(CNN) Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of Amnesty International's highest honor in light of her "shameful betrayal of the values she once stood for," the UK-based rights group announced Tuesday.

Amnesty's secretary general, Kumi Naidoo, wrote to Suu Kyi, Myanmar's civilian leader, Sunday informing her of the decision to revoke the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award, which she received in 2009.

"Today, we are profoundly dismayed that you no longer represent a symbol of hope, courage, and the undying defense of human rights," Naidoo wrote . "Amnesty International cannot justify your continued status as a recipient of the Ambassador of Conscience award and so with great sadness we are hereby withdrawing it from you."

Amnesty criticized the Nobel laureate in a press release for failing to use her "political and moral authority" to safeguard human rights in the country, citing her "apparent indifference" to military atrocities in ethnic areas and "increasing intolerance of freedom of expression."

Once an icon of the international human rights community, Suu Kyi has been stripped of a number of prestigious awards amid allegations of genocide of the country's minority Rohingya Muslim population.

CNN has reached out to Suu Kyi's representatives for comment.

In September, Suu Kyi said that, with hindsight, her government could have better handled the situation in Rakhine state.

Suu Kyi 'actively shielded the military from scrutiny'

The announcement comes as officials in Myanmar and Bangladesh get ready to repatriate more than 2,000 Rohingya refugees who fled a brutal military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine State last year.

The Myanmar military has been accused of using rape, murder and arson in a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing that drove more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, where they languish in what has become the world's largest refugee camp.

The UN has called on the International Criminal Court to investigate Myanmar's military leaders on charges of genocide.

In the letter, Naidoo said Suu Kyi has "chosen to overlook and excuse the brutal oppression and crimes against humanity committed by the military" and adds that her administration "actively shielded the military from international scrutiny and accountability."

Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya children wait to receive food from an aid group at a refugee camp in Ukhiya, Bangladesh, on Tuesday, November 14. More than 600,000 of the Rohingya Muslim minority group from Myanmar's Rakhine state have fled to Bangladesh, according to the United Nations. Hide Caption 1 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya Muslims paddle a makeshift raft as they cross the Naf River from Myanmar into Bangladesh on November 12. Human rights activists consider the Rohingya to be among the world's most persecuted people. Hide Caption 2 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A young Rohingya refugee begs for food through the glass of a car window at Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh on October 7. Hide Caption 3 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya refugees carry their belongings across muddy waters at a camp on October 5. Hide Caption 4 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Hide Caption 5 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya refugees mourn beside the bodies of relatives who died when a boat capsized in late September. Hide Caption 6 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Sona Banu is carried ashore on September 27 by Nobi Hossain after crossing the Naf River by boat from Myanmar to near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. Hide Caption 7 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Dildar Begum, a Rohingya woman, and her daughter, Noor Kalima, recover from injuries at Sadar Hospital in Cox's Bazar after fleeing their home in Rakhine state. Hide Caption 8 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Burnt villages are visible near Maungdaw in Myanmar's Rakhine state on September 27. Hide Caption 9 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya men stand in line September 19 to collect food distributed by aid agencies in Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh. Hide Caption 10 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar People scramble to catch food distributed by aid groups on September 18 at the Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh. Hide Caption 11 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya refugees take cover from monsoon rains on September 17 in the Balukhali refugee camp in Bangladesh. Hide Caption 12 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A Bangladeshi border guard keeps watch September 16 near the beach of Sharapuri Dwip, where many Rohingya refugees land after crossing from Myanmar. Hide Caption 13 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya refugees disembark from a boat on September 13 on the Bangladeshi side of the Naf River. Hide Caption 14 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar hold their infant son Abdul Masood, who died when their boat capsized before reaching Bangladesh on September 13. Hide Caption 15 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya refugee Rashida Begum stands next to her 15-year-old son, Azizul Hoque, as he is treated on September 13, at a hospital in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. He sustained a landmine injury while crossing from Myanmar to Bangladesh. Hide Caption 16 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya refugees bury Nur Ali in Kutupalong, Bangladesh, on September 13. Ali was a 50-year-old man who died of gunshot wounds he sustained while fleeing violence in Myanmar. Hide Caption 17 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Nur Ali's son, Abul Basar, reacts while attending his father's funeral on September 13, in Bangladesh. In Myanmar, the latest outbreak of violence came after a series of alleged attacks by Rohingya militants on government border posts. In response, Myanmar's military intensified "clearance operations" against "terrorists," driving thousands of people from their homes. Satellite photos released by Human Rights Watch showed entire villages torched to the ground in clashes between Myanmar's armed forces and local militants. Hide Caption 18 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya children flee the Rakhine state by boat on Tuesday, September 12. Hide Caption 19 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A woman collapses on September 12, after the wooden boat she and other refugees were traveling in crashed into the shore in Dakhinpara, Bangladesh. Hide Caption 20 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar The woman is carried to shore after her boat crashed in Dakhinpara. Hide Caption 21 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A Rohingya woman cries after the boat crash in Dakhinpara on September 12. Hide Caption 22 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Refugees jump from the boat in Dakhinpara on September 12. Hide Caption 23 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A Rohingya child holds a baby on September 12, as refugees wade through the Naf River in Bangladesh. Hide Caption 24 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya men pray on September 11, in a makeshift shelter near Cox's Bazar. Hide Caption 25 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Bangladeshi volunteers distribute food on September 10, to Rohingya refugees in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Hide Caption 26 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya refugees walk across paddy fields on September 9, after crossing the border in Gundum, Bangladesh. Hide Caption 27 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A boat full of Rohingya refugees arrives on September 9, on the Bangladeshi side of the Naf River. Hide Caption 28 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A girl is carried to safety after crossing the Naf River on September 9. Hide Caption 29 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Rohingya men reach out for relief supplies on September 9, at a refugee camp in Bangladesh. Hide Caption 30 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A Rohingya girl carries supplies on September 9, at a refugee camp in Ukhia, Bangladesh. Hide Caption 31 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Refugees gather on the shoreline after arriving September 8, in Dakhinpara. Hide Caption 32 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar A Bangladeshi border guard orders Rohingya refugees to return to the Myanmar side of a small canal on August 29. Bangladesh has been struggling to cope with the influx of refugees. Hide Caption 33 of 34 Photos: Rohingya refugees flee Myanmar Bangladeshi border guards stand watch on August 26, as Rohingya refugees escape fresh gunfire near Myanmar's Rakhine state. Hide Caption 34 of 34

Suu Kyi's administration has repeatedly denied abuses occurred in Rakhine State, saying the military was responding to attacks from Rohingya militants.

Government propaganda portrays the Rohingya as illegal Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh and labels them "Bengali," despite many Rohingya families living in Myanmar for generations. Online hate speech, especially on Facebook , against religious and ethnic minorities has been used to fuel political division and bloodshed.

"We have also been appalled to witness your administration spread hate narratives against minorities, fostering rather than challenging discrimination and hostility," Naidoo said in the letter.

As well as abuses in Rakhine State, Amnesty pointed to the military's operations in other areas of the country, including the northern Kachin and Shan states, where more than 100,000 people have been displaced in years of civil war.

Activists and journalists imprisoned

Myanmar's civilian government shares power with the military, which retains control of a quarter of the seats in parliament. But Amnesty criticized Suu Kyi for not using the power she does have in her official position as State Counselor to enact reforms that would benefit human rights. Since she took office in 2015, human rights activists and journalists have continued to be arrested and imprisoned for their work under repressive colonial-era laws, Amnesty said.

Earlier this year, two Reuters reporters were sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of breaching the country's Official Secrets Act. Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo had been investigating military atrocities in Rakhine State, including the massacre of 10 Rohingya men and boys.

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"We are dismayed that your government has not only failed to repeal or amend repressive laws but has actively used them to curb freedom of expression, and arrest and imprison human rights defenders, journalists and other peaceful activists," Naidoo said.

No longer an icon

Suu Kyi has had a string of awards and accolades revoked amid the Rohingya crisis. In March, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum announced it was rescinding the prestigious Elie Wiesel Award granted to Suu Kyi in 2012 because she had failed to intervene in Rakhine.

In November 2017, Suu Kyi was stripped of the Freedom of the City of Oxford award, which honored her in 1997 for "her opposition to oppression and military rule in Burma." Suu Kyi studied at Oxford University's St. Hugh's College as an undergraduate, but her portrait in the college has since been removed.

And in September, Canada's House of Commons voted unanimously to revoke her honorary citizenship, recognizing that "the crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingyas constitute a genocide."

Suu Kyi was serving time under house arrest when she was named Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience in 2009. She was awarded the honor in recognition of her peaceful and nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights.

"We will continue to fight for justice and human rights in Myanmar -- with or without her support," Amnesty's Naidoo said.