2017-03-21
I give notice that on the next day of sitting I shall move that
The Senate –
1. notes:
a. the deeply concerning reports of the persecution of the Rohingya people in Rakhine State in Myanmar, including United Nations’ estimates of the deaths of more than 1,000 people in a recent crackdown and the displacement of at least 97,000 Rohingya;
b. the appalling reports, documented by Human Rights Watch, of arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial killings, and sexual violence, including the rape of women and girls, which appear to be part of coordinated and systematic attacks on Rohingya villagers;
c. that the Australian Senate unanimously passed a motion on 16 February 2017 inviting the Government to consider calling for a UN Commission of Inquiry into human rights abuses in Myanmar;
d. but that subsequently the Australian Government has indicated its willingness to support Myanmar’s national-level inquiries like the Investigation Commission, despite the fact that the Investigation Commission is neither credible nor impartial.
2. Urges the Australian Government to:
a. co-sponsor the Myanmar resolution tabled by the European Union on 16 March 2017 at the United Nations Human Rights Council, which calls for an urgent independent international Fact Finding Mission into human rights abuses in Rakhine State.
Senator Scott Ludlam
Australian Greens
Motion Foreign Affairs