UN secretary general calls for action and accountability to tackle on one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The UN secretary general has called for those behind the Rohingya crisis to be held accountable, urging the security council to act on what has become “one of the world’s worst humanitarian and human rights crises”.

António Guterres was speaking “with a heavy heart” one day after the release of a report by UN investigators that accused Myanmar’s military of carrying out mass killings and gang rapes with “genocidal intent”.

The UN report, released on Monday, called for the prosecution of the country’s commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and five generals. The crimes it cited after a long inquiry included murder, enforced disappearance, torture and sexual violence “perpetrated on a massive scale”.

Play Video 1:46 Cate Blanchett tells of atrocities against Rohingya children – video

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, joined other security council members in calling for prosecutions, saying: “The facts of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya must be said, and they must be heard.”

Without using the word genocide, Guterres said the UN report by independent experts found “patterns of gross human rights violations and abuses’ committed by the security forces, which it said ‘undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law.’”

Aung San Suu Kyi stays silent on UN report on Rohingya genocide Read more

Since the crackdown began a year ago, tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have died, and 700,000 have fled northern Rakhine state. Most are living in refugee camps in neighbouring Bangladesh. About 130,000 who stayed in Rakhine “remain confined in camps with severe restrictions on their freedom of movement. They have extremely limited access to health, education and other essential services, and to ways of making a living”, said the secretary general.

Myanmar’s de facto ruler Aung San Suu Kyi has not commented on the report, but a government spokesman said the international community was making "false allegations".

“I want to say sharply that we don't accept any resolutions conducted by the Human Rights Council," Zaw Htay, the main government spokesman, said in an interview published in state media.

He added that the country has "zero tolerance to any human rights violation".

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Rohingya refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Gutteres also spoke of the horrific accounts he heard during his visit to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh last month. “One father broke down as he told me how his son was shot dead in front of him. His mother was brutally murdered and his house burned to the ground,” he said.

He praised Bangladesh for its generosity but called for a global response to the crisis and international cooperation to ensure Myanmar is held accountable for its actions. .

Actor Cate Blanchett, in her role as goodwill ambassador for the UN refugee agency, told the security council nothing had prepared her for “the extent and depth of suffering” she saw when she visited camps in Bangladesh. Blanchett said she heard “gut-wrenching accounts” of torture, rape, people seeing loved ones killed before their eyes, and children thrown into fire and burned alive.

António Guterres (@antonioguterres) I cannot forget the stories I heard from Rohingya refugees. One father broke down as he told me how his son was shot dead in front of him. We will never give up on our work to alleviate their suffering & end this tragedy. My call to the Security Council: https://t.co/l84qZ6ajk3 pic.twitter.com/WDoPwRL5iF

Several countries, including the US, called for the military leaders accused of orchestrating the repression to be brought before international courts.

Haley and other ambassadors stopped short, however, of using the word “genocide”. “Here in the security council, we must hold those responsible for the violence to account,” Haley said.

A US state department spokesman said the US would decide whether genocide or crimes against humanity had been committed only “after a thorough review of the available facts and relevant legal analysis”.

Several other security council members joined the call for the perpetrators to be brought before an international tribunal, including Britain, France, Kuwait, the Netherlands and Sweden. They also called for a mechanism to “collect and preserve proof” of abuses.

But China and Russia, which as permanent members of the Security Council have veto powers, have said they prefer “dialogue” with the Myanmar leadership to resolve the conflict.

There can be no excuse for delaying the search for dignified solutions. Antonio Guterres, UN secretary general

Guterres said an international humanitarian appeal for the crisis remained significantly underfunded, and more must be done to alleviate the threats from the current and impending monsoons.

He said it was clear that conditions did not yet exist for the safe return of Rohingya refugees and called on security council members to join him in urging Myanmar ensure access to UN agencies and partners.

“A year has passed. This crisis cannot continue indefinitely,” he said.

For the past year, the security council has limited itself to statements condemning the violence and demanding access for humanitarian aid, and for the right of those who have fled to return to their homes.

Myanmar has vehemently denied allegations of ethnic cleansing, insisting it was responding to attacks by Rohingya rebels.

Reuters and Agence France-Presse contributed to this article