Press Briefing by Radhika Coomaraswamy, Member of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar on the latest report.
The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said the country’s military must stop using sexual and gender-based violence to terrorise and punish ethnic minorities.
The Mission said the brutal tactic was still being employed in Kachin and Shan states, and was so severe in Rakhine State, during the “clearance operations” of 2017, that it was a factor indicating the Myanmar military’s genocidal intent to destroy the Rohingya population.
The Mission made its conclusions in a new report, released today (22 Aug) in New York, that soldiers routinely and systematically employed rape, gang rape and other violent and forced sexual acts against women, girls, boys, men and transgender people in blatant violation of international human rights law.
Speaking to reporters at the UN Headquarters, Fact-Finding Mission member Radhika Coomaraswamy said entire villages in Rakhine have been bulldozed, making it impossible for refugees to return to their original villages. She said ethnically Rakhine people in Myanmar are subjected to near apartheid laws, including restrictions on their movement, marriage rights, and lack of access to education.
Asked about the over 3,000 refugees cleared to repatriate to Myanmar, Coomaraswamy said the situation was not conducive for a safe, dignified, and voluntary return.
The Fact-Finding Mission will present its final report to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2019.