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UN urged to investigate Burmese junta's crimes against humanity
Irrawaddy - December 11, 2009
Lalit K Jha, Washington – Members of parliaments from 29 countries on Thursday urged the UN Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma and to impose a global arms embargo against the military regime.
There was no immediate reaction from either the office of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon or the Security Council president for the month of December, Ambassador Michel Kafando of Burkina Faso.
The US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, told reporters at UN headquarters in New York that the Obama administration will continue its discussions at the UN here and in Geneva at the Human Rights Council on what actions might be desirable and feasible.
The letter urging the Security Council to establish an investigative body was supported by 442 members of parliaments.
Such UN action is long due, said the letter, which was initiated by two members of parliament from Japan, Azuma Konno, and Tadashi Inuzuka, both members of the ruling Democratic Party.
The letter charged that the Burmese military regime has carried out deadly attacks on its own people for decades and asked the Security Council to address the issue in an emergency meeting.
US Congressman Joseph Pitts in a statement, "This letter demonstrates that the eyes of the world are on Burma, and that we will call attention to the continued human rights violations perpetrated by the military regime."
"The destruction of villages and ethnic cleansing must stop," the statement said. "I am proud to stand with so many freely elected leaders from around the world to call for the regime to respect the rights of the people of Burma and to cease the senseless violence."
The appeal follows similar calls made earlier this year by lawmakers from the United States, Canada and Britain. In June, 55 members of US House of Representatives sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to encourage the UN Security Council to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity in Burma.
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