sexual violence specifically perpetrated by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces). In a United Nations Security Council meeting, human rights activist Razia Sultana told a panel about the sexual violence in the conflict, based on research and interviews with Rohingyas she had conducted. Sultana claimed that there was evidence of soldiers raping more than 300 women and girls in 17 villages in Rakhine State. Hau Do Suan, Myanmar's representative to the United Nations, rejected the claims and stated that the report implicating the military was done based on unverified allegations. In September 2020, the Tatmadaw launched criminal proceedings against three soldiers who had gang-raped a woman and attempted to rape her daughter in Ugar village of Rathedaung Township on 29 June. The Tatmadaw had previously denied the accusations as false on 2 July. All three were sentenced to 20 years in prison with hard labour in December. Reactions The military crackdown on Rohingya people drew criticism from various quarters. On 30 December 2016, nearly two dozen prominent human rights activists, including Malala Yousafzai, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Richard Branson, called on the United Nations Security Council to intervene and end the "ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity" being perpetrated in northern Rakhine State. High officials from the United Nations, and international organisations such as the human rights group Amnesty International, have labelled the military crackdown on the Rohingya minority as "crimes against humanity" and "ethnic cleansing", adding that the military had made the civilians a target of "a systematic campaign of violence". Amnesty International's Regional Director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, James Gomez, said on 19 October 2017: "Aung San Suu Kyi today demonstrated that she and her government are still burying their heads in the sand over the horrors unfolding in Rakhine State. At times, her speech amounted to little more than a mix of untruths and victim blaming." In August 2017, a government-appointed commission rejected allegations of human rights violations and ethnic cleansing, calling them "exaggerations". In September 2017, Desmond Tutu wrote an open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi urging her "to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people". Nobel Laureates Malala and Bishop Tutu again appealed to Aung San Suu Kyi to intercede on behalf of the Rohingya, and on 6 September 2017 Pope Francis called for an end to "persecution" of the Rohingya. On 14 September, U.S. Secretary of State