Part 2 4. Refugees Another human rights issue within Bangladesh's borders that has been unresolved for more than 10 years has been created by its neighbour, Burma. In 1991 and 1992, more than 250,000 Rohingya Muslims fled violence, confiscation of their land, religious intolerance and forced labour in Burma for the safety of Bangladesh. Today more than 21,000 Rohingya refugees still remain in two camps in Bangladesh where they are now not wanted by a Bangladeshi government that is unable or unwilling to assist them. Meanwhile, the international community has a responsibility to assist the Bangladeshi government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to care for the Rohingya people. Meanwhile, the fate of the 100,000 Bhutanese refugees in the seven refugee camps in Nepal remains uncertain even after a decade of bilateral discussions between Nepal and Bhutan. Though a signatory to the CERD, the government of Bhutan since the late 1980s has taken measures to ethnically cleanse the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese, known as Lhtoshampas, from the country. Only a handful of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and governments have sought to place needed pressure on the governments of Bhutan and Nepal. After little activity since the first bilateral discussions between Nepal and Bhutan in 1993, the repatriation process seemed to have gained some momentum with the agreement to establish the Joint Verification Team (JVT), but it is again presently static. The fears of refugees and NGOs that the verification process is a façade with no lasting political solution and no eventual repatriation are being justified, for thus far no measures have been taken to discuss the repatriation procedures and the conditions to which the refugees will return. Furthermore, safety within the camps is not a given. UNHCR, the international protector of refugees, has ignored for two years reports of sexual abuse in the camps. Only after a November 2002 article in the Kathmandu Post did UNCHR investigate and admit that 16 UNCHR officials were guilty of committing sexual violence against Bhutanese refugee women and children. Although Bhutan is party to the CRC and is obligated not to discriminate against children based on ethnicity or descent, in June 2001, the U.N. CRC Committee expressed concern because Lhotshampas children received de facto discrimination in access to education and services. 5. WAR AND RIGHTS 5.1 Kashmir Kashmir, like the partition of the Indian subcontinent, was divided in 1947. The inability to decide after more than 50 years the sovereignty of Kashmir poses the greatest threat to peace in South Asia today. Since 1989, fighting has been chosen as the violent means of arbitration. While most of the world focuses on the claims of India and Pakistan to Kashmir, lost in the nationalistic posturing is the voice of the divided Kashmiri people and their views about the outcome they desire, i.e., to be part of India, to be part of Pakistan or to be an independent nation. 5.2 Nepal The people of Nepal are experiencing national chaos and confusion created by a civil war and threats to its democratic political institutions and people's human rights. Human rights have been a major casualty of the conflict as civilians have been abducted, tortured and extrajudicially executed. This figure is unfortunately likely to rise in the future as the government has sought and received military assistance from India and the United States. Thus, an initial step that the international community can take toward breaking the cycle of violence is to oppose the transfer of military equipment and expertise to Nepal and to support the initiatives that are now being taken by the two warring parties to sign another ceasefire agreement. 6. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS 6.1 HIV/AIDS The response to date in Asia to HIV/AIDS has resulted in another major neglect of rights. China and India, two of the most populous countries in the world, have witnessed the spread of the disease to frightening proportions. Several other countries in the region, particularly Cambodia, also face a serious HIV/AIDS crisis. A culture of denial is harmful in dealing with such a major human health problem. Governments and U.N. agencies must intervene to ensure that medicine is made available. Dealing with medical cooperation on this issue is a great moral and legal obligation that has to be faced without delay. Shame lies not in admitting the problem but in doing little or nothing about it 6.2 Laos Largely forgotten in Asia and the world is the suffering of the people of Laos. Not only are the Lao people's civil and political rights repressed by a one-party state that refuses to allow dissent, but their economic and social rights are not adequately met in one of the world's poorest countries with an annual per capita income of barely US$300. With Asia's second highest illiteracy rate after Cambodia, it is unlikely that the country will be able to pull itself from the depths of poverty soon, especially with schools that are dilapidated and overcrowded, teachers that are poorly trained and underpaid, or sometimes not paid at all. The people's poverty also makes the youth of Laos susceptible to human traffickers. In addition to enduring poverty, the Lao people must also tolerate widespread corruption and the intolerance of the authorities, for they are detained solely for expressing their peaceful political beliefs. Detainees have been held in isolation for years in remote parts of the country and denied regular contact with their families as well as inadequate food and medical care. Their suffering has persistently been denied by the Lao authorities, but no independent human rights monitors have been permitted to visit Laos. (continued) __________________________________________________________ Asian Human Rights Commission | Tel: +(852)-2698-6339 Unit D,7 Floor,16 Argyle Street,| Fax: +(852)-2698-6367 Mongkok Commercial Centre, | E-mail: ahrchk@ahrchk.org Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR | Web: www.ahrchk.net __________________________________________________________