United States Mission to the United Nations
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 14, 2018
Ambassador Haley Delivers Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on the Council’s Recent Trip to Burma and Bangladesh
Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, delivered remarks at a UN Security Council briefing following a readout of the Council’s recent travel to Burma and Bangladesh.
“It was absolutely critical for the Security Council to see the crisis in Rakhine State and the challenges facing Rohingya refugees first-hand. One of the main reasons for the trip is the continuing, disheartening response from the Burmese government. Judging from the reaction of the government and the Burmese military, it seems like they have failed to acknowledge their role in this crisis.”
“The active involvement of the Security Council is essential to bring an end to the Rohingya crisis. We know what we need to do and cannot allow politics and short-term economic interests to keep us from doing what is right. We have unique tools to encourage Burma to take real steps towards resolving this crisis, and we must use them. We should move quickly to adopt a resolution that institutes real steps to resolve this enormous, and growing, humanitarian and human rights crisis. That, too, will be a challenge, as some members of the Council have kept us from taking action for cynical and self-interested reasons. Some undermined the unity the Council demonstrated during the trip with unhelpful edits that only weakened the Council’s message.”
“We have all heard horrifying accounts of what the Rohingya people have suffered – what ‘ethnic cleansing’ means to those on the ground. Now members of the Council have seen with their own eyes what this crisis has wrought. That leaves us with no choice but to act now.”
Full transcript of remarks: https://usun.state.gov/remarks/8429
