UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Urges Myanmar To End Violence, Ensure Rohingya Return

UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Special Envoy Angelina Jolie urged on Tuesday the authorities of Myanmar to end violence against the Rohingya community

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2019) UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Special Envoy Angelina Jolie urged on Tuesday the authorities of Myanmar to end violence against the Rohingya community.

"I urge the Myanmar authorities to show the genuine commitment needed to end the cycle of violence and displacement and improve the conditions for all communities in Rakhine State, in line with the recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory Commission, and working together with UNHCR and others," Jolie said in a statement.

Currently, the Rohingya are unable to return to Myanmar, and the country's authorities bear full responsibility for ensuring their right to repatriation, she stressed.

Jolie made her statement in Kutupalong refugee camp in the Bangladeshi city of Cox's Bazar. Kutupalong, the world's largest refugee settlement, hosts over 500,000 Rohingyas.

Rohingyas, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, have been fleeing their homes to avoid waves of violence following the government's deployment of police and military units in response to an attack by Rohingya insurgents on security posts in Rakhine state on August 25, 2017. According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 700,000 Rohingyas have left the country for neighboring Bangladesh since last August fearing possible persecution.