The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee advances human rights through grassroots collaborations.

UUSC Statement in Response to the Arrest Warrant for Top Burma Military General

On November 27, prosecutor for the International Criminal Court Karim A.A. Khan KC issued a warrant for the arrest of Senior General and Acting President Min Aung Hlaing, Commander-in-Chief of the Burma Defence Services for the persecution and displacement of the Rohingya people in Burma. A culmination of a five-year investigation, the warrant alleges that Hlaing committed gross crimes against humanity in his weaponizing of the Burmese military to conduct operations contributing to the mass exodus of millions of Rohingya people between August and December of 2017.

In response to this new development, UUSC Senior Partnership Officer Myra Dahgaypaw issued the following statement:

“The ICC’s pursuit of Min Aung Hlaing marks a watershed moment for justice in Burma. This is the first time Burma’s top military commander faces potential accountability for systematically forcing over a million Rohingya from their homes. His regime’s pattern of crimes against humanity must end, and this arrest warrant signals that impunity will no longer be tolerated.”

UUSC has played a long-term role in supporting the Rohingya community in its efforts for justice and accountability in the face of the mass displacement and genocide of the Rohingya people and celebrates this development as the ICC moves to ensure that the military is held responsible for the death and displacement its caused.