Junta crackdown on civilians likely crimes against humanity: UN Rapporteur on Myanmar situation

Myanmar junta crackdown on the civilians may comprise crimes against humanity, said UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, calling for a united global response in the country's hour of need.

"The Myanmar junta's brutal response to peaceful protests likely meets the legal threshold for crimes against humanity," Tom Andrews told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

"The people of Myanmar need not only words of support but supportive action," he said in a statement Thursday. "They need the help of the international community, now."

Andrews stressed that a growing body of reporting indicates that the junta's security forces are committing acts of murder, imprisonment, persecution and other crimes as part of a coordinated campaign, directed against a civilian population, in a widespread and systematic manner, with the knowledge of the junta's leadership -- thereby likely meeting the legal threshold for crimes against humanity.

Since the military coup on February 1, at least 70 civilians were killed, while more than half of those killed were under the age of 25, Andrews said, adding that more than 2,000 people have been unlawfully detained since the coup and violence is steadily increasing.

With the UN Security Council seemingly unwilling to invoke its "Chapter VII authority", Andrews said member states must rally together to take action.

"Today I am therefore urging that as many Member States as possible commit to taking strong, decisive and coordinated action as a coalition of nations -- an Emergency Coalition for the People of Myanmar," he said.

Andrews outlined five options that such a coalition could choose to take immediately. They include stopping the flow of funds to the junta, including targeted sanctions on the junta's business enterprises and on Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, the single largest source of revenue to the State of Myanmar.

He also recommended imposing an international arms embargo, ensuring accountability for the crimes, through national courts using universal jurisdiction if the Security Council is unwilling to refer the matter to the International Criminal Court, and working directly with local civil society and aid organisations to provide humanitarian assistance whenever possible.

Andrews also called for denying recognition of the military junta as the legitimate government representing the people of Myanmar.

"I sincerely hope that the international community will rise to the occasion of this moment of history by following the lead and the inspiration of the people of Myanmar by coming to their aid as a coordinated whole, in this their moment of need," he said.