Rakhine State Commission Delays Efforts at
Justice; Claim of ‘No Evidence’ Shows Bias
At a news conference on December 12, 2018,
Rosario Manalo, chair of the Independent Commission of Enquiry, stated that the
commission had found “no evidence” to support allegations of human rights abuses in
the four months since it officially opened its investigation. Her statement
shows that the commission is disregarding evidence and testimony collected by
United Nations fact-finders, the United States State Department, and
international human rights organizations since
violence broke out in Rakhine State in 2016.
Commission Invites Victims of Violence in
Rakhine State to Submit Evidence https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/commission-invites-victims-violence-rakhine-state-submit-evidence.html
Rohingya Crisis https://www.hrw.org/tag/rohingya-crisis
“The Myanmar commission’s dismissal of the
extensive documentation of gross human rights abuses against the Rohingya makes
abundantly clear that it is not serious about seeking justice,” said Brad
Adams, Asia director. “The UN Security Council should stop giving credence to
this commission and refer the situation in Myanmar to the International
Criminal Court.”
The UN Security Council, which has been negotiating its first resolution on the Rohingya crisis, should view the chair’s
comments as further evidence that Myanmar’s commission is not a viable path to justice for victims of abuses.
U.N. Security Council mulls Myanmar action;
Russia, China boycott talks https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN1OG2CH
Q&A: Justice for International Crimes in
Myanmar https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/10/qa-justice-international-crimes-myanmar
https://youtu.be/2eVldS15oU0
Some of the available evidence that the
commission is ignoring is contained in the following reports:
*The UN Independent International
Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar issued a 444-page
report on September 18 detailing
crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide by Myanmar’s security forces
in Rakhine State and serious human rights abuses in Shan and Kachin States;
*The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a “flash report” in February 2017 documenting extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, torture, and other abuses by Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State after an attack on security posts in August 2016;
UNHCHR-Flash report: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/MM/FlashReport3Feb2017.pdf
*The US Department of State issued a report on September 24
detailing widespread and systematic human rights abuses against the
Rohingya in Rakhine State;
US State Dept Report: https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/286063.htm
*Human Rights Watch has documented the widespread use of sexual violence against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, a massacre in the village of Tula Toli, and the widespread destruction of Rohingya villages in Rakhine State;
Wide spread use of sexual violence: https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/11/16/all-my-body-was-pain/sexual-violence-against-rohingya-women-and-girls-burma
Tula Toli massacre: https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/12/19/massacre-river/burmese-army-crimes-against-humanity-tula-toli
Wide spread destruction: https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/23/burma-scores-rohingya-villages-bulldozed
*Amnesty International has documented serious human rights abuses by the military in
Rakhine State and identified some of the military units and officers
responsible for atrocities;
Serious Human Rights abuses by the military: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ASA1686302018ENGLISH.PDF and
*The US Holocaust Memorial Museum and Fortify Rights issued a joint report in November 2017 documenting abuses by security forces including murder, rape and other sexual violence, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, and forced displacement.
USHMM and Fortify Rights report: https://www.ushmm.org/m/pdfs/201711-atrocity-crimes-rohingya-muslims.pdf
“The record of Myanmar military abuses
against the Rohingya is detailed and voluminous,” Adams
said. “What more do Security Council members need to know to call for justice
and accountability for grave international crimes?”
The four-member commission, set up by the
Myanmar government in May, is the eighth domestic commission created since
violence broke out in Rakhine State in 2012. None of these commissions have led to justice or accountability for human rights
abuses such as extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, and arson.
Manalo, the commission’s chair, is a former deputy foreign minister of the
Philippines. The commission also includes Kenzo Oshima, a former permanent
representative of Japan to the UN, and two domestic commissioners chosen by the
government.
Myanmar: Domestic Commissions on Rohingya All
Failures https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/18/myanmar-domestic-commissions-rohingya-all-failures
One Myanmar member of the commission, Aung Tun Thet, has repeatedly demonstrated his bias, saying in March that
Myanmar has a “clear conscience” and that “there is no such thing in our
country, in our society, as ethnic cleansing, and no genocide.” He also serves
as chief coordinator of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance,
Resettlement and Development in Rakhine, which was formed in October 2017, and
was a member of the 2016 national commission that rejected the findings of a UN report in its
entirety. The other Myanmar commissioner, Mya
Thein, is a former chair of Myanmar’s Constitutional Tribunal.
Myanmar says it has verified fewer than 400
Rohingya for repatriation https://reut.rs/2pam3Y5
Myanmar: Domestic Commissions on Rohingya All
Failures https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/18/myanmar-domestic-commissions-rohingya-all-failures
Government of the Republic of the Union of
Myanmar Establishes the Independent Commission of Enquiry http://www.president-office.gov.mm/en/?q=briefing-room/news/2018/07/30/id-8913
The UN Fact-Finding Mission found that
Myanmar’s military justice system has long failed
to address the military’s massive human rights violations, while the
civilian criminal justice system lacks independence and the capacity to respect
fair trial standards. It examined eight ad hoc inquiry commissions and boards
created to address abuses in Rakhine State since 2012 and concluded that “none
meets the standard of an impartial, independent, effective and thorough human
rights investigation.” It said that the government’s current Commission of
Enquiry “will not and cannot provide a real avenue for accountability.”
The Fact-Finding Mission also concluded that
the Myanmar government has proven itself “unable and unwilling” to investigate
and prosecute crimes under international law. This conclusion is important
because the International Criminal Court,
as a court of last resort, can only step in when it determines that justice in
national courts is not possible.
UNSC: Refer Myanmar to ICC https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/05/08/un-security-council-refer-myanmar-icc
After claiming they could find no evidence
themselves, the commission asked victims to
submit evidence with supporting
audio and video recordings no later than January 2019. This proposal raises
serious concerns about the security of those who might come forward. The
government has not set up a victim and witness protection system, yet the
commission stated that it will conduct “private
interviews” with people who come forward to “verify their
authenticity.”
Asked victims to submit evidence: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/myanmar/rohingya-refugees-seek-to-testify-12132018160242.html
Commission Invites Victims of Violence in
Rakhine State to Submit Evidence https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/commission-invites-victims-violence-rakhine-state-submit-evidence.html
With government representatives on the
commission and the military officers implicated in egregious abuses still in command,
victims and witnesses are likely to be at risk. Some witnesses who have
previously provided information about abuses have
faced reprisals, while Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been imprisoned for their role in exposing a massacre in Rakhine State.
UN human rights expert concerned about
reprisals during recent visit to Myanmar https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21109&LangID=E
Myanmar: 7 Years for Reporting the Truth https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/09/03/myanmar-7-years-reporting-truth
“Security Council members should call out the
Commission of Enquiry for the diversionary and delaying tactic that it is,”
Adams said. “Waiting for this commission to finish its work is a waste of time
that will only further delay accountability for grave human rights abuses
against the Rohingya.”