UN Expert Calls For Myanmar To Be Brought Before ICC

The UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar has called on the Security Council to refer the situation there to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"The entire situation in Myanmar must be referred to the International Criminal Court or an international tribunal [must be] established to ensure justice for the people of Myanmar," Yanghee Lee said Wednesday at a press briefing at the UN General Assembly in New York.

"I remain resolute in my belief that it is not safe for Rohingya refugees [in Bangladesh] to return to Myanmar until the fundamental circumstances leading to their expulsion are remedied," Lee said.

Lee also called for targeted sanctions to be imposed on the country's military-run companies and officials responsible for serious human rights violations against the Rohingya.

"Economic interests must not be pursued at the expense of human rights," she added.

- 'Serious violations'

"Serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law have been committed" in Myanmar, Marzuki Darusman, head of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, said at the same briefing.

"Myanmar is failing in its obligations under the Genocide Convention to prevent, to investigate and to enact effective legislation criminalizing and punishing genocide," he said.

The Mission found that crimes under international law continue to be committed by Myanmar's armed forces, the Tatmadaw, said Darusman.

"This confirms our previous conclusion that the cycle of impunity enables, and indeed fuels, this reprehensible conduct on the part of the security forces," he added.

The persecution of the Rohingya community in Myanmar relentlessly continues and this makes the return of close to one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh "simply impossible," Darusman noted.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International has also called on the UN Security Council to refer Myanmar to ICC over rights violations against civilians in the country's conflict-riven northeastern Shan state.

The rights group on Thursday published a report that focuses on violations and abuses, committed by both military and a collation of four rebel groups known as Northern Alliance, during the ongoing fighting in Shan State near the country's northeastern border with China.

It stated on the military side, many of the violations were committed by the 99th Light Infantry Division, units of which allegedly committed atrocities on Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine State during the brutal crackdown in 2017.

"The fact that less than 18 months after these crimes, soldiers of the same division were committing new violations – including crimes under international law – highlights once again the need for the international community to take action and ensure that those responsible do not continue to enjoy immunity from their crimes," the group said in the report.

"Given the renewed military operations in northern Shan State, and reports of further violations against civilians, the Security Council should act not only to ensure accountability for past crimes, but to try to prevent further abuse as consistent with its mandate," it added.

- Persecuted people

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community in August 2017, pushing the number of persecuted people in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar's state forces, according to a report by the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled "Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience."

Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were raped by Myanmar's army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.

Kyaw Ye Lynn in Yangon, Myanmar contributed to this story -