Press Release: ARNO Welcomes UNHRC Fact-finding Mission
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO)
Press release: 31 May 2017
ARNO Welcomes UNHRC Fact-finding Mission
Arakan Rohingya National Organisation (ARNO) welcomes the appointment of a three-person fact-finding mission on 30 May by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate alleged atrocities committed by Myanmar security forces against Rohingya Muslims.
It is an excellent team of experts headed by India’s Supreme Court Lawyer Ms. Indira Jaising; and its two other members are Sri Lankan lawyer Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy and Australian rights consultant Mr. Christopher Dominic Sidoti.
On 30 May the President of the 47-member Human Rights Commission, Ambassador Joaquin Alexander Maza Martelli has appropriately formed the team in accordance with Council resolution of March 24 to ‘dispatch urgently’ an international fact-finding mission to Myanmar to prove alleged abuses by military and security forces, particularly against the minority Rohingya Muslim community, including allegation of arbitrary detention, torture, inhuman treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence, extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary killings, enforced displacement, and unlawful destruction of property.
It has been a serious concern that Myanmar government and military authorities continue denying any violations in spite of well-documented evidences and accounts of atrocity crimes committed against the defenseless Rohingya population, including mass killings, gang rapes and arson in state sponsored deadly violence since 2012 and in systematic military campaigns from 2016 causing influx of thousands of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh.
The Government of Myanmar has the responsibility to protect the victims and is duty-bound to cooperates with this fact-finding mission, including granting it full access as called for in the Human Rights Council resolution.
However, it is a “welcome relief” and hope to be a great move towards creating a full commission of inquiry to investigate the crimes against Rohingya.
For more details, please contact:
Australia:
Dr. Hla Myint +61-423381904
Bangladesh:
Ko Ko Linn: +880-1726068413
Canada:
Nur Hasim +1 -519- 5725359
Japan:
Zaw Min Htut +81-8030835327
U.K.
Ronnie: +44-7783118354
USA:
Dr. Habib Ullah +1-4438158609
Email: info@rohingya.org
