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.”