A UN fact-finding mission report has said top military figures in Myanmar must be investigated for genocide in Rakhine state and crimes against humanity in other areas.
The report, based on hundreds of interviews, is the strongest condemnation from the UN so far of violence against the Rohingya. The mission, which was established by the UN Human Rights Council in March 2017, found that Myanmar’s armed forces had taken actions that “undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law”.
Speaking in Geneva today, the chairman of the investigative mission, Marzuki Darusman, said that his researchers had amassed a vast amount of primary information, based on 875 interviews with witnesses and victims, satellite imagery, and verified photos and videos.
He described Myanmar’s military as having shown a “flagrant disregard for lives” and displayed “extreme levels of brutality”. The mission also fiercely critical of Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, for failing to intervene to stop the violence. It calls for the case to be referred to the International Criminal Court.
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