Senator Ngo Urges Canada to Increase Assistance for Rohingya Refugees

Senator Thanh Hai Ngo today issued the following statement regarding the escalating humanitarian crisis of the Rohingya refugees in Myanmar:

“I join my fellow parliamentarians, the Senate Committee on Human Rights Chair Senator Jim Munson and Deputy-Chair Salma Ataullahjan to call upon military and civil officials in Myanmar to end the systematic violence against Rohingya refugees taking place in the Rakhine State.

“The serious displacement of half a million Rohingya refugees, and the escalation of brutal violence, torture, and mistreatment they continue to suffer at the hands of the Myanmar military calls for a greater international response.

“Canada must act quickly and impose targeted sanctions against the military perpetrators of these horrific acts intently committed against an ethnic group, and ensure the humanitarian assistance is delivered to the refugee population who are mainly composed of young children, some of who are unaccompanied.

“As a strong defender of human rights and democratic values around the world, Canada has a moral responsibility to focus on the grave situation in Myanmar by taking all necessary measures to end the continuum of the crisis. Canada must increase the accountability of the Myanmar civil and military leaders who have the responsibility to end the deliberate and unremitting abuses perpetrated against Rohingya refugees.”