[ By Bobby Anthony ]The United Nation's Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, has moved an intervention application before the Supreme Court in the matter connected with deportation of the Rohingya community from India.United Nation's Special Rapporteur Tendayi Achiume sought to assist the Supreme Court by offering...
The United Nation's Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, has moved an intervention application before the Supreme Court in the matter connected with deportation of the Rohingya community from India.
United Nation's Special Rapporteur Tendayi Achiume sought to assist the Supreme Court by offering expertise on state parties’ obligations under international law with regard to the prevention of racial discrimination against migrants, racial, ethnic and religious minorities, and populations otherwise perceived as “foreign”.
“The submission seeks to bring the attention of the court to UN's findings on Myanmar's treatment of the Rohingya, including extensive evidence of crimes against humanity and the creation of more than a million refugees who are fleeing the certainty of death, rape, torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, and other forms of violence,” the application by the United Nation's Special Rapporteur stated.
Earlier, the UN Special Rapporteur had moved the Supreme Court in the matter of Mohmmed Salimullah versus Union of India, which had challenged the Government of India's order to conduct an en masse deportation of the Rohingya community from India.
The UN Special Rapporteur’s application cited Myanmar's (Burma’s) treatment of the Rohingya ethno-religious minority, which represents a racially discriminatory, systematic project carried out with clear evidence of genocidal intent and it has been referred to by the UN as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.
The UN Special Rapporteur’s application stated, “UN reports have confirmed that until Myanmar ceases these violations, the return of Rohingya to Myanmar will violate the principles of non-refoulement. Thus, the Ministry of Home Affairs’ decision is incompatible with India's human rights obligations”.
The UN application has also cited India's obligation under the international law. According to the counsel of the applicant, the Supreme Court has asked the central government to examine this application.
The UN application has stated that this case deals with the fundamental issue of India's obligations towards refugee protection, and applicant seeks to assist the Supreme Court through the expert opinion on India's human rights obligations to racial equality and non-discrimination in light of the international conventions signed as well as ratified by India.
The Supreme Court has stated that it will hear a batch of petitions on March 18, challenging the central government’s decision to deport illegal Rohingya Muslim immigrants to Myanmar. The Supreme Court has also received petitions which support the central government's stand to deport more than 40,000 Rohingyas.