At the request of the nine members of the Security Council of the United Nations – namely, Belgium, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Kuwait, Peru, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States, Equatorial Guinea, President of the Security Council for the month of February 2019, held an open briefing on ‘The Situation in Myanmar’ in the presence of Ms. Christine Schraner Burgener, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, on 28 February 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Myanmar Permanent Representative Ambassador U Hau Do Suan delivered a statement.
The Government of Myanmar has repeatedly stated that it will not condone human rights violations and will take action against perpetrators according to the law if the allegations are supported by sufficient evidence. Therefore, the Government of Myanmar has established an Independent Commission of Enquiry (ICoE) to investigate all allegations of human rights violations following ARSA terrorists attacks in August 2017 in northern Rakhine. The mandate of the Commission is to seek accountability and reconciliation. The Commission is carrying out its mandate with independence, impartiality and objectivity.
The President Office announced on July 30 in 2018 that the commission had been formed and comprised two local and two international members.The commission is to be led by Rosario Manalo, a former deputy foreign minister of the Philippines. She is also a former chair and a current representative of the Philippines to the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The commission also includes Kenzo Oshima, a former permanent representative to the UN for Japan. The two local members are U Mya Thein, a former chair of Myanmar’s Constitutional Tribunal, and a former senior official at UNICEF, U Aung Tun Thet, who is now chief coordinator of the Union Enterprise for Humanitarian Assistance, Resettle and Development in Rakhine.
The Commission has received over 40 submissions concerning allegation of human rights abuse. The Commission is also requesting access to the refugees camps in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. We urge the Government of Bangladesh to facilitate the Commission’s visit to the camps to meet with the alleged victims of abuse. The Commission’s work will be evidence based. Therefore, the international community should support the work of the Commission. ICoE will submit its interim report to the Office of the President in March, and the final report will be submitted towards the end of the year.
The issue of Rakhine is not an issue of religious persecution as wrongly portrayed by massive media campaign against Myanmar. Myanmar is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country where different faiths, including the majority of Muslim population live in harmony across the country for centuries.
The issue of Rakhine State is a political and economic issue involving prolonged cross border illegal migration since colonial time, poverty, lack of rule of law and national security. The issue of Northern Rakhine is not a threat to international peace and security.
The Commission is tasked to investigate allegations of human rights violations and related issues following the terrorist attacks on 9 October 2016 and 25 August 2017 by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) in Rakhine State with a view to seeking accountability and to formulate recommendations on steps to be taken to ensure peace and stability in Rakhine State, said Chairperson Ambassador Rosario Manalo told a press conference in Thingaha Hotel, Nay Pyi Taw on August 16 in 2018.
Edited by Win Htut
