UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council urged Myanmar’s government on Wednesday to fulfill its commitment to hold perpetrators of violence against Rohingya Muslims accountable and to address the root causes that led about 700,000 members of the ethnic minority to flee to Bangladesh.
The council press statement made no mention of the appeal by four human rights groups on Tuesday for the Security Council to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity, including targeting the Rohingya.
The four rights groups — Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect, and Fortify Rights — said Myanmar’s government is incapable of bringing those responsible for such crimes to justice.
The council statement on Wednesday reaffirmed its most significant pronouncement on the Rohingya, a presidential statement it adopted in November.
That statement stressed “the importance of undertaking transparent investigations into allegations of human rights abuses and violations ... and of holding to account all those responsible for such acts to provide justice for victims.”
The latest crisis began with attacks by Rohingya insurgents on Myanmar security personnel last August.
Myanmar’s military responded with counterinsurgency sweeps and was accused of widespread human rights violations, including rape, murder, torture and the burning of Rohingya homes. Thousands are believed to have died and the UN and US officials have called the government’s military campaign ethnic cleansing.
The Rohingya face official and social discrimination in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, which denies most of them citizenship and basic rights because they are looked on as immigrants from Bangladesh, even though the families of many settled in Myanmar generations ago.
The Security Council statement said that during its trip members observed “widespread destruction of villages” in northern Rakhine State, and “were struck by the scale of the humanitarian crisis and remain gravely concerned by the current situation.” It urged all countries to increase support to Bangladesh to care for the refugees.
The council said members noted Myanmar’s efforts to prepare for the repatriation of refugees from Bangladesh and urged the government to create conditions conducive for their “safe, voluntary and dignified return” to their homes in Rakhine.
It welcomed Myanmar’s commitment to work with the UN and urged the government to grant UN agencies and their partners, who have been barred from Rakhine, “immediate, safe and unhindered access.”
The Security Council has scheduled an open briefing on the trip for May 14 and the statement said members intend to discuss in the coming days how it can work with both countries and the new UN special envoy “to resolve the crisis and create the conditions” for the Rohingya to return home.
UN urges Myanmar to punish perpetrators of Rohingya attacks
UN urges Myanmar to punish perpetrators of Rohingya attacks
- Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect, and Fortify Rights said Myanmar’s government is incapable of bringing those responsible for such crimes to justice.
- Thousands are believed to have died and the UN and US officials have called the government’s military campaign ethnic cleansing.
EU to suspend 93 billion euro retaliatory trade package against US for 6 months
- “With the removal of the tariff threat by the US we can now return to the important business,” Gill said
- The Commission will soon make a proposal “to roll over our suspended countermeasures”
BRUSSELS: The European Commission said on Friday it would propose suspending for another six months an EU package of retaliatory trade measures against the US worth 93 billion euros ($109.19 billion) that would otherwise kick in on February 7.
The package, prepared in the first half of last year when the European Union was negotiating a trade deal with the United States, was put on hold for six months when Brussels and Washington agreed on a joint statement on trade in August 2025.
US President Donald Trump’s threat last week to impose new tariffs on eight European countries over Washington’s push to acquire Greenland had made the retaliatory package a handy tool for the EU to use had Trump followed through on his threat.
“With the removal of the tariff threat by the US we can now return to the important business of implementing the joint EU-US statement,” Commission spokesman Olof Gill said.
The Commission will soon make a proposal “to roll over our suspended countermeasures, which are set to expire on February 7,” Gill said, adding the measures would be suspended for a further six months.
“Just to make absolutely clear — the measures would remain suspended, but if we need them at any point in the future, they can be unsuspended,” Gill said.
