At least 700,000 Muslim Rohingya have been driven out of Myanmar since an army operation was launched in Rakhine state in August. Britain, France, the United States and the UN have described the campaign as ethnic cleansing.
After a visit to Myanmar and Rakhine state in early May, the council noted that the government had agreed to investigate the allegations but said UN bodies such as the human rights office must be involved.
Undertaking independent and transparent “investigations into all allegations of human rights violations and abuses and holding accountable perpetrators of violence, with involvement of the international community… would turn this commitment into concrete action,” said the letter sent on May 31.