UN to ‘Urgently’ Send Rights Probe to Myanmar

The Geneva-based body decided to “dispatch urgently an independent international fact-finding mission” to Myanmar, particularly focused in northern Rahkine state, in a resolution adopted by consensus.

The mission must provide an oral update in September and a full report by this time next year, said the resolution backed by the European Union, AFP reported.

The decision marks a partial diplomatic victory for Myanmar’s new civilian government led by Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

The United Nations special rapporteur on rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, had urged the council to set up a Commission of Inquiry — the world body’s highest level probe — to document anti-Rohingya violations.

But Lee’s call found little support, including among EU powers with major influence in the council.

Earlier this month, Lee told reporters that European leaders wanted to give Suu Kyi’s nascent government more time before launching a top-level inquiry, which may have implicated top military officials in crimes against humanity.