FROM THE DVB NEWSROOM
The U.N. Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) stated on Aug. 7 that pro-regime forces are increasingly committing “frequent and brazen war crimes” in Burma. This includes indiscriminate airstrikes, arson attacks, and summary executions of combatants and civilians.
“Our evidence points to a dramatic increase in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country, with widespread and systematic attacks against civilians, and we are building case files that can be used by courts to hold individual perpetrators responsible,” said Nicholas Koumjian, the head of IIMM.
The U.N. stated that IIMM evidence indicated that the military should have known or knew that civilians were present around its alleged targets. Eyewitness accounts, photographs, videos, documents and other evidence were used by the IIMM in its investigation.
The IIMM was created by the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2018 to investigate international crimes and violations of international law in Burma. It also collects evidence to be used in criminal prosecution against Burma at the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and in the courts of Argentina, where it has been assisting with the investigation into allegations of genocide and crimes against humanity carried out by senior Burmese officials against the Rohingya community in Rakhine State.
