NAYPYITAW: UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon told the Myanmar government on Wednesday he is concerned about the welfare of the country’s Rohingya Muslims and asked officials to ensure access for UN agencies delivering humanitarian assistance to them.

Ban, in Myanmar to attend summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the East Asia Forum, met senior officials in the capital Naypyitaw and urged them to respect the Rohingya’s human rights.

Almost 140,000 of Myanmar’s 1.1 million Rohingya, most of whom of whom are stateless, remain displaced after deadly clashes with Buddhists in western Rakhine state in 2012.

“I expressed my concern about the Rohingya population who face discrimination and violence,” Ban Ki-moon told reporters after his meeting. “I am urging that the human rights and human dignity of people in Rakhine State should be respected.” Ban and US President Barack Obama, who is also in Myanmar for the summits, are expected to press Myanmar President Thein Sein on the issue in separate meetings on Thursday.

The Rohingya are facing a healthcare crisis since the government ordered Mdecins Sans Frontires (MSF) out of Rakhine in February after the medical charity said it had treated people it believed were victims of sectarian violence.

Published in Dawn, November 13th , 2014