By Stephanie Nebehay | GENEVA
Myanmar looks set to escape an international
investigation into alleged atrocities against its Rohingya minority, after the
European Union decided not to seek one at the U.N. Human Rights Council, a
draft resolution seen by Reuters showed on Wednesday.
The United Nations said in a report last month that the
army and police had committed mass killings and gang rapes of Rohingya Muslims
in northern Rakhine state and burned villages in a campaign that may amount to
crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
Setting up a full international commission of inquiry
into the findings - similar to those for Syria and North Korea - has been seen
as a test of international resolve at the main annual session of the Council
that ends on March 24.
The draft resolution from the EU suggests it may fail
that test. The European Union, which has historically taken the lead on issues
relating to Myanmar on the Council, takes note of "the very serious nature
of the allegations" and "current investigations conducted at the
domestic level".
But it stops short of the probe sought by U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein.
Zeid, in a renewed appeal on Wednesday, told the Council
that the severe violations follow "longstanding persecution" of the
stateless Rohingya minority in majority-Buddhist Myanmar and warranted a review
by the International Criminal Court.
"I therefore urge the Council, at minimum, to
establish a Commission of Inquiry into the violence against the Rohingya,
particularly during security operations since 9 October 2016," he said.
Some 70,000 people have fled Rakhine state to Bangladesh
since Myanmar's military began a security operation last October in response to
what it says was an attack by Rohingya insurgents on border posts in which nine
police officers were killed.
The EU draft calls for the U.N. special rapporteur on
Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, backed by Zeid's office, to investigate "allegations
of gross human rights violations by military and security forces" and try
to "ensure full accountability for perpetrators".
EU diplomats told a meeting on Tuesday that they
preferred using an existing mechanism that had received good cooperation and
access from Myanmar's government, rather than a new approach, and to give more
time to the domestic process.
But human rights monitors have voiced serious doubts that
several investigative commissions set up by the Aung San Suu Kyi government and
its security forces had the tools and independence needed for an impartial
probe.
Activists said that security forces continued to carry
out serious crimes demanding an international probe.
"Our research indicates that it (the abuse) is
systematic, and the idea that the government could or would be able to
participate in a proper investigation of what is going on simply isn't
realistic," said Louis Charbonneau of Human Rights Watch.
"An investigation needs to be independent, credible
and international."