The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has repeatedly condemned the violence and abuse against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, which has been reaffirmed in the recent report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on 3rd February 2017. The report notes in graphic detail the vicious attacks perpetrated against Rohingya in Northern Rakhine State Myanmar, which not only involved violence against persons but also destruction of homes, food supplies and sources of food. This has created a hostile environment threatening the safety of civilians and is tantamount to forced displacement. These accounts only serve to reinforce the concerns of the organization that there are long-standing patterns of violence and abuse as well as endemic discrimination and policies of exclusion against the Rohingya. The report of the OHCHR further indicated that the victims of killings, sexual violence, arbitrary detention and torture were targeted by the government security forces based on their belonging to a particular ethnicity and religion. The Organization reiterates the call made by the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers during the Extraordinary Session on 19th January 2017 in Kuala Lumpur on the Government of Myanmar to: a) take effective measures to prevent the worsening of the crisis in Rakhine State; b) launch an independent and transparent investigation into the incidents of violence that have taken place; and c) allow unimpeded and unconditional access to all parties, including regional and international organizations, to deliver the much-needed humanitarian assistance to all those affected. Furthermore the OIC calls upon all the UN Member States to forcefully raise the issue in the forthcoming 34th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
