(Tokyo) - Japan should publicly support the establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, Human Rights Watch and five other nongovernmental organizations said in a letter to Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara made public today.
Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Now, Burmese Relief Center-Japan, People's Forum on Burma (Japan), Amnesty International Japan, and BurmaInfo urged Japan to support a resolution on Burma which includes language establishing a United Nations Commission of Inquiry at the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly. This move follows the March 2010 statement by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, calling on the UN to consider establishing a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity committed in Burma.
"Establishing an international Commission of Inquiry would be a significant step to end impunity in Burma," said Kanae Doi, Japan director at Human Rights Watch. "As one of the few Asian member states of the International Criminal Court and a major Asian democracy, Japan is in the unique position to take the lead in reaching out to other Asian neighbors to join this critical movement to seek justice for Burma's people."
For years, the UN has documented and publicly reported on serious, widespread, and systemic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Burma. To date, there have been 19 resolutions on Burma passed by the UN General Assembly.
The letter states that the UN must move beyond this status quo of documenting rights violations and passing annual resolutions on the grave human rights situation in Burma. The six organizations called on Japan to play an active and leading role in supporting this international Commission of Inquiry, and to ensure the investigation covers violations perpetrated by any and all of the parties to Burma's long-running civil conflict.
The groups state that "it is time for Japan and other like-minded states to ensure that these crimes will be subject to greater international scrutiny and take steps to halt the cycle of impunity in Burma. The establishment of an international Commission of Inquiry is an important first step."
Several EU member states such as the United Kingdom, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands, as well as the governments of the United States, Australia, and New Zealand have now publicly announced their support for an international commission to investigate crimes in Burma.
Human Rights Watch also released today an extensive document on "Frequently Asked Questions" in Japanese that provides detailed explanations of various issues relating to accountability for crimes in violation of international law in Burma.
"The victims of serious international crimes in Burma deserve recognition and justice," Doi said. "The new foreign minister Maehara should take this opportunity to assume a leadership role in bringing about human rights improvement in Burma."
