UNSC convened on Rohingya Muslims’ crisis upon Egypt’s call

CAIRO – 29 September 2017: Egypt called on the United Nations to hold a public session on Thursday to discuss developments of Rohingya Muslims’ crisis in Myanmar. Egypt as per a member of the UN Security Council takes advantage of this membership to defend issues deemed priority to Arab and Muslim worlds.

Egypt and other six UNSC state members held the first session of its kind to reflect growing concerns over humanity and security situations deteriorating since August 25, in Rakhine State whose majority population is Muslims.

Egyptian Ambassador to the United Nations, Amr Abu Al-Atta, Thursday, called on the Burmese government to adopt urgent measures against the unfortunate persecution of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and allow humanitarian aids into the country.

During his speech, Abu Al-Atta said the Rohingya Muslims have undergone decades of discrimination and disenfranchisement, stressing this crisis is “totally unacceptable.”
Al-Azhar, led by the Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, has played a key role in bridging the gap among various sects and spectra on the Rakhine province to stop the bloodshed.

The Rohingya community is located in the Rakhine State in the western part of the country, making up one-third of the population.

Ethnic discrimination has prohibited the Rohingya from several public services such as education, health care and employment. More than 140,000 Rohingya people live in inadequate camps; moreover, they are barred from travelling outside their villages without permission.

Media reports documented the systematic deterioration of the Rohingya's situation since communal violence broke out in June 2012 in Burma’s Rakhine State.

Earlier this month, al-Tayyeb, delivered a televised speech on the Rohingya crisis and called on the international community to deliver an act of justice to the Muslim victims who suffer ethnic violence, describing it as “a war crime.”