Cox’s Bazar: UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar to visit Bangladesh – 20 to 23 February

GENEVA (17 February 2017) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, will undertake a visit to Bangladesh from 20 to 23 February to visit various locations in Cox’s Bazar, where the population who had fled from Myanmar since 9 October 2016 are residing temporarily in makeshift shelters.

“The announcement that the military security operations in the north of Rakhine has ceased is welcomed. However, we cannot forget the numerous allegations of grave human rights violations recorded by the team deployed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to Cox’s Bazar last month,” Ms. Lee said recalling the 3 February OHCHR’s flash report based on the testimonies of over 200 individuals.

The human rights expert, who plans to visit Cox’s Bazar and related areas, will focus on the situation of the specific population from Myanmar who had crossed into Bangladesh in the past 4-5 months and the events which have led to their crossing over into the country.

“Having access to these affected communities would help give me a better understanding of their human rights situation in Myanmar,” she said.

Following her three-day visit to Bangladesh, the human rights expert will issue an end of mission statement and share her findings when she presents a new report to the UN Human Rights Council on 13 March 2017. The report will be posted online.

Professor Yanghee Lee (Republic of Korea) was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2014 as the Special Rapporteur on situation of human rights in Myanmar. She is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity. Ms. Lee is currently serving as the Chairperson of the Coordinating Committee of Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Ms. Lee served as member and chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2003-2011). She is currently a professor at Sungkyunwan University, Seoul, and serves on the Advisory Committee of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. Ms. Lee is the founding President of International Child Rights Center.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organization. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.

UN Human Rights, country page: Myanmar.

For more information and media requests, please contact Ms. Azwa Petra (+41 79 109 6872 / apetra@ohchr.org)

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts:
Xabier Celaya, OHCHR Media Unit (+ 41 22 917 9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)

You can access this media advisory online

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