International community must pressure
government to follow any decision by court, says Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee
A top UN representative is urging the
international community to pressure Myanmar to obey any decision by the
International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding alleged genocide and human
rights abuses perpetrated by its army against the Rohingya community.
"The international community should be
alert to make sure that Myanmar does not evade any responsibility and must
abide by the order issued by the International Court of Justice," Professor
Yanghee Lee, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights
in Myanmar, said Thursday while addressing the media in Bangladesh's capital.
The UN's top court later announced its
verdict, ordering Myanmar to take all measures in its power to prevent genocide
against its Rohingya Muslim minority.
"Myanmar must ensure that its military
or any irregular organizations or groups subject to its control do not commit
any acts in first point or acts of conspiracy to commit genocide," it
said.
Condemning Myanmar's repeated negative
approaches to various UN initiatives to investigate the situation in Rakhine
state, Lee added that by denying her entry there as UN representative, Myanmar
actually incurred its own loss.
"My only regret is that Myanmar did not
allow me to enter the country and I did not have the opportunity to be engaged
with Myanmar authorities as well as affected Rakhine state," she said.
Had Myanmar allowed her to visit Rakhine, she
would also be able to report on any progress made by Myanmar authorities there,
"so it is in fact a loss for Myanmar.”
Failure of the UN
Lee also expressed her frustration over the
failure of the UN concerning the Rohingya crisis.
"Unfortunately, the UN Security Council
fails to refer the situation of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.
"The UN Security Council is really not
fulfilling its obligation. I think we must continue to put pressure on the
council to do its duty in the Rohingya crisis,” she added.
Shame to China, Russia
In reply to a question about the partial role
of China and Russia in the Rohingya issue and continuous support to Myanmar by
the two global actors, Lee termed the matter "shameful" and
"regretful".
"It is really regretful and shameful for
these two states for not playing their role to curb human rights violations in
Myanmar," she said.
Recalling the proper role for a powerful
country, she said "China cannot be a global leader without respecting
human rights."
"The country must respect human rights
in Rakhine state. That means it must seek justice for abuses against Rohingya
in Myanmar."
Reforms in UN system
In analyzing the controversial role of China
and Russia in the Rohingya issue, Lee said it is not the result of the failure
of the UN to convince or change the mentality of these two permanent members of
the Security Council.
"It's a matter of how the UN Security
Council was set [up] in the middle of the last century," she said, adding
the council must carry out reforms on how it deals with "serious cases of
human rights violations.”
She also criticized the council’s veto power
system.
Ad-hoc tribunal
Lee said she will recommend the formation of
an ad-hoc tribunal for ensuring the accountability of those found to be
involved in genocide and human rights violations in Rakhine state.
The tribunal could be similar to what was
established to prosecute individuals who bore the greatest responsibility for
serious violations of international humanitarian law as was done regarding
Sierra Leone’s civil war.
“It will be complementary. The victims can
submit their pleas,” she said, adding she would present the proposal in her
final report to be submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in March.
Persecuted people
The Rohingya, described by the UN as the
world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since
dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.
According to Amnesty International, more than
750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, have fled Myanmar and
crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the
minority Muslim community in August 2017, pushing the number of persecuted
people in Bangladesh above 1.2 million.
Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya
Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to a report by
the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).
More than 34,000 Rohingya were also thrown
into fires, while over 114,000 others were beaten, said the OIDA report, titled
"Forced Migration of Rohingya: The Untold Experience."
Some 18,000 Rohingya women and girls were
raped by Myanmar’s army and police and over 115,000 Rohingya homes were burned
down and 113,000 others vandalized, it added.
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