"Human Rights Council Fifty-fifth session 26 February–5 April 2024 Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 50/3, in which the Council decided to hold, during its fifty-third session, a panel discussion on the measures necessary to find durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis and to end all forms of human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar. Also in that resolution, the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit a report on the panel discussion to the Council at its fifty-fifth session. The present report contains a summary of the panel discussion, which was held on 21 June 2023. I. Introduction Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 50/3, the Council, during its fifty-third session, convened a panel discussion on the measures necessary to find durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis and to end all forms of human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. The panel discussion, held on 21 June 2023, provided an opportunity for members and observers of the Human Rights Council, experts and other stakeholders, including representatives of the Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar, to discuss the situation of human rights of Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar, and to identify potential measures and durable solutions to the Rohingya crisis, with a particular emphasis on ways to work towards the sustainable return of refugees in safety and dignity. The discussion was opened by the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights. The panellists were Yasmin Ullah, Chair of the Board of the Alternative Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Network on Burma; Chris Lewa, Founder of the Arakan Project; Kyaw Win, Executive Director of Burma Human Rights Network; and Mohshin Habib, Adjunct Professor at Laurentian University (Ontario, Canada). II. Background Violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar affect the entire spectrum of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The Rohingya minority of Myanmar has, over generations, been subjected to institutionalized persecution, denial of identity and extreme discrimination that together have created a cycle of marginalization and led to serious violations of their human rights, which may amount to international crimes, including mass forced displacement. It continues to be deprived of citizenship and civil documentation, faces extreme restrictions on freedom of movement, has very limited access to health and education services, and to livelihood opportunities. Long-standing armed conflicts have also led to gross violations of the human rights of ethnic minorities in other States, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture, forced labour, sexual and gender-based violence, and extensive forced displacement. Since the military coup of 1 February 2021, Myanmar has been caught in a downward spiral of violence, characterized by the widespread violations committed by the Myanmar military of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, including the widespread use of indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery attacks in populated areas, the raiding and burning of villages, arbitrary arrests, the use of torture, extrajudicial killings and sexual violence. This catastrophic situation of human rights has also further affected the Rohingya and other minorities, causing further refugee movements to neighbouring countries and unprecedented internal displacement within Myanmar. The situation of human rights of the Rohingya and of other minorities in Myanmar has been extensively documented by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in several recent reports submitted to the Human Rights Council2 as well as in the reports of successive holders of the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar3 and of the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar.4 More recently, in June 2022, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 47/1, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organized a panel discussion at the fiftieth session of the Council on the root causes of human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar. Participants in the panel discussion identified the lack of accountability for the human rights violations of the Rohingya and other minorities and the continuing impunity enjoyed by the Myanmar military as the root causes of the current crisis.5 Addressing root causes of discrimination and human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar and ensuring accountability for serious crimes committed were essential to achieve durable peace and to build a society on the basis of the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Supporting long-term grass-roots initiatives aimed at strengthening intercommunity and interreligious dialogues, addressing hate speech and providing human rights education to young people were also essential. At the international level, efforts to ensure legal accountability are ongoing at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Meanwhile, steps to that end have also been taken at the national level in third States with relevant jurisdiction. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has been providing key support to such efforts. From August to November 2022, fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in Rakhine State further exposed the Rohingya community to grave risks and violations. Battles were fought in and around Rohingya villages, resulting in casualties and displacement. OHCHR had also received credible reports of the use of sexual violence against Rohingya women and girls by both parties. The Myanmar military had also imposed further restrictions on humanitarian access and on movement. Rohingyas were required to obtain temporary travel authorization for movement between townships in Rakhine State. Anyone – including children – caught undertaking unauthorized travel faced arrest and imprisonment. These had significantly affected the Rohingya community and exacerbated their protection risks and vulnerabilities. Since 2017, more than one million Rohingya in refugee camps in Bangladesh had been living in difficult conditions, facing serious security, economic and human rights challenges. Lack of adequate security in the camps had led to threats, beatings, kidnappings and numerous killings of Rohingya refugees. Owing to dwindling funding, food assistance had been reduced by 30 per cent, making life in the camps even more difficult. Gender-based violence remains high, with high rates of domestic violence and risks of trafficking in women and girls. As a result of the systemic discrimination, crippling restrictions and rising hardships, an increasing number of Rohingya had been taking immense risks to flee Myanmar and Bangladesh. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2022 alone, 3,545 Rohingya — a 360 per cent increase over the number in 2021 — attempted dangerous sea journeys to other countries in order to seek protection, security, family reunification and livelihoods, with 348 people believed to have died or gone missing at sea.6 Those intercepted at sea and returned to Myanmar faced imprisonment. The number of Rohingya arrested for unauthorized travel within Myanmar, namely seeking to travel outside Rakhine State, doubled in 2022 to around 2,000 cases. The gravity of the situation had also drawn the attention of the Security Council. At the end of 2022, while expressing concern at the recent developments in Myanmar and underlining the risks that the Rohingya situation poses for the wider region, the Council adopted resolution 2269 (2022), its first resolution on the situation in Myanmar, in which it underscored, among other things, the need to address the root causes of the crisis in Rakhine State and to create the conditions necessary for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons. On 14 May 2023, Cyclone Mocha devastated Rakhine State, disproportionately affecting Rohingya communities, especially those who had been displaced. There were reports of disproportionate numbers of deaths of Rohingya and extensive damage to their dwellings. The dire consequences of the cyclone had been exacerbated by the actions of the Myanmar military directed at preventing humanitarian access to the affected areas and its failure, over the years, to create conditions conducive for sustainable returns. The military had suspended travel authorizations for all relief operations for several weeks and ordered that all disaster relief responses and supplies be directly managed by its own personnel. The military had not allowed the Rohingya to freely move to seek assistance, and also obstructed the relief efforts of local civil society groups through threats and arrests of those delivering aid or raising funds for relief efforts..."