HRW sees ‘crimes against humanity’ in Myanmar treatment of Rohingya
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A Rohingya Muslim child walks through Balukhali refugee camp near the Bangladesh town of Gumdhum
Human Rights Watch has accused Myanmar of committing “crimes against humanity” in Rakhine State, calling on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to act on the issue by imposing sanctions and an arms embargo against the government.
The Myanmar military “is brutally expelling the Rohingya” from the western state of Rakhine, said James Ross, legal and policy director at the New York-based rights organization on Tuesday.
“The massacres of villagers and mass arson driving people from their homes are all crimes against humanity,” he noted.
The rights group said satellite imagery analysis supported its reports. It also reported crimes of deportations, forced population transfers, murder and attempted murder as well as persecution, rape and other sexual assaults against the Rohingya Muslims.
The rights organization further noted that the UNSC should send a fact-finding mission to investigate the abuses and introduce those responsible to the International Criminal Court.
Myanmar’s government spokesman Zaw Htay, however, rejected the HRW report.
EA
