22 September 2018 12:00 am
Montreal (dpa), Sep 21, 2018-Canada’s parliament unanimously adopted a motion on Thursday recognizing the brutal crackdown against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar as “an act of genocide.”
The motion introduced in the House of Commons by Liberal MP Andrew Leslie endorses the finding of a UN fact-finding mission that concluded crimes against humanity, sanctioned by the “highest levels of Myanmar military,” have been committed against the Rohingya and other minorities.
The motion recognizes these “horrific acts” as genocide and calls on the UN Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court.
The motion also calls for the senior members of Myanmar’s military to be “investigated and prosecuted for the crime of genocide.” However, it makes no mention of Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is an honorary Canadian citizen, a status she shares with the likes of Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, the Aga Khan and Malala Yousafzai.