Myanmar slammed for refusing visa to UN mission investigating abuse of Rohingya

A Human Rights Watch representative has criticized Myanmar for refusing to give visas to a UN team probing abuse of Rohingya Muslims, saying the refusal amounts to “a slap in the face” of victims. 

A Human Rights Watch representative has criticized Myanmar for refusing to give visas to a UN team probing abuse of Rohingya Muslims, saying the refusal amounts to “a slap in the face” of victims. 

Myanmar’s government has said it would not issue visas for the staff of a UN mission set up to investigate killings, rape and torture by security forces against Rohingya Muslims, saying it is conducting its own probe into the atrocities against the minority group.

The refusal amounts to “a slap in the face to victims who suffered grave human rights violations by Myanmar’s state security forces,” John Fisher, a Human Rights Watch representative in Geneva, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Does Aung San Suu Kyi’s government really want to be included in a very small and ignominious club of countries that reject Human Rights Council decisions?” he added, noting that “it would be a travesty” for Myanmar to obstruct the work of independent, international investigators.

Suu Kyi is currently the de facto leader of Myanmar as she is barred from holding the position of president under the country’s army-drafted constitution.