HRW: UN role needed in Myanmar

There can't be objective investigation into alleged abuses in ethnic areas of Myanmar until the United Nations gets involved, Human Rights Watch said. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has received praise from the international community for enacting a series of democratic reforms. Human Rights Watch, in an 83-page report, describes mistreatment allegedly carried out by members of Myanmar's military on displaced civilians in the northern state of Kachin. "The Burmese army is committing unchecked abuses in Kachin State while the government blocks humanitarian aid to those most in need," Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement from Bangkok. "Both the army and Kachin rebels need to act to prevent a bad situation for civilians from getting even worse." The rights organization alleges that soldiers have tortured civilians and conscripted children into military service. Similar claims were made against the Kachin Independence Army. Pearson called on Myanmar's government to ask the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to set up an office in the country. "An objective investigation into abuses in Burma's ethnic areas won't happen unless the United Nations is involved, and such an effort can help deter future abuses," she said.