GENEVA - A UN expert today called on the international community to step up efforts for accountability in Myanmar, saying that decades of impunity have led the country to a human rights catastrophe.
"Ending the crisis will require not only dismantling the military's capacity to attack and oppress the people of Myanmar, but also holding those responsible for grave human rights violations to account. The international community has done far too little to support those seeking justice and accountability," said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar as he released his final report, From Impunity to Justice.
Andrews warned that the people of Myanmar are frustrated and angry that a decades-long cycle of violence and oppression in their country continues unabated, with not a single senior military official having been held accountable.
For decades, Myanmar's military has attacked civilian populations, persecuted ethnic minorities, and committed widespread sexual violence, among other serious human rights violations. "Myanmar civil society and international investigators have collected abundant evidence of the military's atrocities, many of which amount to crimes under international law. Yet accountability remains elusive," the Special Rapporteur said.
"For the people of Myanmar, justice delayed is justice denied."
While cases before international tribunals and judicial authorities in other countries offer a glimmer of hope to victims and the people of Myanmar, they are narrow in scope and insufficient to break the system of impunity that shields the military from accountability, the expert said.
"While some important steps have been taken, the international community has too often turn ed its back the people of Myanmar," Andrews said. "The Security Council's failure to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court is an abdication of responsibility and an indictment of the world's commitment to justice."
The Special Rapporteur's report outlines the work being done by activists, lawyers, human rights defenders and various revolutionary bodies to develop institutions and processes to hold perpetrators accountable and provide remedies to victims, both now and in the future.
"The champions of accountability in Myanmar deserve the full backing of the international community," the expert said. "The long, hard work of reforming courts and institutions hollowed out by decades of military domination will require technical support and the investment of significant resources over many years."
Andrews highlighted other opportunities for the international community to support accountability for grave human rights violations in Myanmar, including broadening the investigation by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, laying the groundwork for the prosecution of senior military officials, expanding the application of universal jurisdiction, and setting up a reparations fund for victims of human rights violations. He also urged States to prepare for a judgment by the International Court of Justice in the case concerning genocide against the Rohingya.
"The United Kingdom, as penholder on Myanmar at the Security Council, and ASEAN have a key role to play in shaping the international community's response to the pending court ruling in the genocide case against Myanmar. They must lead a coordinated international effort to isolate the new military-controlled government and pressure Myanmar to comply with any Court orders," the Special Rapporteur said. "In the case of a ruling against Myanmar, States must act swiftly and decisively to make clear that genocide is an intolerable stain on humanity's conscience and will be met with immediate and severe consequences."
"Opportunities to break the cycle of impunity that has gripped Myanmar are available. What is missing is the political will to seize them," Andrews said.
