UN General Assembly
2020

It is noteworthy that the Judge Advocate General of Myanmar will not stop with the third case. In his announcement on 15 September 2020, he also stated that an investigation of possible wider patterns of violations in the region of northern Rakhine in 2016-2017 has started. Such alleged regional patterns of conduct could include, for example, “inadequate distinction between civilians and ARSA fighters, disproportionate use of force, [...] failure to prevent plundering or property destruction, or acts of forcible displacement of civilians”. These possible patterns of conduct across northern Rakhine in 2016-2017 are now subject to the new, regional investigation, based on the three above-mentioned cases, the ICoE final report, and other information. This represents highly significant progress in the domestic accountability process.