November 28, 2017 - 11:13 AM
GENEVA - The U.N.'s top human rights body has decided to hold a special session next week to focus on the plight faced by Rohingya Muslims after a bloody crackdown by Myanmar's security forces.
The Human Rights Council agreed to hold the Dec. 5 session after easily clearing the requirement for at least one-third of its 47 member states to request such a special session.
Council spokesman Rolando Gomez said Tuesday that a special request submitted by Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia has been supported by 73 states including 33 council members, or more than 70 per cent of its makeup.
The U.N. human rights chief has decried the treatment of the Rohingya as "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing."
More than 600,000 have been forced to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh since late August.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017