As the Human Rights Council session in Geneva gets underway, Frontier’s Thomas Kean speaks to special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Ms Yanghee Lee about her call for a commission of inquiry into alleged abuses in Rakhine State.
Why have you recommend the creation of a commission of inquiry? Throughout the duration of my mandate, I have been flagging serious human rights concerns pertaining to the situation of the Rohingya and other minority communities in Rakhine State. However, the call for the commission of inquiry became imperative with the persistent allegations of grave human rights violations in Rakhine State in the aftermath of the October 9 attacks last year. These need to be urgently investigated in a thorough, independent and impartial manner. Whilst it has established various commissions, for some the alleged human rights violations are outside the scope of their mandate and for others there are doubts over their composition, methods of work and credibility. I also found its initial immediate response to quickly dismiss and deny these allegations to be of concern. Considering the extent and nature of these recent allegations as well as the historic and continuing discrimination faced by the Rohingya and other minorities, I strongly believe that an international commission of inquiry is required in order for the investigation to be truly thorough, independent and impartial.
Read more at: http://burmatimes.net/yanghee-lee-i-write-this-report-as-a-friend-of-myanmar/
