Myanmar’s War on Muslims Constitutes ’Crimes against Humanity’: HRW

In a statement on Tuesday, HRW noted that Myanmar's security forces have committed "serious violations" that include rape and other sexual violence, murder, forced deportation and persecution of Rohingya Muslims.
 
"The Burmese [Myanmar] military is brutally expelling the Rohingya from northern Rakhine State," James Ross, legal and policy director at Human Rights Watch has said.
 
"The massacres of villagers and mass arson driving people from their homes are all crimes against humanity," he said.
 
In the past, HRW has also accused Buddhist monks in the area, as well as Myanmar security forces of "crimes against humanity".
 
"Attaching a legal label to the ghastly crimes ... may seem inconsequential," Ross said.
 
"But global recognition that crimes against humanity are taking place should stir the UN and concerned governments to action."
 
Last week, HRW called for the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo and sanctions on Myanmar's military to end its "ethnic cleansing campaign" against Rohingya Muslims.
 
Over 440,000 refugees have fled to Bangladesh since August 25 when Myanmar’s army launched a new brutal military campaign against Muslims in Rakhine.
 
Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as Myanmar's military, have faced widespread international condemnation over its treatment of the Rohingya.
 
The UN has called the Rohingya exodus from Myanmar to Bangladesh "the most urgent refugee emergency in the world".