38 Bangladesh, Burma and the Rohingya crisis 84. Dr Dasandi said: What has gone unrecognised in the past year is that you have had a diverse group of civil society organisations making strong statements in January and August last year. [ … ] In terms of opening up that space, obviously it is not going to be a big fix, where civil society will come in and solve all these problems. Certainly, there are actions that could be done to empower those who are willing, within Myanmar, to speak out, who are doing something to address some of these issues. It is a question of engagement. We have to include those groups, trying to work with those groups and trying to increase the influence of those groups.109 International Criminal Court referral 85. David Baulk of Fortify Rights said: When we think about what the international community can do now to help end mass human rights violations and hold the perpetrators of these accountable, it is absolutely fundamental that the Government of this country and others across the world speak up for what is happening to innocent people in Rakhine State, in Kachin State and elsewhere, and say that it is unacceptable and that the situation in Myanmar should be referred to the International Criminal Court. The Government of this country have a great deal of leverage in the UN Security Council and should be applying that in every way possible to help bring criminal accountability for these crimes.110 86. Burma Campaign UK: The British government has refused to support, in principle, the UN Security Council (UNSC) referring the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court (ICC). When asked about their position, they hide behind the argument that there is no consensus at the UNSC in support of this, or that Russia and China would veto a resolution. This is deliberately misleading. Consensus can only start to be built when a member seeks to build support. The British government does not as yet support the UNSC making a referral. Taking soundings on existing positions is very different from actively seeking support. Nor is there an automatic obligation on rushing for a resolution if the UK supports a UNSC referral. It would be more sensible to take the time to build support within the whole UN membership to increase the chances of overcoming opposition. This process can’t start when the UK doesn’t support a referral itself. The process of countries publicly supporting a referral to the ICC could in itself make the military think twice before launching further attacks as it will reduce their sense of impunity.111 109 110 111 Q202 Q166 Burma Campaign UK Briefing: British government response to the Rohingya crisis House of Lords Debate, 10th May 2018