UN rights experts condemn India decision to deport Rohingya to Myanmar

UN human rights experts on Tuesday condemned the Indian government for the deportation of three Rohingya to Myanmar despite international law which prohibits the practice.

According to the UN experts, India has separated and forcibly returned Rohingya families to Myanmar, including the recent deportation of a father and three of his children. Five other family members were also deported.

The practice of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they are liable to be subject to persecution is an international law principle. The UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Council addressed the issue of Myanmar’s human rights abuses, including sexual and gender based violence and abuses against children, in particular in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States, the same states to which India is deporting the Rohingya refugees.

The human rights experts also expressed concern for what they termed the “systemic use of indefinite detention of Rohingya in India,” combined with discrimination, intolerance, and abhorrent conditions, which they should not face in a country where they have sought refuge.

Source: Jurist