Funding Cuts Threaten Justice for Rohingya: UN Investigation at Risk

Funding cuts from donors and U.N. cost-saving measures pose a significant threat to the UN's efforts to gather evidence and seek justice for the Rohingya people, who fled Myanmar's military offensive, the head of the investigation has revealed.

Nicholas Koumjian, head of The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, expressed concerns about the potential impact on efforts to bring justice. "Scaling back our work will severely hamper our ability to convict perpetrators," he told Reuters in Geneva, signaling a dangerous message of impunity.

As the U.N. mechanism faces funding shortages, critical projects, including ones addressing sexual violence and crimes against children, might be discontinued, disrupting vital work on serious human rights violations since Myanmar's 2021 coup.

(With inputs from agencies.)