Latest news with #IIIM
The Star
a day ago
- Politics
- The Star
Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, UN report says
Military personnel in tanks participates in a parade on Armed Forces Day in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 27, 2021. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo GENEVA (Reuters) -United Nations investigators said on Tuesday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the senior perpetrators. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIIM), formed in 2018 to analyse evidence of serious violations of international law, said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, strangulations and other forms of torture like the removal of fingernails with pliers. "We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities," Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism said in a statement accompanying the 16-page report. The torture sometimes resulted in death, the report said. Children, who are often unlawfully detained as proxies for their missing parents, were among those tortured, it said. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The military-backed government has not responded to over two dozen requests by the U.N. team for information about the alleged crimes and requests to access the country, the U.N. report said. The military says it has a duty to ensure peace and security. It has denied atrocities have taken place and has blamed "terrorists" for causing unrest. The findings in the report covering a one-year period through to June 30 were based on information from more than 1,300 sources, including hundreds of eyewitness testimonies as well as forensic evidence, documents and photographs. The list of perpetrators identified so far includes high-level commanders, the report said. An IIIM spokesperson declined to name them, saying investigations are ongoing and it wanted to avoid alerting the individuals. The report also said that both Myanmar security forces and opposition armed groups had carried out summary executions in the conflict, and it had identified those responsible. A government spokesperson and an opposition spokesperson were not immediately available for comment. Myanmar has been in chaos since a 2021 military coup against an elected civilian government plunged the country into civil war. Tens of thousands of people have been detained since then in an attempt to silence opponents and recruit soldiers, the United Nations says. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ended a four-year state of emergency last month and announced the formation of a newgovernment, with himself as acting president, ahead of a planned election. The IIIM is investigating abuses in Myanmar since 2011, including both crimes committed against the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017 when hundreds of thousands were forced to flee a military crackdown and violations affecting all groups since the coup. The IIIM said that it is supporting several jurisdictions investigating the alleged crimes, such as Britain. However, the IIIM said in its report that U.N. budget cuts are threatening its work. "These financial pressures threaten the Mechanism's ability to sustain its critical work and to continue supporting international and national justice efforts," it said. (Reporting by Emma Farge; Additional reporting by Reuters staff; editing by Giles Elgood)
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, UN report says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox GENEVA - United Nations investigators said on Tuesday they have found evidence of systematic torture by Myanmar security forces and identified some of the senior perpetrators. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIIM), formed in 2018 to analyse evidence of serious violations of international law, said victims were subject to beatings, electric shocks, strangulations and other forms of torture like the removal of fingernails with pliers. "We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities," Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism said in a statement accompanying the 16-page report. The torture sometimes resulted in death, the report said. Children, who are often unlawfully detained as proxies for their missing parents, were among those tortured, it said. A spokesperson for Myanmar's military-backed government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The military-backed government has not responded to over two dozen requests by the U.N. team for information about the alleged crimes and requests to access the country, the U.N. report said. The military says it has a duty to ensure peace and security. It has denied atrocities have taken place and has blamed "terrorists" for causing unrest. The findings in the report covering a one-year period through to June 30 were based on information from more than 1,300 sources, including hundreds of eyewitness testimonies as well as forensic evidence, documents and photographs. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore NEL, Sengkang LRT resume service after hours-long power fault; Punggol LRT remains down Singapore Live: NEL services resume fully; Sengkang-Punggol LRT services still unavailable Singapore Plan to base Singapore's F-15 fighter jets in Guam cancelled Business Singapore raises 2025 economic growth forecast but warns of uncertainty from US tariffs Singapore Off-duty SCDF officer dies after accident in Punggol; 15-year-old pillion rider taken to hospital Singapore 14 political parties asked for proof of existence have yet to comply with foreign interference law: MHA Business Goh Cheng Liang, Nippon Paint billionaire and richest Singaporean, dies aged 98 Business StarHub buys rest of MyRepublic's broadband business in $105m deal; comes after Simba buys M1 The list of perpetrators identified so far includes high-level commanders, the report said. An IIIM spokesperson declined to name them, saying investigations are ongoing and it wanted to avoid alerting the individuals. The report also said that both Myanmar security forces and opposition armed groups had carried out summary executions in the conflict, and it had identified those responsible. A government spokesperson and an opposition spokesperson were not immediately available for comment. Myanmar has been in chaos since a 2021 military coup against an elected civilian government plunged the country into civil war. Tens of thousands of people have been detained since then in an attempt to silence opponents and recruit soldiers, the United Nations says. Junta chief Min Aung Hlaing ended a four-year state of emergency last month and announced the formation of a new government, with himself as acting president, ahead of a planned election. The IIIM is investigating abuses in Myanmar since 2011, including both crimes committed against the mainly Muslim Rohingya minority in 2017 when hundreds of thousands were forced to flee a military crackdown and violations affecting all groups since the coup. The IIIM said that it is supporting several jurisdictions investigating the alleged crimes, such as Britain. However, the IIIM said in its report that U.N. budget cuts are threatening its work. "These financial pressures threaten the Mechanism's ability to sustain its critical work and to continue supporting international and national justice efforts," it said. REUTERS
Deccan Herald
13-06-2025
- Health
- Deccan Herald
J&K farmers turn to lavender cultivation for better profits
The shift toward lavender began in the mid-2000s under the Union government's Aroma Mission, led by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM).
Deccan Herald
04-05-2025
- Science
- Deccan Herald
Indian student wins US scholarship, to receive $10,000 for college tuition
Mentored by a senior scientist at CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) Jammu, Nasir Ul Rasheed, under the Jigyasa Hackathon initiative, the innovation of Bamrah, a class 12 student of Dalhousie Public School, stood out among thousands of global applicants, earning him one of the five coveted scholarships awarded worldwide this year, according to the statement.
Arab News
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
US lobbied UN rights council to dilute Pakistan's Gaza proposal, diplomats say
GENEVA: Two months after President Donald Trump announced a halt to US engagement with the United Nations Human Rights Council, Washington is influencing its work by applying pressure publicly and behind the scenes, seven diplomats and rights workers said. The United States left its seat empty during a six-week session of the 47-member council ending on Friday, but its lobbying and pressure had some success, the sources told Reuters. They said the US, which has accused the council of an anti-Israel bias, had focused on blunting a proposal by Pakistan on the creation of an International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), the most rigorous type of UN investigation, on Israel's actions in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The version of Pakistan's proposal that was passed on Wednesday by the council, whose mission is to promote and protect human rights worldwide, did not include the creation of the IIIM. The council already has a commission of inquiry on the Palestinian Territories, but Pakistan's proposal would have created an additional probe with extra powers to gather evidence for possible use in international courts. A March 31 letter sent by Brian Mast, Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, and James R. Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, cautioned against voting the proposal through. 'Any HRC member state or UN entity that supports an Israel-specific IIM ... will face the same consequences as the ICC faced,' the letter said. It appeared to be referring to sanctions approved by the House of Representatives on the International Criminal Court in protest at its arrest warrants for Israel's prime minister and former defence minister over Israel's campaign in Gaza. The final version of Pakistan's proposal referred only to an invitation to the UN General Assembly to consider an IIIM in the future. Two Geneva-based diplomats said they had received messages from US diplomats before the change of wording asking them to oppose the new investigation. 'They were saying: 'back off on this issue,'' said one, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Reuters could not establish whether the revision was a direct result of US actions. A US State Department spokesperson said it was complying with the executive order signed by Trump on Feb. 4 withdrawing the US from the council and would not participate in it, adding: 'As a matter of policy, we do not comment on private diplomatic conversations.' Pakistan's diplomatic mission in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment. 'The US seems to be trying to have it both ways. It doesn't want to pay for or participate in the UN but it still wants to boss it around,' said Lucy McKernan, Deputy Director for United Nations at Human Rights Watch's Geneva office. 'RAW POWER' The US and Israel are not members of the council but, like all UN member states have informal observer status and a seat in the council's meeting chamber. International human rights institutions are now at a critical juncture, said Phil Lynch, Director of International Service for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization. 'We are potentially confronting a future characterised by lawlessness and raw power,' he said. The US was once the top donor to the UN rights system, but Trump has said the UN is 'not being well run' and aid cuts by his administration have forced scalebacks. The US and Israel have also opposed the mandate of one of the council's independent experts during this session. The Israeli ambassador said on March 24 that Francesca Albanese, a critic of Israeli actions in Gaza, had breached a UN code of conduct through 'blatant antisemitic behaviour and discourse,' a diplomatic note showed. The US State Department spokesperson said Albanese was 'unfit for her role.' 'The correspondence received is under consideration,' council spokesperson Pascal Sim said, adding that whenever the council makes a nomination, 'it does so with the knowledge that the mandate-holder is expected to serve up to six years in this function.' The internal body that ensures UN experts adhere to a code of conduct condemned what it described as a coordinated campaign against Albanese, according to a letter from the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures dated 28 March. It found no evidence to support Israel's complaints against Albanese. However, it is introducing social media guidelines for UN experts in light of some concerns raised about her X posts.
