Myanmar names Kofi Annan to head panel on Rohingya Muslims

Myanmar’s government has set up an advisory panel headed by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to find “lasting solutions” to the conflict in Rakhine state, where human rights groups have documented widespread abuses against the minority Rohingya Muslims.

 

 

Myanmar’s government has set up an advisory panel headed by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to find “lasting solutions” to the conflict in Rakhine state, where human rights groups have documented widespread abuses against the minority Rohingya Muslims.

A statement on Tuesday by the office of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi said an agreement will be signed between her office and the Kofi Annan Foundation to set up a nine-member advisory commission to resolve “protracted issues in the region.”

Another statement issued through the Kofi Annan Foundation in Geneva quoted the former U.N. chief as saying he is “pleased to support the national efforts to promote peace, reconciliation and development in Rakhine.”

The foundation’s statement also said the commission will convene its first meeting on Sept. 5 in Yangon, Myanmar’s biggest city, and submit its final report and recommendations to the Myanmar government in the second half of 2017.