Mizzima-Aug 24
On 21 August, Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), stated in a Geneva press release that the return of over a million Rohingya refugees to Myanmar is impossible without an end to violence against them and accountability for the perpetrators. “The more than one million Rohingya forcibly displaced to Bangladesh will not be able to safely and sustainably return to Myanmar until the violence against them ends and perpetrators can be brought to justice,” said Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (Mechanism) ahead of his participation in the Stakeholders’ Dialogue on the Rohingya Situation to be held in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, on 24 and 25 August. The Stakeholders’ Dialogue, organized by the Government of Bangladesh, will explore strategies to ensure the voluntary and safe repatriation of the Rohingya, and will feed into the High-level Conference on the Situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York at the end of September. The event coincides with the eight-year commemoration of the brutal clearance operations against the Rohingya by the Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State who committed mass killings, sexual violence and large-scale destruction of villages. Approximately three quarters of a million Rohingya fled across the border to Bangladesh, where they have since remained. No one has yet been held accountable for these horrific crimes. When crimes go unpunished, this fuels more violence,” said Koumjian. “I consistently hear from Rohingya refugees that they want to return to their homes in Myanmar, but only when it is safe to do so. Ending the violence and atrocities against civilians from all communities in Rakhine is critical for the eventual safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable return of those that have been displaced.” Over the past 18 months, an escalation of violence in Rakhine State has forced approximately 150,000 more Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Read more at: https://eng.mizzima.com/2025/08/24/25718
