Kyaw Tint Swe, Union Minister for the Office of the State Counsellor of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, addresses the general debate of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly of the UN (New York, 25 September - 01 October 2018). Myanmar’s Union Minister Kyaw Tint Swe said international attention has been focused on the outflow of Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh and “overlooked the broader picture of the various reasons, immediate as well as longstanding, that brought about the displacement of these people.” The Rohingya are a stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar. Addressing the UN General Assembly today (28 Sep), Tint Swe said the attacks carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in August 2017 “opened a chapter of fear and instability and led to a large outflow of refugees to Bangladesh.” He stressed that his Government has persisted in its efforts to address the need for stability, reconciliation, and development in Rakhine State. The Union Minister said Myanmar signed three bilateral agreements with Bangladesh for the repatriation of Rohingyas, made necessary preparations in line with these bilateral agreements and have been ready to receive “verified returnees” since January 2018. He said “we call on Bangladesh to fulfil its commitments in accordance with the bilateral agreements, to allow, without delay the return of verified persons under voluntary, safe and dignified conditions.” Tint Swe opened his statement by informing the Assembly that Mynamar is conducting negotiations with various armed groups - the eight-ethnic armed groups that have signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) but also with those that have yet to sign, and he said “we are convinced that ethnic strife and armed conflicts in Myanmar can only be ended through political means. Lasting peace will become a reality only when the democratic federal union, to which our people aspired, is established.” The Minister also said his government is concerned over the report published on 27 August 2018 by the Human Rights Council's Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar which called for the investigation and prosecution of Myanmar’s top military leaders for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Rohingya’s native Rakhine State. Tint Swe said “at a time when we are working hard to build harmony on the ground, we are concerned that the release of this report based on narratives and not on hard evidence – and I repeat based on narratives and not on hard evidence - will only serve to inflame tensions further and potentially hinder our efforts to create a much needed social cohesion in Rakhine State.” He also said “the Government of Myanmar has resolutely rejected the ICC’s ruling of 6 September 2018 in connection with Rakhine State. Our position here is clear: Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute, and the Court has no jurisdiction over Myanmar whatsoever. The ICC decision was made on dubious legal grounds and applied to a situation here domestic remedies have not yet been exhausted.” In its ruling on 6 September 2018, the International Criminal Court said that it has jurisdiction to probe the forced expulsion of Rohingya as a possible crime against humanity and thus opened the door to criminal prosecution of Myanmar military leaders for their crackdown on Rohingyas. According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR, since 25th August 2017, over 723 000 Rohingya refugees have fled the violence in Myanmar and are now sheltering in Bangladesh. The vast majority are women and children, and more than 40 per cent are under age 12. ----------------------- Watch General Debate of the General Assembly (in original language) unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_FL ‎متابعة باللغة العربية أعمال المداولات العامة رفيعة المستوى للجمعيه العامة unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_AR 敬请收看联合国大会一般性辩论（中文同声传译） unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_ZH Suivez le débat de l'Assemblée générale (en français) unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_FR Transmisión del debate de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas (en español) unwebtv.live/73_UNGA-ES Смотрите Общие прения Генеральной Ассамблеи (на русском) unwebtv.live/73_UNGA_RU #UNGA #UnitedNations

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