BURMA: CSW CALLS FOR UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN RAKHINE STATE

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) joins over 40 Burma-based civil society organisations, the Rohingya Communities Worldwide and a number of UK parliamentarians in calling for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into the human rights situation in Rakhine State, Burma, where suspected crimes against humanity are being committed.

Since 9 October 2016, a Burmese military crackdown in Rakhine State has led to grievous human rights abuses against the Rohingya community. There are reports of human rights abuses including summary execution, torture and mass rape, as well as the destruction of over 1,500 homes. According to the Burma Human Rights Network, security forces chained civilians inside homes before burning them down during the weekend of 12 November 2016. 

On 29 November 2016, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) raised concerns that the “pattern of violations against the Rohingya may amount to crimes against humanity.”

On 9 January 2017, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that 65,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since 9 October, including 22,000 in the first week of January alone. Humanitarian aid, which was initially subject to a blockade, continues to be restricted. 

On 1 December 2016, the Rakhine Investigation Commission was established in response to international pressure for the Burmese authorities to investigate the situation in Rakhine State. The Commission is headed by a former army general and its members include the Chief of Police. It has not yet published its official findings but the interim report, published on 4 January 2017, found “no cases of malnourishment” and “no instances of religious persecution”, claiming that security forces were acting within the law.

On 29 December 2016, in a letter to the United Nations Security Council, 23 international figures, including 11 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and several former prime ministers, warned that the situation “has all the hallmarks of recent past tragedies – Rwanda, Darfur, Bosnia, Kosovo.” They called for an independent United Nations inquiry, saying, “an independent, international inquiry to establish the truth about the current situation should be established.”

CSW’s Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said, “In light of the harrowing reports emerging from Rakhine State and the inadequacy of the Burmese government response to this crisis, CSW is calling for a UN Commission of Inquiry into Crimes against Humanity.  The Burmese military must not be allowed to commit these crimes with impunity; it is time that the international community took action to resolve this grave humanitarian crisis.”