UN rights commissioner dismayed over Rohingya refugees, Gauri Lankesh murder

Al Hussein condemned New Delhi’s measures to deport Rohingyas, noting that nearly 40,000 had settled in India and 16,000 of them had received refugee documentation.

The UN high commissioner for human rights on Monday criticised India for the assassination of journalist Gauri Lankesh and seeking to deport Rohingyas back to Mynamar.

Delivering the opening statement at the 36th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, the high commissioner, said "Gauri Lankesh, a journalist who tirelessly addressed the corrosive effect of sectarianism and hatred, was assassinated last week. I have been heartened by the subsequent marches calling for protection of the right to freedom of expression, and by demonstrations in 12 cities to protest the lynchings."

Commenting upon cow vigilantism in India, Zeid said: "The current wave of violent, and often lethal, mob attacks against people under the pretext of protecting the lives of cows is alarming."

As per Hindustan Times reports, he expressed dismay at what he called the "broader rise of intolerance towards religious and other minorities in India", and alleged that those who spoke out for fundamental human rights faced threats.

He described the situation of Myanmar's Rohingya minority as a "textbook example of ethnic cleansing" and criticised both Yangon and New Delhi.

Al Hussein condemned New Delhi's measures to deport Rohingyas, noting that nearly 40,000 had settled in India and 16,000 of them had received refugee documentation.

He further asked the Myanmar government to stop claiming the Rohingyas were setting fire to their own homes and laying waste to their villages.

(With agency inputs)