Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations says the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is set to form a contact group to help put an end to the ongoing atrocities against Rohingya Muslims in Myanma.
Gholam-Ali Khoshrou said made remarks in an interview on Wednesday.
“Over the past days, I have made several contacts with the envoys of Muslim countries, and a group named ‘the contact group of Islamic countries’ was agreed to be formed at the level of ministers and ambassadors,” the envoy said.
Meanwhile, the Islamic countries have started one-on-one contacts with the parties to the conflict, Khoshrou pointed out.
The Iranian envoy condemned the ongoing crimes against Rohingya Muslims, saying, “Everyone should devote efforts to prevent this human catastrophe.”
Khoshrou underlined the need to end the pressure on Rohingya Muslims and deliver humanitarian assistance to them as the first immediate steps in the conflict resolution process . He also added that the next step should be efforts towards the recognition of Rohingya Muslims’ right to have a “dignified life” in their homeland.
Myanmar’s government brands more than one million Rohingya Muslims in the country as “illegal immigrants” from Bangladesh. Rohingya Muslims, however, have had roots in the country that go back centuries. They are considered by the UN as the “most persecuted minority group in the world.”
The UN believes the government of Myanmar might have committed ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in its crackdown.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar were facing a risk of ethnic cleansing.
The latest round of violence in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine has killed more than 400 people and triggered an exodus of the Rohingya to Bangladesh.