UN Human Rights Council Establishes Mechanism to Collect Evidence in Myanmar (September 28, 2018) [1]
On September 28, 2018, the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution [3] that calls for an independent mechanism to collect and analyze evidence in regard to the serious international crimes committed in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims and other minorities since 2011. The resolution requests that the independent mechanism “prepare files in order to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings, in accordance with international law standards, in national, regional or international courts or tribunals that have or may in the future have jurisdiction over these crimes.” As noted in the press release [4], the resolution also extends the mandate of the independent international fact-finding mission until the new mechanism is operational and “requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present a written report . . . on the root causes of the human rights violations and abuses the Rohingya Muslim minority and other minorities in Myanmar are facing.”