Statement by Davíð Logi Sigurðsson, Director for Human Rights to the Third Committee

Interactive Dialogue with Chair of the former Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, Marzuki Darusman

22 October 2019

Statement by Iceland

Thank you, Mr./Mrs. Chairperson,

We would like to express our gratitude to Mr. Darusman and his colleagues on the Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which has now ended its mandate, for their valuable work.

We continue to be shocked by developments in Myanmar and the final report of the Fact-Finding Mission only serves to confirm fears that genocide and crimes against humanity may have been committed by the Myanmar Security Forces.

We thank the Fact-Finding Mission for addressing specifically sexual and gender-based violence, and gendered effects of the ethnic conflict, in a separate report issued in August. That report demonstrates that ethnic women and girls are doubly victimized: as women and girls and as members of ethnic minority communities. However, the Mission found further that men and boys have also been victims of sexual and gender-based violence by security forces, and so have people from the transgender community, in particular transgender Rohingya.

We are deeply disappointed by the complete lack of cooperation with the Mission´s work by the Government of Myanmar. Indeed, as the report makes clear, the Government of Myanmar appears utterly unwilling to end impunity for human rights violations, especially those committed by security forces.

The need for accountability is compelling and urgent, however, and the international community must therefore maintain its focus on this issue. While we welcome the fact that the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which was established by this Council through resolution 39/2, is now operational much more needs to be done still to ensure accountability; either by national or international courts.

I thank you.