UN expert warns of ‘rushed plans’ to repatriate Rohingya

GENEVA – An independent U.N. human rights expert is urging a halt to “rushed plans” to repatriate some Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

Special rapporteur on Myanmar Yanghee Lee said a lack of guarantees the refugees wouldn’t face new persecution if they returned home was concerning.

Lee cited “credible information” that some refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh fear their names turning up on a list of thousands of people who could be repatriated.

Hundreds of Rohingya in Bangladesh refugee camps could start going back to Myanmar next week under a deal the countries struck last year.

The U.N. insists the returns must be voluntary. Lee has repeatedly said conditions aren’t ripe for safe repatriation.

Critics say Myanmar’s military raped, murdered and tortured Rohingya and burned their villages, sending over 700,000 fleeing to Bangladesh since August 2017.