HRC42 Oral Statement on Item 2: General Debate on the Oral Update by the High Commissioner and the Report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar

Oral Statement Delivered by Ahmed Adam

On behalf of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

Wednesday, 11 September 2019

Mr. President, FORUM-ASIA welcomes the High Commissioner’s update. We share her concerns on the human rights situations in Kashmir and Cambodia. We call on India to lift the current restrictions on basic human rights in Kashmir, including on communication, freedom of movement, peaceful assembly and access to basic services. we echo the High Commissioner’s earlier call on the Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry on the situation in Kashmir, and reiterate our calls to India and Pakistan to allow unfettered access to the OHCHR and international observers to independently monitor and report on the situation on both sides of the line of control.

On Cambodia, we call on the Council to support a resolution renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Cambodia and mandating additional monitoring and reporting by the OHCHR on civic and democratic space in the country.

Finally, we welcome the first report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar, and the full operationalization of the mechanism. We call on the Myanmar government to allow the mechanism unrestricted access to Myanmar and allow victims and survivors to cooperate with the mechanism without fear of reprisals. The Council and the international community must ensure long term sustainability of the mechanism by ensuring adequate resources for it to continue its important work effectively. Establishment of this mechanism is only a first step towards criminal accountability for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Myanmar. We call on the Council and the international community to uphold their responsibility to ensure justice and accountability for these grave crimes and to follow up on the work of the mechanism by pursuing criminal accountability. The international community must take all appropriate measures to ensure accountability, including by referring Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or an independent tribunal, and exercise of universal jurisdiction to hold the perpetrators accountable. Thank you.

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