Human Rights groups urge Myanmar to cooperate with UN fact-finding mission

28 April 2017
Human Rights groups urge Myanmar to cooperate with UN fact-finding mission
A Muslim Rohingya woman, talks with her neighbors, at Thet Kel Pyin, an internally displaced person (IDP) camp, in Rakhine State, near the capital of Sittwe, Myanmar. Photo: Lynn Bo Bo/EPA

An open letter sent on Thursday by 23 human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, is calling on world governments to urge Myanmar’s cooperation with a forthcoming U.N. fact-finding mission sent to investigate abuses in Rakhine State, as well as active conflict areas in Kachin State and northern Shan State, as recently mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council.
According to the letter, “Following deadly attacks by a group later identified as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) against three police outposts in Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships on October 9, 2016, military and police commenced a so-called “clearance operation” in selected areas of northern Rakhine State. Numerous observers and monitors, including signatories to this letter as well as the UN and news media, documented how state security  forces  targeted  the  civilian  population  and  committed  extrajudicial  killings, torture including rapes and other sexual violence, systematic destruction of homes and looting  of  property,  destruction  of  food,  and  obstructing  humanitarian  assistance, causing   serious   deprivation   including   among   persons   in   the   displaced   civilian population. A report issued in early February 2017 by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights found that these human rights violations ‘seem to have been widespread as well as systematic, indicating the very likely commission of crimes against humanity.’”
It continues, “The Fact-Finding Mission is in the interests of the government of Myanmar as well as the people of the country because it would demonstrate the government’s willingness to uphold the rule of law, work collaboratively with the international community to help establish the facts, identify perpetrators, and deter future crimes by all parties to the conflict.”
It further notes, “We are deeply concerned that if the government of Myanmar fails to fully cooperate with the Fact-Finding Mission, the situation in Rakhine State may further deteriorate. Failure to provide accountability may further fuel frustrations among the Rohingya population. Emboldened by the lack of consequences for abuses during its military operations in response to the October 9 attacks, the Myanmar military may continue to punish the civilian population and carry out further atrocities under the pretext of maintaining national security.”