of the hundreds of displaced Hindus who volunteered to return. The repatriation process cannot be materialized only by Myanmar and cooperation from Bangladesh is required. Myanmar does not recognize the invented term “Rohingya” which has never existed in legal and historical records of the country.
The resolution fails to condemn the terrorist attacks committed by the socalled NUG and PDFs which have claimed the lives of over 6,700 unarmed civilians including more than 230 children. The said resolution itself amounts to hate speech and creates more polarization and escalation of tension among different communities in the country.
Due to sweeping allegations and intrusive elements contained in the resolution as well as Myanmar’s consistent position against the country-specific resolutions, Myanmar categorically rejects the whole resolution and dissociates itself from the adoption of it. Myanmar expresses its gratitude to the friendly countries which dissociated themselves from the adoption of the resolution.
MOFA, MYANMAR
