The SPDC is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity – and getting away with it. Killings, torture, rape, forced relocation, the use of child soldiers, and other international crimes are being committed under a system of total impunity.
Burma’s State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) is refusing to uphold its legal obligations under international human rights law, customary international law, and Security Council Resolutions 1325 (addressing disproportionate impact of conflict on women) and 1820 (addressing sexual violence against civilians). The SPDC has engaged in systematic human rights violations including killings and forced disappearances, rape and other forms of gender-based violence, forced labor and relocation, and other serious violations of international law. These crimes are widespread, and are targeted specifically at civilian populations. Victims have no recourse to justice in Burma. Worse still, article 445 of the 2008 constitution purports to grant amnesty for SPDC leaders for all crimes, further decreasing the hopes of bringing perpetrators to justice.
Articles 7 and 8 of the Rome Statute, the treaty that initiated the International Criminal Court, include the crimes listed above in their definitions of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The International Criminal Court would therefore have jurisdiction over leaders of the SPDC if the United Nations Security Council referred the situation to the Court.
Extensive evidence demonstrates that some leaders of the SPDC - mainly Senior General Than Shwe and his elite military leaders - are committing crimes against humanity and war crimes as defined in the Rome Statute under systematic impunity. This evidence is sufficient for the United Nations Security Council to form an international commission of inquiry to investigate these crimes in Burma. If the commission finds evidence of war crimes or crimes against humanity, the United Nations Security Council can then refer Burmese leaders to the International Criminal Court. The Burma Lawyers’ Council calls upon the international human rights community to uphold its responsibility to protect civilians in Burma by urging the United Nations Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry.
Interested human rights advocates and organizations should write letters to members of the United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Secretary General, urging them to establish a commission of inquiry in Burma.
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