By REUTERS
The United Nations Security Council urged Burma’s
government on Wednesday to carry out transparent investigations into
accusations of violence against mainly Rohingya Muslims in the country’s
Rakhine State and to allow immediate aid access to the region.
Despite initial resistance by China to the Security
Council pressing Burma on accountability, the 15-member body reached consensus
agreement on the British-drafted statement.
The move follows a visit by Council envoys to Bangladesh
and Burma last week to see firsthand the aftermath of a Burmese military
crackdown that Britain, the United States and others have denounced as ethnic
cleansing of the minority Rohingya. Burma denies ethnic cleansing.
Fleeing refugees have reported killings, rapes and arson
on a large scale. Burma has said its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate
response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents.
“The members of the Security Council in light of the
importance of undertaking transparent investigations into allegations of human
rights abuses and violations, urge the government of Myanmar to fulfill, based
on respect for the rule of law, its stated commitment to holding accountable
perpetrators of violence, including sexual violence and abuse and violence
against children,” the council statement said.
Rohingya insurgent attacks on security posts in Rakhine
in August last year sparked a military operation that has sent nearly 700,000
Rohingya fleeing to refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. Security
Council envoys visited those vast camps last week.
The statement said they “were struck by the scale of the
humanitarian crisis and remain gravely concerned by the current situation.”
They also noted the “widespread destruction of villages” in Rakhine.
They also met with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh
Hasina and Burma’s de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and traveled to Rakhine
State, where the violence erupted.
The council urged Burma to conclude an agreement “in the
coming days” with the UN refugee agency UNHCR and UN Development Programme on
aid access in Rakhine and help with repatriating refugees from Bangladesh.
The Security Council also said it intends to discuss how
it can work with Bangladesh, Burma and the United Nations “to resolve the
crisis and create the conditions allowing the safe, voluntary, and dignified
repatriation of refugees to their homes in Rakhine State.”
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
has asked the court to rule on whether it has jurisdiction over the
deportations of Rohingya to Bangladesh, a possible crime against humanity.
Suu Kyi’s government has expressed “serious concern” over
the move at the ICC. Bangladesh is a member of the ICC but Burma is not. Human
rights groups have called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution
referring the situation in Burma to the court.