UN: How much suffering until Rohingya plight is seen?

The UN human rights chief on Tuesday warned of the genocide of Myanmar's Rohingya and called for international criminal investigation of the perpetrators of "widespread, systematic and shockingly brutal" attacks against the Rohingya, as well as decades of discrimination and persecution.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein urged a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on the current situation of the minority Rohingya Muslim population in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state "to take the appropriate action to stop this madness now".

"How much do people have to endure before their suffering is acknowledged and their identity and rights are recognized, by their government and by the world?" he told a special session of the council in Geneva.

Decrying "the decades of statelessness imposed on the Rohingya, policies of dehumanizing discrimination and segregation, and the horrific violence and abuse, along with the forced displacement and systematic destruction of villages, homes, property and livelihoods," Al Hussein asked, "Can anyone rule out that elements of genocide may be present?"

"Ultimately, this is a legal determination only a competent court can make. But the concerns are extremely serious, and clearly call for access to be immediately granted for further verification," he added.

Explaining that his office sent three teams to Bangladesh this year to monitor the situation and interview refugees, he said: "Witnesses reported acts of appalling barbarity committed against the Rohingya, including deliberately burning people to death inside their homes; murders of children and adults; indiscriminate shooting of fleeing civilians; widespread rapes of women and girls; and the burning and destruction of houses, schools, markets and mosques."

Zeid said he had reported to both the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council about the persistent allegations of serious human rights violations by security forces, adding: "Prosecutions for alleged acts of violence against them, including sexual violence -- whether committed by security forces or civilians -- appeared to be extremely rare."

- 'Extreme brutality'

Marzuki Darusman, the chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, also said: "Victims and witnesses recounted to us acts of extreme brutality against the Rohingya, especially since August.

"We heard numerous testimonies alleging killings, arbitrary detentions, sexual violence, torture, disappearances, and arson of entire villages. We fear that the number of casualties might be very high indeed."

Separately, Joel Millman, the spokesman for the UN migration agency IOM, told a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday: "It is now over 100 days since an upsurge in violence in Myanmar's Northern Rakhine State forced some 625,792 Rohingya refugees to flee into Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The conditions of the congested settlements, where the refugees are now living, are extremely dire."

Since Aug. 25, over 620,000 Rohingya have crossed from Myanmar's western state of Rakhine into Bangladesh, according to the UN.

The refugees are fleeing a military operation in which security forces and Buddhist mobs have killed men, women and children, looted homes, and torched Rohingya villages. According to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmood Ali, around 3,000 Rohingya have been killed in the crackdown.

The Rohingya, described by the UN as the world's most persecuted people, have faced heightened fears of attack since dozens were killed in communal violence in 2012.

The UN documented mass gang rapes, killings -- including of infants and young children -- brutal beatings, and disappearances committed by security personnel. In a report, UN investigators said such violations may have constituted crimes against humanity.