UN rights group names team to probe atrocities against Rohingya

The UN Human Rights Council has named a three-person team to probe atrocities against Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state.

The Geneva-based council said in a statement on Tuesday that Indian lawyer and women's rights campaigner, Indira Jaising, Sri Lanka's former human rights chief, Radhika Coomaraswamy, and Christopher Dominic Sidoti, a prominent human rights advocate from Australia, have been appointed to lead the probe.

The team of experts is scheduled to meet soon in Geneva to chart a work plan.

It is, however, not yet clear if the group will be granted access to Rakhine state, or even be permitted to land in Myanmar.

Matthew Smith, who heads the Fortify Rights watchdog in Bangkok, which closely tracks Rakhine's situation, said investigators appointed Tuesday were "a strong team that's certainly up to the task."

He said Myanmar's government had "no defensible reason to not cooperate with this mission."

The mission is scheduled to give the council an oral update of its findings in September.

Myanmar has long faced international condemnation for its treatment of the Rohingya. Rights campaigners say that national efforts have not been credible, calling for an international inquiry.

Rakhine state has been under a military siege since October 2016 over a raid on a police post blamed on the Rohingya. A four-month crackdown on the minority group has seen some 75,000 Rohingya flee to Bangladesh.

Buddhist-dominated Myanmar has a history of discrimination against Muslims, considering the Rohingya illegal immigrants. Rights groups have challenged the claim, arguing that the Rohingya has historical roots in the country.

EA