India should not forcibly return ethnic Rohingya refugees:HRW

TIL Desk/World/New York/ India should abide by its international legal obligations and should not forcibly return ethnic Rohingya refugees to Myanmar, where they face persecution, without fairly evaluating their claims as refugees, a global human rights group has said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) cited Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju’s statement to Parliament that “the government has issued detailed instructions for deportation of illegal foreign nationals including Rohingyas”, noting that there were around 40,000 Rohingyas living illegally in India.

“India has a long record of helping vulnerable populations fleeing from neighboring countries, including Sri Lankans, Afghans, and Tibetans,” HRW’s South Asia director Meenakshi Ganguly said.

The Rohingya is a Muslim minority predominately from western Myanmar. “Indian authorities should abide by India s international legal obligations and not forcibly return any Rohingya to Burma without first fairly evaluating their claims as refugees,” she said.