UN rights chief says response to Myanmar crisis ‘ineffectual’

The UN Human Rights Office said that since the coup, at least 1,500 people had been killed by the military in a brutal effort to crush dissent, while thousands more would have been killed in the wider armed conflict and violence [File: Stringer/Reuters]

The United Nations human rights chief has urged world leaders to ramp up the pressure on Myanmar’s military rulers to cease violence against the country’s own people and quickly restore civilian rule.

Almost one year on since the military seized power in the country, UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said the country’s people had paid a high price in terms of lives and freedoms lost.