US Senator Wants Ruling on 'Crimes against Humanity' Charge against Regime

Influential US Sen John Kerry has asked US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to instruct her department to investigate whether the Burmese junta’s response to last month’s cyclone crisis constitutes a “crime against humanity.”

“I respectfully request that your department review whether the military junta’s inexcusable response to tropical Cyclone Nargis constitutes a crime against humanity under international law [and] that you provide me with your legal opinion,” Kerry said in the letter sent on Tuesday to Rice.

Under Article VII of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, “crime against humanity” is defined as certain acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.”

Such crimes, said Kerry, “include a residual category of ‘inhuman acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.’”

Kerry said the regime’s “systematic restrictions on international support” had “denied lifesaving” —and he added: “Our state department should be considering every possible tool to create leverage to force the junta to allow humanitarian aid to reach the people.”

Condoleezza Rice is scheduled on Thursday to chair a UN Security Council’s debate on “women, peace and security: sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.” The debate coincides with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s 63rd birthday.

The debate follows by one day condemnation by the UN Human Rights Council of Burma’s “ongoing systematic violations of human rights” after the cyclone crisis.

The Council also called in a resolution on the Burmese junta to fully implement commitments it made to UN head Ban Ki-moon to grant relief workers access to cyclone survivors. The resolution also appealed to the regime not to send victims of the disaster back to areas where they would not have access to emergency relief, and to ensure that any relocations were voluntary, safe and carried out with dignity.