A United Nations human rights investigator on Myanmar voiced deep concern on Monday at Bangladesh's plan to relocate 23,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhashan Char in April, saying that the island may not be habitable, creating a potential "new crisis".

Yanghee Lee, U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar, also told the Human Rights Council that up to 10,000 civilians are reported to have fled their homes in Myanmar's Rakhine state since November due to violence and the lack of humanitarian aid.

Lee called for the U.N. Security Council to refer alleged atrocities against Rohingya and other ethnic groups in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

But Myanmar's ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun promptly rejected this, saying the Hague-based court had "no jurisdiction over Myanmar whatsoever".

Source: The New Work Times

BDST:  1849 HRS, MAR 11, 2019

AH