"The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar is pleased to provide this oral update on its work, as required by Council decision 36/115. We are focusing on establishing the facts and circumstances of alleged human rights violations and abuses in Myanmar, in particular in Rakhine, Kachin and northern Shan States, since 2011. The Fact-Finding Mission has made significant progress in fulfilling its mandate. Other international mechanisms and officials, non-governmental organizations, and the media have been reporting on events as they occurred. We have been able to proceed more deeply and broadly. We ourselves have undertaken missions to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and the United Kingdom and our teams have spent a significant amount of time gathering information in these and other locations. We and our teams have made many visits to the region, each of several weeks. We have now conducted over 600 in-depth interviews with victims and witnesses of alleged human rights violations and abuses. Additionally, we have held numerous consultations with experts, activists, civil society actors and diplomats. We are in contact with people and organizations who are keen to share their information, including the raw data for their research, and we have received a number of formal submissions. We have also received and analysed satellite imagery, photographs and video footage of events. We are proceeding thoroughly, meticulously, to gather information, analyse it and draw conclusions. The Myanmar Government has rejected the need for and blocked every attempt of an independent and impartial investigation, including by ourselves. From the beginning, we reached out to the Government of Myanmar to seek dialogue and to be able to visit to conduct inquiries on the ground. We proposed a mission to the country for specific dates in February. This was denied on our proposed starting date..."