JURIST
Valeria Negron | U. Pittsburgh School of Law, US
APRIL 17, 2021
A group of 10 US senators led by Ed Markey (D-MA) introduced
legislation Wednesday that would require Secretary of State Antony
Blinken to investigate Myanmar’s military attacks on the Rohingya
minority and decide whether they constitute genocide.
Since
2017, more than 750,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh hoping to
escape the military’s systemic killing of their people, says the
legislation. The bill points to the documented history of the attacks,
which have been investigated by the UN, the Department of State and the
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (IIFFMM). In
2018, the IIFFMM stated that they “ha[d] reasonable grounds to conclude 5
that the evidence that infers genocidal intent on the part of the
State, identified in its last report, has strengthened that there is a
serious risk that genocidal actions may occur or recur.”
The alleged genocide is even more worrisome in light of the military coup
currently ongoing in Myanmar and “further underscores the importance of
the United States speaking out forcefully against human rights
violations when they occur.”
The
legislation urges Blinken to complete his assessment of the situation
within 90 days and includes a detailed description of the situation as
well as recommendations on what steps the US government should take in
response to the human rights violations currently ongoing in Myanmar.
Markey added,
“The Rohingya people will not be able to start the path towards
justice, equality, or full representation until we recognize the crimes
committed against them for what they were–genocide. I urge the Biden
administration to complete the determination process as quickly as
possible as justice delayed is justice denied.”
Link : Here
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.