UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for accountability for the “horrendous persecution” of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar on Tuesday, and Sweden and the Netherlands urged the Security Council to refer the crimes to the International Criminal Court.
But China, which has close ties to Myanmar’s government, said the international community should stop putting pressure on Myanmar and let its government work out the repatriation of Rohingya refugees as soon as possible with Bangladesh, where nearly one million have fled.
The council meeting, commemorating the one-year anniversary of Myanmar’s latest violent crackdown that led about 700,000 Rohingya to flee, reflected the deep division over addressing the Rohingya crisis.
It followed Monday’s report by investigators from the UN Human Rights Council that called for Myanmar’s military leaders to be prosecuted for genocide against the Rohingya ethnic minority.
The Rohingya have long been treated as outsiders in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, even though their families have lived in the country for generations. Nearly all Rohingya have been denied citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering them stateless, and they are denied freedom of movement and other basic rights.
The latest crisis began with attacks by an underground Rohingya insurgent group on Myanmar security personnel last August in northern Rakhine State. Myanmar’s military responded with counterinsurgency sweeps and has been accused of widespread rights violations, including rape, murder, torture and the burning of Rohingya homes and villages.
Guterres, who has called the Rohingya crisis “ethnic cleansing,” told the council the UN investigators’ findings and recommendations “deserve serious consideration by all relevant United Nations bodies.”
“Effective international cooperation will be critical to ensuring that accountability mechanisms are credible, transparent, impartial, independent and comply with Myanmar’s obligations under international law,” he said.
Sweden’s deputy UN ambassador Carl Skau went further, saying “the gravity of the atrocities committed by the Myanmar security forces” reinforced his country’s call for the Rohingya situation to be referred to the ICC, the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal.
“We believe it is time to move forward and we need to consult among council members on a resolution to this end,” he said.
Myanmar’s UN Ambassador U Hau Do Suan said the government refused to cooperate with the fact-finding mission because of concerns about its “impartiality.” He added that the report’s release on the eve of the council meeting “raises serious questions about (its) objectivity, impartiality and sincerity.”
Suan said the attacks by a Rohingya “religious extremist terrorist group” triggered “predictable and logical response of Myanmar security forces to protect the life and property of every citizen, resulting in the subsequent mass displacement of people.”
The government has established an Independent Commission of Inquiry into allegations of human rights violations which is to submit a report within a year based on its investigation, he said. It is led by former Philippines deputy foreign minister Rosario Manalo, an expert on women’s rights, and includes Japan’s former UN ambassador Kenzo Oshima and two Myanmar members.
China’s deputy UN ambassador Wu Haitao told the council Myanmar and Bangladesh should solve “the Rakhine issue” bilaterally, and the priority now is to start repatriating the Rohingyas as soon as possible.
“There should not be any precondition,” he said. “Issues such as freedom of movement and citizenship should be solved gradually during the repatriation process.”
Wu said the international community should focus on alleviating poverty in Rakhine, “continue to be patient” and promote dialogue between Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia called for “a balanced and non-confrontational approach,” said the “deep problems” in Rakhine should be solved through “peaceful and diplomatic means,” and expressed hope that all parties will act with restraint.
But Bangladesh’s UN Ambassador Masud Bin Momen said every week there is new evidence of the “persecution and dehumanization” of the Rohingya and urged the Security Council to respond to the emerging evidence of “atrocity crimes” against them.
While Bangladesh is preparing for repatriation of the Rohingya, he stressed that this can’t start until, at a minimum, they have guarantees for their safety and security, can return to their homes, enjoy freedom of movement, have the opportunity to work “and a clear pathway to their legitimate demand for citizenship in Myanmar.”
British Minister of State Lord Tariq Ahmad, who chaired the meeting, said afterward that many countries support that view, adding that there was a renewed commitment to assist Bangladesh and agreement on the need for a political settlement to the Rohingya problem.
“While much work needs to be done on accountability, and we must bring those who committed these crimes to justice,” Ahmad said, “a positive step forward” has been made since August 2017 with the signing of a memorandum between the UN and Myanmar’s government whose relations had been at “a very low ebb.”
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UN chief urges accountability for Myanmar crimes on Rohingya
UN chief urges accountability for Myanmar crimes on Rohingya
- The Rohingya have long been treated as outsiders in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, even though their families have lived in the country for generations
- Guterres, who has called the Rohingya crisis “ethnic cleansing,” told the council the UN investigators’ findings and recommendations “deserve serious consideration by all relevant United Nations bodies
India’s prime minister says it has reached a free trade deal with the EU
- It touches a whopping 2 billion people and is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce
- The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Tuesday that India and the European Union have reached a free trade agreement to deepen their economic and strategic ties.
The accord, which touches a whopping 2 billion people, was concluded after nearly two decades of negotiations. It was dubbed the “mother of all deals” by both sides.
It is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce. The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs.
“This agreement will bring major opportunities for the people of India and Europe. It represents 25 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade,” Modi said while virtually addressing an energy conference.
The deal comes at a time when Washington is targeting both India and the EU with steep tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.
Modi was scheduled to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later Tuesday to jointly announce the agreement.
India has stepped up efforts to diversify its export destinations as part of a broader strategy to offset the impact of higher US tariffs.
The tariffs include an extra 25 percent levy on Indian goods for its unabated purchases of discounted Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 percent.
The deal gives the EU expanded access to one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, helping European exporters and investors to reduce their reliance on more volatile markets.
Bilateral trade between India and EU stood at $136.5 billion in 2024-25. The two sides hope to increase that to about $200 billion by 2030, India’s Trade Ministry officials said.
“Ultimately, the agreement is about creating a stable commercial corridor between two major markets at a time the global trading system is fragmenting,” said Indian trade analyst Ajay Srivastava.
The EU is still reeling from the aggressive approach of its once-stalwart ally across the Atlantic. There’s a widespread sense of betrayal across the 27-nation bloc from US President Donald Trump’s onslaught of higher tariffs, embrace of far-right parties, and belligerence over Greenland.
Brussels has accelerated its outreach to markets around the world: Over the past year, von der Leyen has signed deals with Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and South America under the catchphrase “strategic autonomy,” which in practice is akin to decoupling from a US seen by most European leaders as erratic.
“We are showing a fractured world that another way is possible,” she posted on X after arriving in India on Sunday.
The accord, which touches a whopping 2 billion people, was concluded after nearly two decades of negotiations. It was dubbed the “mother of all deals” by both sides.
It is one of the biggest bilateral engagements on commerce. The timing comes as Washington targets both India and the EU with steep import tariffs.
“This agreement will bring major opportunities for the people of India and Europe. It represents 25 percent of the global GDP and one-third of global trade,” Modi said while virtually addressing an energy conference.
The deal comes at a time when Washington is targeting both India and the EU with steep tariffs, disrupting established trade flows and pushing major economies to seek alternate partnerships.
Modi was scheduled to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen later Tuesday to jointly announce the agreement.
India has stepped up efforts to diversify its export destinations as part of a broader strategy to offset the impact of higher US tariffs.
The tariffs include an extra 25 percent levy on Indian goods for its unabated purchases of discounted Russian oil, bringing the combined tariffs imposed by the United States on its ally to 50 percent.
The deal gives the EU expanded access to one of the world’s fastest-growing major economies, helping European exporters and investors to reduce their reliance on more volatile markets.
Bilateral trade between India and EU stood at $136.5 billion in 2024-25. The two sides hope to increase that to about $200 billion by 2030, India’s Trade Ministry officials said.
“Ultimately, the agreement is about creating a stable commercial corridor between two major markets at a time the global trading system is fragmenting,” said Indian trade analyst Ajay Srivastava.
The EU is still reeling from the aggressive approach of its once-stalwart ally across the Atlantic. There’s a widespread sense of betrayal across the 27-nation bloc from US President Donald Trump’s onslaught of higher tariffs, embrace of far-right parties, and belligerence over Greenland.
Brussels has accelerated its outreach to markets around the world: Over the past year, von der Leyen has signed deals with Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, and South America under the catchphrase “strategic autonomy,” which in practice is akin to decoupling from a US seen by most European leaders as erratic.
“We are showing a fractured world that another way is possible,” she posted on X after arriving in India on Sunday.
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