06 December,2017 01:26 PM IST | Geneva | Agencies
Myanmar's security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, the United Nations' top human rights official said on Tuesday
Myanmar's security forces may be guilty of genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority, the United Nations' top human rights official said on Tuesday, adding that more were fleeing despite an agreement between Myanmar and Bangladesh to send them home. Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that none of the 6,26,000 Rohingya who have fled violence since August should be repatriated to Myanmar unless there was robust monitoring on the ground.
Six lakh Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh. Representation pic/AFP
He described "concordant reports of acts of appalling barbarity committed against the Rohingya". "Can anyone rule out that elements of genocide may be present?" he told the 47-member state forum. Zeid urged the Council to recommend that the UN General Assembly establish a new mechanism "to assist individual criminal investigations of those responsible".
