UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that the Rohingya people are one of the most discriminated against people in the world, emphasising that there must be accountability for the gross violations and abuses committed in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

According to the UN estimates, nearly 700,000 minority Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state since August 25 last year when the army launched a military crackdown.

"Addressing the systematic discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar is essential&nbsp;to ensure they have legal recognition, freedom of movement and equal access to education, health services, employment and other rights," UN Secretary-General Guterres told PTI in an exclusive interview ahead of his three-day visit to India that begins Monday.

"There can be no peace and reconciliation without ensuring that all people in Myanmar&nbsp;regardless of their ethnicity or religion ? can have equal enjoyment of their rights," Guterres said.

Responding to a question on the worsening Rohingya crisis, Guterres said he had visited Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh in July this year and had met with refugees and heard "heartbreaking" stories of massive violence&nbsp;of killings, of rape, of torture, of house or villages burnt. As High Commissioner for Refugees, Guterres had twice visited Northern Rakhine state.

Almost a million Rohingya refugees live in Cox's Bazar under tarpaulins, on steep, sandy slopes 25,000 of whom are said to be at the highest risk of landslides.

"I have no doubt that the Rohingya people are one of the most, if not the most, discriminated against people in the world, lacking any recognition of their most basic rights, starting with the recognition of their right to citizenship by their own country&nbsp;Myanmar," he said.

In April, Guterres had appointed Christine Schraner Burgener as his Special Envoy on Myanmar.&nbsp;

She is undertaking a process of broad consultations, including with the Government and the military, and with civil society, women's groups and Member

States in the region and beyond to help address the pressing situation in Rakhine State, advance the peace process and support broader democratization and human rights issues.

Guterres called on "accountability" for the gross violations and abuses committed in the Rakhine State.&nbsp;

"Holding perpetrators accountable is critical to end the cycle of violence and prevent the recurrence of violations, to give Rohingya refugees the confidence to return to Myanmar to rebuild their lives, and to give hope for a new future to those who remain in Rakhine," he said.

The UN has called for different accountability options to be considered, he said adding that very strong recommendations have been made by the UN

Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar appointed by the Human Rights Council. Effective international cooperation will be critical to ensuring that accountability mechanisms are credible, transparent, impartial, independent and comply with Myanmar's obligations under international law, Guterres said.

This August marked one year since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people fled persecution and violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state and sought refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh.&nbsp;

Bangladesh now hosts nearly one million refugees, most of whom are Rohingya women and children who have taken refuge since the start of the violence.

Myanmar does not recognise Rohingya as an ethnic group and insists that they are Bangladeshi migrants living illegally in the country. 
Guterres further said that the world faces urgent challenges, from climate change and inequality to armed conflict and intolerance, especially targeting migrants and refugees.&nbsp;

"We must raise our ambition across the board. But this is also an era in which we have the technology, the knowledge and the wealth to move our world forward leaving no one behind."

"At a time of fragmentation and polarisation, the world must be reminded of the value of international cooperation," he said.

He made a call to harness the power of diversity, with people of different traditions and backgrounds coming together at the United Nations to share burdens, solve problems and seize opportunities, to resolve today's complex challenges. "We must continue to heed that voice of grace and reason&nbsp;that voice of morality and solidarity. Our world needs it now more than ever,"&nbsp;he said in the email interview.&nbsp;

UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that the Rohingya people are one of the most discriminated against people in the world, emphasising that there must be accountability for the gross violations and abuses committed in Myanmar's Rakhine state.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that the Rohingya people are one of the most discriminated against people in the world, emphasising that there must be accountability for the gross violations and abuses committed in Myanmar's Rakhine state. According to the UN estimates, nearly 700,000 minority Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state since August 25 last year when the army launched a military crackdown. "Addressing the systematic discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar is essential to ensure they have legal recognition, freedom of movement and equal access to education, health services, employment and other rights," UN Secretary-General Guterres told PTI in an exclusive interview ahead of his three-day visit to India that begins Monday. "There can be no peace and reconciliation without ensuring that all people in Myanmar regardless of their ethnicity or religion ? can have equal enjoyment of their rights," Guterres said. Responding to a question on the worsening Rohingya crisis, Guterres said he had visited Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh in July this year and had met with refugees and heard "heartbreaking" stories of massive violence of killings, of rape, of torture, of house or villages burnt. As High Commissioner for Refugees, Guterres had twice visited Northern Rakhine state. Almost a million Rohingya refugees live in Cox's Bazar under tarpaulins, on steep, sandy slopes 25,000 of whom are said to be at the highest risk of landslides. "I have no doubt that the Rohingya people are one of the most, if not the most, discriminated against people in the world, lacking any recognition of their most basic rights, starting with the recognition of their right to citizenship by their own country Myanmar," he said. In April, Guterres had appointed Christine Schraner Burgener as his Special Envoy on Myanmar. She is undertaking a process of broad consultations, including with the Government and the military, and with civil society, women's groups and Member States in the region and beyond to help address the pressing situation in Rakhine State, advance the peace process and support broader democratization and human rights issues. Guterres called on "accountability" for the gross violations and abuses committed in the Rakhine State. "Holding perpetrators accountable is critical to end the cycle of violence and prevent the recurrence of violations, to give Rohingya refugees the confidence to return to Myanmar to rebuild their lives, and to give hope for a new future to those who remain in Rakhine," he said. The UN has called for different accountability options to be considered, he said adding that very strong recommendations have been made by the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar appointed by the Human Rights Council. Effective international cooperation will be critical to ensuring that accountability mechanisms are credible, transparent, impartial, independent and comply with Myanmar's obligations under international law, Guterres said. This August marked one year since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people fled persecution and violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state and sought refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh. Bangladesh now hosts nearly one million refugees, most of whom are Rohingya women and children who have taken refuge since the start of the violence. Myanmar does not recognise Rohingya as an ethnic group and insists that they are Bangladeshi migrants living illegally in the country. Guterres further said that the world faces urgent challenges, from climate change and inequality to armed conflict and intolerance, especially targeting migrants and refugees. "We must raise our ambition across the board. But this is also an era in which we have the technology, the knowledge and the wealth to move our world forward leaving no one behind." "At a time of fragmentation and polarisation, the world must be reminded of the value of international cooperation," he said. He made a call to harness the power of diversity, with people of different traditions and backgrounds coming together at the United Nations to share burdens, solve problems and seize opportunities, to resolve today's complex challenges. "We must continue to heed that voice of grace and reason that voice of morality and solidarity. Our world needs it now more than ever," he said in the email interview.

There must be accountability for gross violations, abuses committed in Rakhine state: UN chief

Bangladesh's leader accused neighbouring Myanmar of finding new excuses to delay the return of more than 700,000 Rohingya who were forced across the border over the past year, and said in an interview late Tuesday that under no circumstance would the refugees remain permanently in her already crowded country.

"I already have 160 million people in my country," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, when asked whether Bangladesh would be willing to walk back its policy against permanent integration. "I can't take any other burden. I can't take it. My country cannot bear."

Hasina was speaking to Reuters in New York, where she is attending the annual United Nations meeting of world leaders.

The prime minister, who faces a national election in December, said she does not want to pick a fight with Myanmar over the refugees.

But she suggested patience is growing thin with Myanmar's leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, and its military that she said wields the "main power" there.

Hasina has previously called on the international community to pressure Myanmar to implement the deal.

Calls to Myanmar's government spokesman, Zaw Htay, went unanswered. He said recently that he will no longer answer media questions by phone, but will answer questions at a biweekly press conference.

Rohingya fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh after a bloody military campaign against the Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine State. The two countries reached a deal in November to begin repatriation within two months, but it has not started, with stateless Rohingya still crossing the border into Bangladesh and the refugee camps at Cox's Bazar.

"They agree everything, but unfortunately they don't act, that is the problem," Hasina said of Myanmar. "Everything is set but ... every time they try to find some new excuse," she told Reuters.

Myanmar has said it is ready to take back the refugees and has built transit centers to house them initially on their return.

But it has complained that Bangladesh has not provided its officials with the correct forms. Bangladesh has rejected those claims and UN aid agencies say it is not yet safe for the refugees to return.

Given the delays, Bangladesh has been preparing new homes on a remote island called Bhasan Char, which rights groups have said could be subject to flooding. Cox's Bazar is also vulnerable to flooding but this year's monsoon season was light.

Hasina said building permanent structures for refugees on the mainland "is not at all a possibility (and) not acceptable" since they are Myanmar citizens and must return.

Rohingya regard themselves as native to Myanmar's Rakhine state, but are widely considered interlopers by the country's Buddhist majority and are denied citizenship.

Human rights groups and Rohingya activists have estimated thousands died in last year's security crackdown, which was sparked by attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security forces in Rakhine in August 2017.

This week, a US government investigation reported that Myanmar's military waged a planned, coordinated campaign of mass killings, gang rapes and other atrocities against the Rohingya.

Myanmar has rejected similar findings as "one-sided" and said it had conducted a legitimate counterinsurgency operation.

Ahead of December's election, Hasina and her ruling Awami League have been on the defensive following student protests over an unregulated transport industry. The protest was triggered after a speeding bus killed two students in Dhaka.

However, the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been in disarray after its leader and former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, was jailed for corruption in February - charges she says were part of a plot to keep her and her family out of politics.

Bangladesh's leader accused neighbouring Myanmar of finding new excuses to delay the return of more than 700,000 Rohingya who were forced across the border over the past year, and said in an interview late Tuesday that under no circumstance would the refugees remain permanently in her already crowded country.

Bangladesh's leader accused neighbouring Myanmar of finding new excuses to delay the return of more than 700,000 Rohingya who were forced across the border over the past year, and said in an interview late Tuesday that under no circumstance would the refugees remain permanently in her already crowded country. "I already have 160 million people in my country," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said, when asked whether Bangladesh would be willing to walk back its policy against permanent integration. "I can't take any other burden. I can't take it. My country cannot bear." Hasina was speaking to Reuters in New York, where she is attending the annual United Nations meeting of world leaders. The prime minister, who faces a national election in December, said she does not want to pick a fight with Myanmar over the refugees. But she suggested patience is growing thin with Myanmar's leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, and its military that she said wields the "main power" there. Hasina has previously called on the international community to pressure Myanmar to implement the deal. Calls to Myanmar's government spokesman, Zaw Htay, went unanswered. He said recently that he will no longer answer media questions by phone, but will answer questions at a biweekly press conference. Rohingya fled to refugee camps in Bangladesh after a bloody military campaign against the Muslim minority in Myanmar's Rakhine State. The two countries reached a deal in November to begin repatriation within two months, but it has not started, with stateless Rohingya still crossing the border into Bangladesh and the refugee camps at Cox's Bazar. "They agree everything, but unfortunately they don't act, that is the problem," Hasina said of Myanmar. "Everything is set but ... every time they try to find some new excuse," she told Reuters. Myanmar has said it is ready to take back the refugees and has built transit centers to house them initially on their return. But it has complained that Bangladesh has not provided its officials with the correct forms. Bangladesh has rejected those claims and UN aid agencies say it is not yet safe for the refugees to return. Given the delays, Bangladesh has been preparing new homes on a remote island called Bhasan Char, which rights groups have said could be subject to flooding. Cox's Bazar is also vulnerable to flooding but this year's monsoon season was light. Hasina said building permanent structures for refugees on the mainland "is not at all a possibility (and) not acceptable" since they are Myanmar citizens and must return. Rohingya regard themselves as native to Myanmar's Rakhine state, but are widely considered interlopers by the country's Buddhist majority and are denied citizenship. Human rights groups and Rohingya activists have estimated thousands died in last year's security crackdown, which was sparked by attacks by Rohingya insurgents on security forces in Rakhine in August 2017. This week, a US government investigation reported that Myanmar's military waged a planned, coordinated campaign of mass killings, gang rapes and other atrocities against the Rohingya. Myanmar has rejected similar findings as "one-sided" and said it had conducted a legitimate counterinsurgency operation. Ahead of December's election, Hasina and her ruling Awami League have been on the defensive following student protests over an unregulated transport industry. The protest was triggered after a speeding bus killed two students in Dhaka. However, the main opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has been in disarray after its leader and former prime minister, Khaleda Zia, was jailed for corruption in February - charges she says were part of a plot to keep her and her family out of politics.

Myanmar's delaying tactics blocking Rohingya return: Bangladesh PM Hasina

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There must be accountability for gross violations, abuses committed in Rakhine state: UN chief

Myanmar's delaying tactics blocking Rohingya return: Bangladesh PM Hasina