Fresh evidence of crimes against humanity in Burma
A team returned from a fact-finding visit to the Thai-Burmese border last week with fresh evidence of gross human rights violations in eastern Burma that amount to “crimes against humanity”.
The delegation, which included Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)’s East Asia Team Leader, Benedict Rogers, and the Director of BurmaInfo (Japan), Yuki Akimoto, interviewed new refugees in camps along the Thai-Burma border, and heard first-hand accounts of forced labour, torture and murder.
They also visited one of the two temporary camps in Tha Song Yang, where Karen refugees who fled attacks last year were recently under intense pressure from the Thai military to return to Burma, even though their areas are full of landmines and are occupied by the Burma Army and its militias.
CSW and BurmaInfo visited the camp 10 days after the Thai authorities attempted to forcibly deport refugees. Three families were sent back against their will before NGOs arrived and halted the process. The delegation interviewed two of these families, who are now in hiding in Thailand.
Benedict Rogers, said: “The testimonies we heard on this visit were harrowing and shocking. The military regime is continuing to perpetrate war crimes and crimes against humanity, even as it prepares to hold sham elections this year. The harassment of frightened, traumatised and extremely vulnerable refugees by the Thai military, forcing them or intimidating them to return to Karen State even though they would be walking into a death trap, adds further misery to an already tragic situation."
Since their return the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, has told the UN Human Rights Council that human rights violations perpetrated by Burma’s military regime may include crimes against humanity and war crimes, and that the UN should establish a commission of inquiry.
In a major breakthrough, the Special Rapporteur’s report to the UN Human Rights Council concludes that “there is a pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights” which has been continuing “over a period of many years”. Mr Quintana says the violations “are the result of a state policy that involves authorities in the executive, military and judiciary at all levels”. In an unprecedented move, he argues that “the possibility exists that some of these human rights violations may entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms of the Statute of the International Criminal Court”.
The Special Rapporteur, who recently made his third visit to Burma, recommends that the UN should “consider the possibility to establish a commission of inquiry with a specific fact-finding mandate to address the question of international crimes”.
CSW has advocated the establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes for several years, alongside other international campaign groups.
Benedict Rogers said: “We warmly welcome the Special Rapporteur’s report, and are delighted that he has not only concluded that the violations perpetrated by the regime may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, but that he is now calling on the UN to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate these crimes. Such a step is much-needed and long overdue. It is vital that the international community act decisively to end the culture of impunity that prevails in Burma today.”
