UNITED NATIONS: Genocide of Rohingyas is still going on in Myanmar, UN observers said in a report submitted to the Security Council on Wednesday.
They called for referring the issue to an international tribunal.
Marzuki Darusman, who heads the UN fact-finding mission on Myanmar, said mass killings did not constitute the sole mode of atrocities unleashed on the Rohingya. The excesses included their ostracisation and large-scale displacement in camps.
“It is an ongoing genocide,” Mr Darusman told a press conference.
“We consider the genocide intent can be reasonably inferred.”
The report called upon the council to refer the matter to the Hague-based International Criminal Court or to create an ad hoc tribunal, citing the instance of former Yugoslavia.
The report called for investigating and prosecuting Myanmar’s generals, including commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing, for genocide in Rakhine state.
The Myanmar government dismissed the UN mission’s observations, disputing its independence and asserting that it had itself set up a commission made up of Asian diplomats.
Marzuki Darusman, the UN mission’s chief, said however that Myanmar’s internal inquiries had “proven to be ineffective failures” so far.
The security council meeting was called by Western powers, but opposed by China and Russia, allies who have friendly ties with Myanmar’s military and have regularly shielded it from opprobrium.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2018
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