Rohingya Muslims trying to cross the Naf river into Bangladesh to escape sectarian violence in Burma. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has written an open letter to UNSG Ban Ki- moon regarding the plight and persecution of Rohingya Muslims which the now retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa has described as “one of the most enduring human rights crises on earth.” Khan stated,

“it has been heartbreaking to witness the silence of the UN and international community on the persecution of the Rohingyas in Myamnar since the 70s. The hypocrisy prevalent within the international community on human rights and humanitarian interventions has been acutely evident as the Rohingya crisis has unfolded.”

The minority Rohingya have been fleeing Myanmar which is a predominately Buddhist country for decades. Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Ky has come under severe criticism for failing to make a meaningful stand on the issue. The Dalai Lama has also raised his concerns with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

There are 1.1 million Rohingya not recognized as citizens, rendering them effectively stateless. Al Jazeera reports that the United States has now called on Myanmar’s government “to treat minority Rohingya Muslims as citizens to solve the root cause of the migrant crisis in Southeast Asia” and “for Myanmar’s leaders to speak up on human rights issues”.

The United Nations stated that during the past three years, more than 120,000 Rohingyas have tried to flee abroad by sea. Many are at the mercy of people traffickers who pack them into rickety and overcrowded boats, some countries refuse to take in those that are stranded leaving men, women and children to die of thirst and starvation. There have also been stories emerging of sexual abuse of Rohingya and the Guardian reported that,

“more than 50 people, including several local politicians and officials, were arrested after the discovery of dozens of bodies believed to be those of Burmese Rohingya migrants at the abandoned trafficking camps near the Thai-Malaysian border.

Imran Khan’s letter detailing his concerns reads as follows,

Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad . She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage”.