NEW YORK, Feb 14 (KUNA) -- Kuwait has condemned acts against international conventions and laws that have taken place in Rakhine State in Myanmar since last August, which led to the displacement of some 650,000 people from the Rohingya minority.
This came in a speech delivered by the Permanent Representative of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi during a Security Council session on the situation in Myanmar.
Al-Otaibi stressed the need for the Myanmar government to assume its primary responsibility to protect its population and ensure that military force is not used excessively again in Rakhine State, saying that Kuwait appreciates the great efforts exerted by the Government of Bangladesh to host these innocent people on its territory.
"Providing humanitarian assistance and hosting refugees and displaced people in difficult times is a conclusive evidence of a sincere and noble desire for all of us to help each other in times of crisis," he added.
Al-Otaibi pointed out that the State of Kuwait in October last year co-chaired a donor conference for the Rohingya refugee crisis and announced a donation of USD 15 million.
He said that this amount contributed by the official and popular bodies comes within the Kuwaiti efforts to alleviate the tragedy and in response to international efforts to alleviate the suffering of Rohingya refugees.
"I firmly believe that we should continue to provide such assistance, which has the potential to restore hope to the affected people. This catastrophe has put a whole generation of children on the path of loss, without education that sets out their future path or medical services that care for their health, right to their homes, areas and homes," he said.
"Since the Council issued its presidential statement last November and we continue to follow closely the developments in Myanmar. We have taken note of the three agreements signed between Bangladesh and Myanmar aimed at the voluntary repatriation of refugees," he noted.
"This voluntary return can only begin after more clear and confidence-building measures are taken to ensure a safe return and a decent life in Rakhine State," he stressed.
He pointed to some measures that should be taken before the voluntary repatriation of refugees, which are contained in the presidential statement of the Council or in the recommendations of Rakhine State Advisory Committee, "which we support, and the statements of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation." Among the measure Al-Otaibi said that the Government of Myanmar must take all necessary measures to end the violence immediately and to prevent the excessive use of force against civilians in Rakhine State.
Al-Otaibi said that the measures also include refrain from establishing new camps for displaced people in northern Rakhine state, surrounded by barbed wire as camps for detainees and taking all measures to combat incitement to violence or hatred and restore peace and harmony among communities under the rule of law.
He added that the measures also allow the entry of UN agencies and their partners and allow all those in Rakhine State to move freely and unhindered and to begin work on the rehabilitation of the affected areas in the north of the state, which has been burned, robbed and equip them to ensure the voluntary return of refugees to their homes.(end).
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