Source: AUN News
As the first official visit by a UN Human Rights chief to Bangladesh, Michelle Bachelet will arrive there on Sunday, August 14, at the government’s invitation.
She will meet with top government officials, including Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and senior ministries, the National Human Rights Commission, and members of civil society organizations while she is there. The camps housing Rohingya refugees from Myanmar will also be visited.
It’s “hanging in the balance” for lives.
A rough estimate of 745,000 Rohingya, including more than 400,000 children, fled to Bangladesh due to deadly attacks in Myanmar in 2017.
In June, Ms. Bachelet noted that the military “used hostile and insulting language to frighten and marginalize” the primarily Muslim Rohingya in Rakhine state, “and to apply harsh discriminatory constraints on their movement.” Hundreds of thousands of them were forced to escape.
She added that it was “disappointing” that foreign efforts to restrain the military’s recklessly brutal approach had failed, saying that the lives and future of Myanmar’s citizens “hang in the balance.”
A UN specialist will go to Cambodia.
On Monday, UN-designated human rights expert Vitit Muntarbhorn will make his first trip to Cambodia.
He will evaluate the state of the nation’s political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights over two weeks, as well as the government’s attempts to create an atmosphere that allows everyone to enjoy them in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.
I’m excited to meet a variety of stakeholders, such as government officials, human rights advocates, and other vital stakeholders, he said.
Press freedom is being threatened more and more.
The presence of the UN Special Rapporteur coincides with the nation’s escalating crackdown on the press and civic freedoms.
A report from the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) claims that violence, pressure, and harassment against journalists are becoming more frequent.
It detailed the country’s growing lack of freedoms, especially those for the press and expression, by looking at the legal system, the ownership of the media, and the unique difficulties experienced by women working in the media.
The government has invited independent rights experts to come. Throughout the nation, he will meet with representatives of the world, local civil society, and national and local government officials.
Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
