UN: Genocidal intent present against Rohingya

By Merve Aydogan

ANKARA

The United Nations Independent International Fact-finding Mission On Myanmar on Tuesday said "genocidal intent" against the Rohingya people were present.

The report defined the Rohingya people from Myanmar's Rakhine State as "protected group," and that the treatment against them by Myanmar security forces "includes conduct that amounts to four of the five defined prohibited acts.

The reports cited the four prohibited acts of killing; causing serious bodily or mental harm; inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the group in whole or in part, and imposing measures intending to prevent births.

UN Mission further urged "for a competent prosecutorial body and court of law to investigate and adjudicate cases against specific individuals to determine individual guilt or innocence."

Since Aug. 25, 2017, nearly 24,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed by Myanmar’s state forces, according to the Ontario International Development Agency (OIDA).

According to Amnesty International, more than 750,000 Rohingya refugees, mostly children, and women have fled Myanmar and crossed into Bangladesh after Myanmar forces launched a crackdown on the minority Muslim community.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

The UN has documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by Myanmar state forces.