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NHRC seeks report from MHA on move to deport Rohingyas

Last Updated 18 August 2017, 15:59 IST

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday sought a report from Ministry of Home Affairs over the move to deport illegal Rohingya immigrants to their native country.
 
Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports regarding the plans to deport about 40,000 illegal Rohingya immigrants from Myanmar, who are residing in various parts of India, it has asked the Home Secretary to submit a detailed report within four weeks.
 
"The Commission has observed that refugees are no doubt foreign nationals but they are human beings and before taking a big step, the Government of India has to look into every aspect of the situation, keeping the fact in focus that the members of the Rohingya community, who have crossed the Indian borders and are residing here for long, have a fear of persecution once they are pushed back to their native country," the NHRC said in a statement.
 
Noting that its intervention is appropriate in the matter from the human rights angle, it said India has been home to refugees for centuries and continued to receive a large number of refugees from different countries.
 
In a letter to the states on August 8, the MHA has said that illegal immigrants not only infringe on the rights of Indian citizens but also aggravates the security challenges posed to the country.
 
It said the powers to identify and deport such people are with the states while noting that infiltration from the Rakhine state of Myanmar in the recent years has become a burden on the limited resources of the country.
 
"Detection and deportation of such illegal immigrants from Rakhine state, also known as Rohingyas is a continuous process. Therefore, it is essential to identify such illegal migrants/persons and also keep a watch on their activities for preventing any untoward incident that can take place," the letter said.
 
The MHA also asked the states to sensitise all law enforcement and intelligence agencies for taking "prompt steps in identifying illegal migrants and initiate the deportation process expeditiously and without delay".

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(Published 18 August 2017, 15:59 IST)

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