The announcement comes amid increased international pressure and calls for her to be stripped of her Nobel Peace Prize, for failing to act to stop mass killings and displacements of Rohingya Muslims.

Addressing why she won’t travel to New York, her spokesman Zaw Htay said she was focused on the crisis. Ms Suu Kyi did attend the General Assembly last year.

“She is trying to control the security situation, to have internal peace and stability, and to prevent the spread of communal conflict,” he said.

Another spokesman from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party insisted she did not fear condemnation from her UN colleagues.

“She’s never afraid of facing criticism or confronting problems,” Aung Shin said. “Perhaps she’s got more pressing matters here to deal with.”

Among those who have criticised Suu Kyi’s failure to act is fellow Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu.

“If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep,” he wrote in a letter.

The latest round of violence began on 25 August, after Rohingya militants attacked police posts in the western Rakhine state.

Rohingya Muslims flee violence in Burma

The resulting military counter-offensive has triggered a mass exodus of Rohingya to neighbouring Bangladesh, with as many as 370,000 fleeing over the past few weeks.

Inside Burma, refugees and human rights organisations say villages are being burned to the ground by the military and local Buddhist groups, in a move designed to force them out of the country.

The security situation and control exercised by the military in the area means it’s also difficult to get aid to those who need it, humanitarian groups say.

Burma recently rejected a ceasefire declared by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army insurgents, which was supposed to make it possible for aid to be sent to some of the most affected areas.

Rohingya refugees – in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya refugees – in pictures A young girl and a baby wade through mud after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh from Burma on 10 September Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya refugees walk through a camp in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh after arriving from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures A young Rohingya refugee gathers firewood after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya refugees wait for sacks of rice to be distributed in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees arrive on a boat in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh after crossing from Burma on 8 September Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees react after being re-united with each other after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh on a boat from Burma Getty Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees walk along the remains of a road after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh on a boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees wade through water after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees wade through water after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Myanmar Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees stand in the rain after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees – in pictures Indian children hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the alleged persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma EPA/Raminder Pal Singh Rohingya refugees – in pictures Supporters of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an Islamic organisation, listen to their leaders' speeches against Burma's persecution of Rohingya Muslims, during a demonstration in Karachi Reuters/Akhtar Soomro Rohingya refugees – in pictures Hundreds of Iranians take part in a protest against violence in Myanmar after weekly Friday prayers, in Tehran EPA/Abedin Taherkenareh Rohingya refugees – in pictures Indonesian Muslim activists hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the alleged persecution of the Rohingya minority in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia EPA/Ali Lutfi Rohingya refugees – in pictures Members of an Islamic organisation shout slogans against the Burma government during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh EPA

UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has called the “severe and widespread discrimination against the Rohingya population” a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing”.

“I call on the government to end its current cruel military operation, with accountability for all violations that have occurred,” he said this week.