UN chief urges accountability for Myanmar crimes on Rohingya

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling for accountability for the "horrendous persecution" of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and Sweden and the Netherlands are urging the Security Council to refer the crimes to the International Criminal Court.

But China, which has close ties to Myanmar's government, says the international community should stop putting pressure on Myanmar and let its government work out the repatriation of Rohingya refugees as soon as possible with Bangladesh, where nearly one million have fled.

Yesterday's council meeting, commemorating the one-year anniversary of Myanmar's latest violent crackdown that led about 700,000 Rohingya to flee, reflected the deep division over addressing the Rohingya crisis.

It followed Monday's report by UN-appointed human rights investigators who called for Myanmar's military leaders to be prosecuted for genocide against the Rohingya.