NEW YORK: Amnesty International urged Japan on Monday to use its United Nations Security Council (UNSC) presidency to end three-and-a-half months of deadlock in the face of ongoing crimes against humanity targeting the Rohingya in Myanmar.

The Security Council is set to discuss the situation of Myanmar’s Rohingya today, a week after the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) adopted resolution condemning the ongoing violations against them and other ethnic minorities in the country.

The resolution was acco­mpanied by a warning from the UN’s high commissioner for human rights that recent military operations in western Rakhine state could include elements of genocide.

“The United Nations Sec­u­rity Council’s woefully in­­adequate response to this crisis has been disgraceful,” Sherine Tadros, who heads Amnesty Internat­ional’s UN office in New York, said in a press statement. “Since late August, more than 620,000 Rohing­­ya people have fled unspeakable atrocities, yet the Council has issued only one statement — this fails to match the gravity of the situation on the ground.”

“Japan’s Security Council presidency faces a moment of truth: will its legacy include sitting idly by while hundreds of thousands of Rohingya faced ethnic cleansing on top of a longstanding apartheid regime in Myanmar’s Rak­hine State? The Security Council must build on last week’s Human Rights Council resolution by imposing an arms embargo, and targeted sanctions on Myanmar’s military leadership,” she said.

“Myanmar’s authorities must immediately allow unfettered access to the UN fact-finding mission, humanitarian aid and independent human rights monitors into the country, and into northern Rakhine state in particular.

“This is crucial to expose the truth, lay the groundwork for accountability for atrocities against Rohingya women, men and children, and ensure the voluntary, safe and dignified return of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.”

Amnesty International also called on the UN Security Council to take concrete steps to ensure accountability for crimes against humanity in Myanmar, following a call by the UN special rapporteur on sexual violence and the high commissioner for human rights in Geneva last week.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2017