Res. No. 1716

Resolution calling on the United Nations Security Council to urge the government of Myanmar to immediately cease hostilities against Rohingya Muslims and permit the safe return of refugees.

By Council Members Miller, the Speaker (Council Member Mark-Viverito), Van Bramer, Constantinides, Lancman, Menchaca, Barron, Koo and Chin

                     Whereas, Myanmar, a nation of nearly 57 million people located in Southeast Asia, is in the midst of upheaval that the United Nations (UN) has described as the “world’s fastest growing refugee crisis”; and

                     Whereas, According to Amnesty International, Myanmar’s military has systematically expelled more than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims (as many as 60 percent of whom are children) between August and September of this year; and

                     Whereas, The UN recently estimated that the number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh would soon exceed 1 million; and

                     Whereas, Many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and scholars of ethnic conflict have described Rohingya Muslims, the overwhelming majority of whom live in Myanmar’s northwest, near its border with Bangladesh, as one of the most heavily-persecuted minorities in the world; and

                     Whereas, Neither the government of Myanmar nor the government of Bangladesh has granted citizenship to the Rohingya, so these conflicting policies leave the Rohingya effectively stateless; and

                     Whereas, As a consequence, the Rohingya have become refugees, seeking asylum throughout Asia, in countries as distinct as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Malaysia; and

                     Whereas, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently launched a campaign to raise $76.1 million to support ongoing humanitarian relief efforts, that will include the provision of 900,000 doses of cholera vaccine as well as protection services and psychosocial support for as many as 180,000 children; and   

                     Whereas, The Rohingya crisis has prompted worldwide condemnation; and 

                     Whereas, The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the situation in Myanmar as “a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”; and

                     Whereas, Similarly, the White House urged Myanmar to “stop the violence and end the displacement of civilians from all communities,” and Great Britain’s Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific called the current situation an “unacceptable tragedy”; and

                     Whereas, These heinous acts require a robust response from entities around the world; and

                     Whereas, Targeting a particular ethnic group is contrary to the values that shape New York City; and

                     Whereas, New York City is home to tens of thousands of people who come from the nations most directly affected by this crisis; and

                     Whereas, According to the United States Census Bureau, there are roughly 4,100 people who came from Myanmar and approximately 61,000 residents of full or partial Bangladeshi descent living throughout the five boroughs; and

                     Whereas, The Pew Research Center has found that 3 percent of New York City’s population is Muslim, who come from every continent as well as countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa; and

                     Whereas, The experience of forced migration is not unique to Rohingya Muslims, as marginalized populations around the world have seen their lives and livelihoods displaced, their land redistributed, and their legal rights jeopardized in times of political and social instability; and

                     Whereas, Opposition to the expulsion of the Rohingya Muslims sparked recent protests in September and October across the world, from the outside of the UN building in New York to Hong Kong, Australia, and Russia; and

                     Whereas, As the world’s preeminent intergovernmental organization, the United Nations has a unique role to play in mitigating and eventually stopping this violence; and

                     Whereas, If the Security Council, which consists of the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France, were to adopt a formal resolution urging the cease of hostilities and the safe return of refugees, it would send the strongest possible message of disapproval concerning the situation in Myanmar, and facilitate more robust efforts to end the humanitarian crisis; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the United Nations Security Council to urge the government of Myanmar to immediately cease hostilities against Rohingya Muslims and permit the safe return of refugees

LS# 11767

10/18/17

MK