UN envoy to Myanmar: perpetrators of Rohingya attacks must be held accountable

AFP  |  United Nations 

The new UN for told authorities in Naypyidaw during her first visit that credible measures were needed to establish accountability for the violence that engulfed and drove 700,000 Rohingya from their homes, a UN statement said today.

"In all discussions, the underlined the importance of accountability, which she highlighted was essential for genuine reconciliation," said a statement on the results of her visit.

Schraner Burgener "urged for credible fact-finding measures" and said the was ready to cooperate to establish such steps.

Schraner Burgener will travel soon to where 700,000 Muslim Rohingya are sheltering in camps after being driven from their homes by an army campaign.

has said the military operation launched in August in northern is aimed at rooting out extremists.

After visiting camps of displaced Rohingya in Rakhine, Schraner Burgener also suggested that authorities hold public meetings with the affected communities to encourage "reconciliation and healing".

The former Swiss to Germany, who was appointed in April, also plans to visit and

The as well as the United States, and Britain have described the military campaign in Rakhine as "ethnic cleansing" and is pushing for a full investigation of allegations of atrocities.

Myanmar has refused to allow a fact-finding mission set up by the to enter the country, and has barred UN rights expert

The visited Myanmar and in early May, meeting with refugees who gave detailed accounts of killings, rape and torching of villages at the hands of

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First Published: Thu, June 21 2018. 21:30 IST