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8333rd Security Council Meeting: Situation in Myanmar
One year after the start of the Rohingya refugee crisis, the Security Council considered today the report issued by the independent fact-finding mission dispatched to that country, which alleges that national security forces committed gross human rights violations and abuses that “undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law”.
Briefing the 15-member Council, Secretary-General António Guterres said the massive refugee emergency that began in Myanmar’s Rakhine State has become “one of the world’s worst humanitarian and human rights crises”. While condemning attacks against the security forces by extremists in October 2016 and August 2017, he nevertheless emphasized that nothing can ever justify the disproportionate use of force against civilians or the gross human rights violations committed by the Myanmar security forces and their allies.
Regrettably, the Secretary-General continued, Myanmar has refused to cooperate with United Nations human rights entities and mechanisms, despite repeated calls to do so, including by members of the Council. Emphasizing that patterns of violations against ethnic and religious minorities beyond Rakhine must also end in order for genuine democracy to take root, he said unity among Council members was essential.
Also addressing the Council was Tegegnework Gettu, Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), who said that creating sustainable conditions for the voluntary return of refugees from Bangladesh will require comprehensive and durable solutions. Outlining efforts by UNDP and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to create conditions suitable for voluntary returns, he said effective access and streamlined procedures are essential to accessing entire tracts of villages and undertaking area-based programmes that will help to build social cohesion.
Joining the briefers was Cate Blanchett, Goodwill Ambassador for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who recalled her encounter with one of the 720,000 stateless Rohingya refugees. Describing Laila’s flight from her burning village with her infant son, Yousef, she said that she had heard gut-wrenching stories of torture, women brutally violated, people whose loved ones were killed before their eyes, and children who saw their grandparents locked in houses that were then set alight. “I am a mother, and I saw my children in the eyes of every refugee child I met,” she continued. “I saw myself in every parent. How can any mother endure seeing her child thrown into a fire?” She urged Council members to support all efforts to make the return of refugees a reality.
In the ensuing debate, Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, and Council President for August, said that crimes against humanity, such as those detailed in the fact-finding mission’s report threaten international peace and security. It is incumbent upon the Council to consider its findings in depth after they are presented to the Human Rights Council in September, he added. The solution to the crisis lay in Burma, he pointed out, emphasizing that, while that country’s Government has taken a number of steps, the option of pursuing justice through international mechanisms must be kept open.
In similar vein, Sweden’s representative recalled that his delegation previously called upon the Council to consider referring the situation to the International Criminal Court. With “facts now established”, the international community must shoulder its responsibility, he stressed.
Myanmar’s representative said that his country’s Government does not accept the mandate of the fact-finding mission due to concerns about its impartiality. “I have serious doubt on the intention of the timing of the release of the report,” he added, pointing out that it was released on the eve of today’s Security Council meeting on his country. Addressing deep-rooted and complex issues in Rakhine State is a fundamental and crucial part of the Government’s efforts to build peace and national reconciliation, he stressed.
Representatives of China and the Russian Federation argued that the crisis requires a long-term, patient approach rather than pressure, and must be resolved through bilateral diplomatic efforts.
The representative of Bangladesh called upon the Council to further calibrate its response in light of prevailing circumstances on the ground and emerging evidence of atrocities against the Rohingya. Emphasizing that the return of refugees cannot begin unless the Rohingya themselves regain the trust and confidence to opt voluntarily for repatriation, he declared: “It would be entirely up to the Myanmar authorities to build trust among the Rohingya about their sustainable return and peaceful coexistence with other communities in Rakhine State.”
Also speaking today were representatives of the United States, Netherlands, Peru, Côte d’Ivoire, Poland, Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Kuwait, Equatorial Guinea and Bolivia.
The meeting began at 3:07 p.m. and ended at 5:43 p.m.
