A special United Nations panel that accused Myanmar's military of carrying out numerous atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims last year will brief the U.N. Security Council on their findings.
Nine of the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council -- Britain, France, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Sweden and the United States -- asked for a meeting later this month with the head of the panel in a formal request submitted Tuesday.
Hau Do Suan, Myanmar's U.N. ambassador, opposed the meeting in a separate letter Tuesday, warning that it would be "a dangerous attempt that will end in utter failure" if it seeks accountability "without regard to other positive developments."
In a scathing report released back in August, the special fact-finding mission said Myanmar's military acted "with genocidal intent" against the Rohingyas when it launched a military offensive in northern Rakhine state in response to a series of attacks by Rohingya militants on security outposts. Interviews conducted with hundreds of the 700,000 Rohingyas forced to flee across the border into Bangladesh revealed numerous atrocities, including gang rapes, the torching of entire villages and extrajudicial killings.
The panel has called for General Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar's military, and five other generals to be tried for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is also urging the Security Council to either refer the matter to the International Criminal Court, or create a special tribunal to further investigate.
China, a key ally of Myanmar, will likely use its veto power to prevent the Security Council from imposing sanctions on Myanmar. But it can not prevent the briefing, because the nine nations who made the request make up the required minimum to approve an agenda item.
