The international community must take concerted, immediate measures to stem the spiral of violence in Myanmar, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a new report on Tuesday. In Myanmar, Bachelet said, the military has engaged in systematic and widespread human rights violations and abuses – some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity The report, released for the 49th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, said Myanmar's military and security forces have shown a flagrant disregard for human life, bombarding populated areas with airstrikes and heavy weapons and deliberately targeting civilians, many of whom have been shot in the head, burned to death, arbitrarily arrested, tortured or used as human shields, according to message received from Geneva. Read: New report reveals weapons transferred to Myanmar military junta by UN Member States Citing the determination of Myanmar's people in their opposition to the coup, Bachelet called on the international community to do all it can to resolve the crisis and hold perpetrators of gross violations of international human rights law accountable. "Throughout the tumult and violence of the past year, the will of the people has clearly not been broken. They remain committed to seeing a return to democracy and to institutions that reflect their will and aspirations," Bachelet said. Covering the period since the 1 February 2021 military takeover, the report is based on interviews with over 155 victims, witnesses, and advocates, whose accounts were corroborated with satellite imagery, verified multimedia files, and credible open-source information. Its findings, however, represent only a fraction of the violations and abuses Myanmar’s people have been subjected to since the coup. At least 1,600 people have been killed by security forces and their affiliates and more than 12,500 people have been detained. At least 440,000 others have been displaced and 14 million are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, the delivery of which has largely been blocked by the military in new and pre-existing areas of need. The report concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe the military, the Tatmadaw, had engaged in violence and abuse as part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against civilians – patterns of conduct that may amount to crimes against humanity. Mass killings have taken place. In July in Sagaing Region, soldiers killed 40 individuals in a series of raids; villagers found the remains of some victims with their hands and feet still tied behind their backs. In December in Kayah State, soldiers burned the bodies of up to 40 men, women and children; villagers described discovering the remains in several trucks, with bodies found in positions indicating they had tried to escape and were burnt alive. Detainees reported facing torture and other forms of ill-treatment during lengthy interrogations in military detention centres across Myanmar. This reportedly included suspension from the ceiling without food or water; being forced to stand for extended periods while in solitary confinement; electrocution, sometimes alongside injection of unidentified drugs; sexual violence, including rape; and forcing Muslim detainees to ingest pork. While most of the gross human rights violations documented were carried out by security forces, at least 543 individuals – including local administrators, their families and alleged informants – were also reportedly killed due to their perceived support of the military. Anti-coup armed elements claimed responsibility for 95 of the incidents. Read: EU imposes restrictive measures on 22 individuals, 4 entities in Myanmar "Meaningful action by the international community is urgently needed to stop yet more individuals from being stripped of their rights, their lives and their livelihoods," Bachelet said. "The appalling breadth and scale of violations of international law suffered by the people of Myanmar demand a firm, unified, and resolute international response."

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged the global community to turn their “words and rhetoric” over the Rohingya crisis into actions to reach a desired solution to the protracted problem.  “We need to go beyond words and rhetoric to have tangible actions to reach a desired outcome which is also the cherished desire of the Rohingyas. Bangladesh will continue to work with all until this solution comes,” she said. The Prime Minister said this while speaking a High-Level Side Event on “Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingya) crisis: Imperatives for a Sustainable Solution” here on Wednesday. Bangladesh arranged the event, while eight other countries, including the UK, Ireland, Turkey and Saudi Arabia cosponsored it.  

World Health Organization (WHO) Goodwill Ambassador for Autism in South-East Asia Region, has shared good practices from Bangladesh with the international community in supporting children with autism and their families during the pandemic, including through targeted support measures and use of ICTs.  "The children with autism and their families suffered disproportionately due to disruptions in their education and therapeutic services during the pandemic," said Saina, also Chairperson of the National Advisory Committee on Autism and Neuro-developmental Disorder, Bangladesh in a virtual roundtable in New York recently. She, however, said in Bangladesh the existing social support system, strong ICT infrastructure and robust community-based health services helped many families cope up with the challenges. On the occasion World Autism Awareness Day 2021, Bangladesh Permanent Mission, along with the Permanent Missions of Brazil, Kuwait, Poland, Qatar and Korea, UN DESA and Autism Speaks organised the virtual roundtable titled ‘Autism at the Covid-19 Pandemic: How Technology Can Support Equitable Global Response and Recovery’. Also read: Saima Wazed calls for CVF-COP26 resilience action plan to address challenges Referring to the increased awareness on autism, she said that ‘during the last seven years the National Advisory Committee on Autism in Bangladesh has worked together with various stakeholders, ministries and departments to mitigate the challenges and stigma faced by the persons with autism and other neuro-developmental disorders.”  

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday urged the global community to undertake concerted action to address the root causes of genocide and ensuring justice to the victims to prevent the recurrence of any future genocide anywhere in the world.

The United Kingdom has pledged life-saving support for Rohingya and urged the global community not to “turn away from Rohingya’s suffering” .

Bangladesh has urged the global community re-commit to use their scare resources for realizing sustainable development goals (SDGs), and making this world safe and livable for present and future generations.

Bangladesh will bring the unresolved Rohingya crisis before the global leaders on Saturday apparently reminding everybody of the failure to find a durable solution to the crisis amid Myanmar's non-fulfilment of repatriation pledge, officials said.

Experts from home and abroad have sought an unequivocal commitment from the world community to resolve the Rohingya refugee crisis in a sustainable manner and with a regional approach, recognising the fact that Bangladesh is currently hosting over 1.2 million Rohingyas within its borders.

Blame games derail global development and should have no place in civilized existence because they cause unnecessary anxiety, which only serves to exacerbate underdevelopment, a Zambian peace and development expert said on Friday.