We are very welcomes the decision of the Irish Government to support the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. Ireland joins France, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania in backing the proposal for an investigation into human rights abuses in Burma.
In March 2010, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Burma called on the UN to consider the possibility of establishing a Commission of Inquiry into crimes committed in Burma which violate international law, stating that the abuses were 'a state policy that involves authorities in the executive, military and judiciary at all levels'. Human rights violations committed by the Burmese military include deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, sexual violence against women and young girls, forced labour, use of child soldiers, forced displacement of more than a million people, torture, and summary executions.
