Legal experts call for UN inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma

Posted on May 21, 2009
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village burnt down by Burmese troops

village burnt down by Burmese troops

Human rights abuses in Burma should be examined by a UN commission of inquiry says a new report issued this week. The report by the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School compares the situation in Burma with Daefur, Rwanda and Yugoslavia.
According to Reuters, the report says systematic human rights abuses, “strongly suggest Burma’s military regime may be committing crimes against humanity and war crimes prosecutable under international law.”
Written by five leading international jurists, the report says the forced displacement of over 3,000 villages in eastern Burma and widespread and systematic sexual violence, torture and summary execution of civilians justify the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes.
For over forty years, Burma’s ruling military junta, the SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) has tried to weaken armed ethnic groups by actively targeting the civilian population. Under the so-called four cuts policy, SPDC troops have raped ethnic women, burnt down villages and crops and forced villagers to relocate to areas under their control.
The report was written by Judge Richard Goldstone of South Africa, Judge Patricia Wald of the United States, Judge Pedro Nikken of Venezuela, Judge Ganzorig Gombosuren of Mongolia and Sir Geoffrey Nice of Britain notes, “In the cases of Yugoslavia and Darfur, once aware of the severity of the problem, the U.N. Security Council established a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the gravity of the violations further.”
“With Burma, there has been no such action from the U.N. Security Council despite being similarly aware of the widespread and systematic nature of the violations.”

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