Myanmar’s National Union Consultative Council (NUCC) has welcomed the recent announcement by the US government over the alleged genocide and crimes against humanity concerning the Rohingya community.

Here is the NUCC’s statement:

The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) welcomes the news that, on the morning of the 21st of March 2022, the United States Government formally determined that crimes committed against the Rohingya minority by the Myanmar/Burma military constituted both genocide and crimes against humanity.

During the announcement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the fact that similar atrocities, using similar tactics, had also been committed against other ethnic groups by the Myanmar/Burma military and that perpetrators, including military generals, can and will be held accountable.

The NUCC appreciates this announcement and expresses our gratitude to the United States Government. The NUCC recognizes the decades-long suffering of the Rohingya ethnic minority and, indeed, the deep grievances felt by all the peoples of Myanmar/Burma.

The NUCC firmly believes this determination to be a significant step toward achieving justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar/Burma, toward abolishing the military dictatorship, and toward building a Federal Democratic Union that is the will of all the ethnic groups who share this land.

This is the people's will; to turn their backs on the military regime’s 2008 Constitution and its false roadmap and to move forward towards a fairer, more equitable future free from the military’s involvement in our country’s politics.

To support our efforts to achieve this vision, the NUCC encourages the United States Government to continue documenting, monitoring and calling the world’s attention to genocide, crimes against humanity, massacres and other atrocities committed by the military junta. Just as the international community has a sacred obligation to protect all people against such crimes, so do they have an obligation to punish those responsible. This includes escalating concrete actions targeting the military junta and its network of supporters and pursuing prosecution against them using all international mechanisms available.