UN rapporteur calls for investigation into crimes against humanity in Burma

In a report to the UN general assembly, the UN special rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quinana, has said that the international community has a responsibility to investigate crimes against humanity in Burma. He has recommended that the UN establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate these crimes.

In his report, Mr Quintana also criticized the new Constitution in Burma, introduced in 2008, which provides the military with 25 per cent of the parliamentary seats and immunity for past, present and future crimes.

National director for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Stuart Windsor, says he believes we are reaching a point where the UN must intervene.

“These are serious accusations, they have to be taken more seriously than ever before,” he said. “The rapporteur has gone further than any rapporteur has gone before and so now that 13 countries too have expressed support for this, then the UN must act on it.”