Christian Solidarity Worldwide has thrown its support behind a call from members of the Kachin community around the world for the UN Security Council to refer the Myanmar Government to the International Criminal Court amid reports of renewed fighting in parts of Myanmar last month.
Mark Cutts, head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said late last week that more than 4,000 people had been displaced in Kachin state near the border with China in April.
The Kachin Community has called for other nations to act as mediators to negotiate a solution to the conflict in Kachin state and for the UN Security Council to support a resolution referring Myanmar to the ICC.
“There is no shortage of evidence of violations of international law committed by the Burma military,” the group said in a statement on 23rd April. “The United Nations has been documenting these crimes for decades. A detailed assessment in 2016 stated that what may amount to war crimes were being committed in Kachin State and Shan State. The United Nations has also stated that human rights violations in northern Rakhine State may constitute crimes against humanity and even amount to elements of genocide.”
Benedict Rogers, East Asia team leader at the UK-based CSW, said the recent displacement of civilians in Kachin and Karen states, along with “continuing grave human rights violations” in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states, represents a “dramatic deterioration” in the situation in Myanmar (also known as Burma), “and a very serious setback to hopes for peace in the country”.
“The culture of impunity in which the Burma Army operates must end, and the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity must be held accountable,” he said in a statement this week. “We support the calls by the worldwide Kachin community for humanitarian access, mediation, justice and accountability and we urge the United Nations Security Council to act without delay.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Swiss diplomat Christine Schraner Burgener as his new special envoy on Myanmar.
