Burma Human Rights Network applauds Canada’s House of Commons for unanimously passing a motion on the Rohingya which acknowledges the findings of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission and recognizes the crimes against the Rohingya amount to genocide which responsible parties in the Burmese military should be prosecuted for. The motion also backed calls to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and welcomed the decision by the ICC to recognize its jurisdiction in regards to the crime of forced deportation of the Rohingya from Burma to Bangladesh.
“Canada is leading the world in taking a bold stand for human rights and for the Rohingya. This motion is extremely welcome and should be applauded. It is the hope of many that the rest of the world, especially United State of America, the United Kingdom and European Union, will follow Canada’s example and take a stand for the Rohingya, acknowledge the findings of the UN Fact-Finding Mission, and support the referral of Burma to the ICC so that justice may be possible for the victims and peace may come for the country’s most vulnerable,” said BHRN Executive Director, Kyaw Win.
The motion from Canada follows the release of findings by the UN-mandated Fact-Finding Mission, which detailed horrific crimes (including gang rapes, mass murders and killing of women and children) committed by the Burmese military against civilians, and recognized the situation as a genocide. Canada’s stand is an important step forward in gathering support from the international community to address these crimes, and it is vital that other nations in the world acknowledge the findings from the UN and giving support to referrals against Burma to the ICC.
BHRN Welcomes Canadian House of Commons Motion on Rohingya
