Myanmar committing genocide against Rohingyas: National Human Rights Commission

Myanmar is committing ‘genocide’ against the Rohingya minority in Rakhine state, the chief of Bangladesh’s National Human Rights Commission has said.

Kazi Reazul Hoque made the statement during a press conference on the Rohingya crisis organised at the Cox’s Bazar District Administration Conference Centre on Monday.

The Myanmar government is ultimately responsible for finding a solution to the Rohingya minority situation, he said.

The rights chief also called on international organisations to take a proactive role and warned that the International Court of Justice may be forced to step in if sufficient progress is not made.

Attacks on a police camp in October last year sparked an influx of almost 87,000 refugees into Bangladesh. Fresh violence broke out on Aug 25 when insurgents attacked 30 police posts and an army base.

About 300,000 Rohingyas are said to have fled Rakhine and sought shelter over the border in Bangladesh in the weeks since the fresh violence.

As many as 400 people have been reported dead in fighting that has rocked the country's northwest, according to Myanmar officials.

Bangladesh has proposed creating “safe zones” run by aid groups for the Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine to stop hundreds of thousands of refugees crossing into its territory.

Dhaka had earlier pitched a joint operation with Myanmar forces on the border to wipe out militant and extremist forces, but Naypyidaw has not responded.

Over the last few decades, almost half a million Rohingya Muslims have been living in two registered camps and makeshift settlements in bordering Cox's Bazar, fleeing persecution and communal violence.