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The mass killings of Rohingya in Myanmar's Rakhine State constitute genocide and top military commanders should face prosecution for crimes against humanity, a team of United Nations investigators has concluded.
After an eruption of intense violence last August, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority group, fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar to escape horrific massacres, mass rapes and the torching of their villages.
The U.S. and U.N. have denounced the attacks on the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing. Now, the U.N. investigators are describing it as genocide and calling for accountability.
It's not known how many Rohingya have died as the result of the attacks, but the U.N. team says an estimate of 10,000 deaths is "conservative."
The crimes are "shocking for their horrifying nature and ubiquity" and "for the level of denial, normalcy and impunity that is attached to them," the U.N. researchers concluded. "Many of these violations undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law."
Their report names six military officials, including the country's commander-in-chief, as "priority subjects" for prosecution on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Investigators have prepared a longer list of names that has not yet been released.
More at Myanmar's Military Leaders Should Be Tried For Genocide, U.N. Investigators Say
After an eruption of intense violence last August, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya, members of a Muslim minority group, fled Buddhist-majority Myanmar to escape horrific massacres, mass rapes and the torching of their villages.
The U.S. and U.N. have denounced the attacks on the Rohingya as ethnic cleansing. Now, the U.N. investigators are describing it as genocide and calling for accountability.
It's not known how many Rohingya have died as the result of the attacks, but the U.N. team says an estimate of 10,000 deaths is "conservative."
The crimes are "shocking for their horrifying nature and ubiquity" and "for the level of denial, normalcy and impunity that is attached to them," the U.N. researchers concluded. "Many of these violations undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law."
Their report names six military officials, including the country's commander-in-chief, as "priority subjects" for prosecution on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Investigators have prepared a longer list of names that has not yet been released.
More at Myanmar's Military Leaders Should Be Tried For Genocide, U.N. Investigators Say
