Arakan Army comes under UN scanner

FE Team | Published: January 19, 2025 23:26:15

FE REPORT
The UN investigation team on Myanmar will also look into the alleged involvement of the Arakan Army in atrocities against the Rohingya in Rakhine state, a senior UN official said on Sunday.
"We have a mandate to collect evidence committed by anyone, regardless of their ethnicity, religion and nationality, against anyone regardless of the victims," said Nicholas Koumjian, head of the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.
"So, of course, the Arakan Army and any other force, it's very important we'd look at any evidence that shows that they have committed serious international crimes," he added.
Mr Koumjian said the UN requested information from them about allegations of crimes, including crimes allegedly committed by the Arakan Army.
"They told us they would respond, but we have not received any response. We're awaiting that. We'll be sending more requests to them for more information."
"We want all players, all participants in the conflict in Myanmar to know we exist. There's a body watching, collecting evidence of these serious international crimes, and one day we're seeking justice for these crimes..."
Responding to a query, Mr Koumjian says unfortunately, there has been an increase in violations of very serious crimes recently.
"We've seen bombings that are affecting civilians all over the country, very serious attacks on targets that don't appear to be military in nature. We've also seen crimes in detention, including sexual violence and torture of people."
"Obviously, aerial bombings are done by the military authorities. We've seen, unfortunately, evidence of very serious crimes committed by other groups in Myanmar, and this also falls within our mandate, if they qualify as serious international crimes. We're trying to gather as much information as possible."
About his meeting with foreign ministry high-ups, he said, "In the meetings, we all acknowledge that the situation, unfortunately, is not getting better. It's getting worse. We see continued violence, and it's important we send a message to all the people in Myanmar, and particularly potential perpetrators, that someone is watching and collecting evidence."
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