Bill Richardson, a former United States diplomat, New Mexico ex-governor, and a prominent figure in American politics passed away at the age of 75, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement said on Saturday (September 2). He was most known for making his mark on the world stage as a negotiator by securing the release of Americans and others held by various autocratic governments.&nbsp;

<h2>About his death</h2>

The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led, said that he died in his sleep at his summer home in Chatham, Massachusetts.&nbsp;

“He lived his entire life in the service of others — including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” said vice president of the Richardson Center Mickey Bergman, in a statement.&nbsp;

He added, “The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend.”

<h2>Career at home and abroad</h2>

Richardson was said to be one of the highest-profile Latinos in American politics and was the first Latino to run for the US presidency but eventually backed Barack Obama’s bid in 2007. &nbsp;

He made his name as the “Indiana Jones” of US diplomacy for his daring head-to-head encounters with leaders of countries that America perceived as a threat, including Iraq’s late president Saddam Hussein, Cuba’s late leader Fidel Castro, and Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro.

Richardson served from 1982 to 1996 as a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, US ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary, both under former President Bill Clinton.&nbsp;

Richardson was also elected as the governor of New Mexico and served between 2003 and 2011.&nbsp;

More recently, he was involved in efforts that led to the release of American basketball player <a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/us-basketball-star-brittney-griner-on-her-way-home-confirms-joe-biden-541338">Brittney Griner</a> in December from a Russian prison after she was convicted of a drug offence.&nbsp;

Richardson was known for using his deft negotiating skills and personal warmth to act both as a formal representative of the US and later as a freelance troubleshooter on private humanitarian missions which secured the release of several Americans stuck overseas including North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan, Iraq, Iran and Cuba.

However, his work with authoritarian figures sometimes landed him in hot water with critics and rights activists who accused him of offering legitimacy to unsavoury regimes. “I don’t legitimize governments…I’m just one person that is trying to make a difference,” he once told AFP.&nbsp;

<h2>Early life</h2>

The son of a Mexican mother and an American father, born on November 15, 1947, in Pasadena, California, William Blaine Richardson spent his youth in Mexico City, where his bank executive father headed Citibank and his mother worked as a bank secretary.&nbsp;

He later attended a prep school in the state of Massachusetts where was a star baseball player. Richardson graduated from Tufts University with a degree in international relations and later earned a master’s degree in international affairs.

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp; 
 
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Bill Richardson, a former United States diplomat, New Mexico ex-governor, and a prominent figure in American politics passed away at the age of 75, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement said on Saturday (September 2).

Bill Richardson, a former United States diplomat, New Mexico ex-governor, and a prominent figure in American politics passed away at the age of 75, the Richardson Center for Global Engagement said on Saturday (September 2). He was most known for making his mark on the world stage as a negotiator by securing the release of Americans and others held by various autocratic governments. About his death The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led, said that he died in his sleep at his summer home in Chatham, Massachusetts. “He lived his entire life in the service of others — including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,” said vice president of the Richardson Center Mickey Bergman, in a statement. He added, “The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend.” Career at home and abroad Richardson was said to be one of the highest-profile Latinos in American politics and was the first Latino to run for the US presidency but eventually backed Barack Obama’s bid in 2007. He made his name as the “Indiana Jones” of US diplomacy for his daring head-to-head encounters with leaders of countries that America perceived as a threat, including Iraq’s late president Saddam Hussein, Cuba’s late leader Fidel Castro, and Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro. Richardson served from 1982 to 1996 as a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, US ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary, both under former President Bill Clinton. Richardson was also elected as the governor of New Mexico and served between 2003 and 2011. More recently, he was involved in efforts that led to the release of American basketball player Brittney Griner in December from a Russian prison after she was convicted of a drug offence. Richardson was known for using his deft negotiating skills and personal warmth to act both as a formal representative of the US and later as a freelance troubleshooter on private humanitarian missions which secured the release of several Americans stuck overseas including North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan, Iraq, Iran and Cuba. However, his work with authoritarian figures sometimes landed him in hot water with critics and rights activists who accused him of offering legitimacy to unsavoury regimes. “I don’t legitimize governments…I’m just one person that is trying to make a difference,” he once told AFP. Early life The son of a Mexican mother and an American father, born on November 15, 1947, in Pasadena, California, William Blaine Richardson spent his youth in Mexico City, where his bank executive father headed Citibank and his mother worked as a bank secretary. He later attended a prep school in the state of Massachusetts where was a star baseball player. Richardson graduated from Tufts University with a degree in international relations and later earned a master’s degree in international affairs. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Bill Richardson, globe-trotting US diplomat, brilliant negotiator and former New Mexico governor, dies at 75

Former United States diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson has arrived in Myanmar on a "private humanitarian mission", his organisation said, as the country enters nine months under a junta that has detained a US journalist.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Unable to quell dissent, security forces have launched a bloody crackdown that has killed more than 1,200 people, according to a local monitoring group.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-junta-refuses-to-negotiate-with-coup-dissidents-423381">Myanmar junta refuses to negotiate with coup dissidents</a>

Former UN ambassador Richardson will "discuss&nbsp;humanitarian delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, medical supplies, and other public health needs," his organisation, the Richardson Center, said in a statement announcing his departure on Sunday.

The statement did not mention whether Richardson would raise the case of American journalist Danny Fenster, who was detained in May and has since been charged with encouraging dissent against the military and unlawful association.

The managing editor of local news outlet Frontier Myanmar, Fenster was detained at Yangon International Airport as he attempted to leave the country.

He is currently on trial and faces six years in jail if convicted on both charges.

Local media Myanmar Now reported that Richardson was due to meet the junta leader and other senior officials.

AFP has contacted the military's spokesman for comment.

Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico, has negotiated "the release of hostages and American servicemen in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and the Sudan," according to his centre's website.&nbsp;

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/myanmar-junta-leader-blames-opponents-for-prolonging-unrest-421896">Myanmar junta leader blames opponents for prolonging unrest</a>

His last visit to Myanmar was in 2018, as part of a panel created to advise on violence in Rakhine State -- the site of a 2017 army crackdown that triggered an exodus of more than 700,000 stateless Muslim Rohingya.

But he abruptly resigned after the trip, accusing Suu Kyi of lacking "moral leadership" over the crisis.&nbsp;

Richardson also said he stepped down due to fears the committee would "whitewash" the causes of the Rohingya crisis, over which Myanmar is now being investigated on genocide charges.&nbsp;

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, now the junta chief, was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown.

Former United States diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson has arrived in Myanmar on a "private humanitarian mission", his organisation said, as the country enters nine months under a junta that has detained a US journalist.

Former United States diplomat and hostage negotiator Bill Richardson has arrived in Myanmar on a "private humanitarian mission", his organisation said, as the country enters nine months under a junta that has detained a US journalist. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the February coup ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Unable to quell dissent, security forces have launched a bloody crackdown that has killed more than 1,200 people, according to a local monitoring group. Also Read | Myanmar junta refuses to negotiate with coup dissidents Former UN ambassador Richardson will "discuss humanitarian delivery of COVID-19 vaccines, medical supplies, and other public health needs," his organisation, the Richardson Center, said in a statement announcing his departure on Sunday. The statement did not mention whether Richardson would raise the case of American journalist Danny Fenster, who was detained in May and has since been charged with encouraging dissent against the military and unlawful association. The managing editor of local news outlet Frontier Myanmar, Fenster was detained at Yangon International Airport as he attempted to leave the country. He is currently on trial and faces six years in jail if convicted on both charges. Local media Myanmar Now reported that Richardson was due to meet the junta leader and other senior officials. AFP has contacted the military's spokesman for comment. Richardson, a former governor of New Mexico, has negotiated "the release of hostages and American servicemen in North Korea, Cuba, Iraq and the Sudan," according to his centre's website. Also Read | Myanmar junta leader blames opponents for prolonging unrest His last visit to Myanmar was in 2018, as part of a panel created to advise on violence in Rakhine State -- the site of a 2017 army crackdown that triggered an exodus of more than 700,000 stateless Muslim Rohingya. But he abruptly resigned after the trip, accusing Suu Kyi of lacking "moral leadership" over the crisis. Richardson also said he stepped down due to fears the committee would "whitewash" the causes of the Rohingya crisis, over which Myanmar is now being investigated on genocide charges. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, now the junta chief, was head of the armed forces during the 2017 crackdown.

Former US diplomat and hostage negotiator on visit to Myanmar

Who's Who in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal

A woman who <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/billionaire-financier-jeffrey-epstein-found-injured-in-jail-cell-media-238325">accused Jeffrey Epstein</a> of keeping her as a sex slave said one of the financier's associates had instructed her to have sex with at least a half-dozen prominent men, according to a court filing unsealed on Friday in a civil lawsuit.

The claim by Virginia Giuffre came in a deposition that was included among roughly 2,000 pages of documents related to her defamation lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate whom Giuffre has said helped Epstein procure girls for sex.

Lawyers for Maxwell did not respond to several phone and email requests for comment.

Epstein has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14, from at least 2002 to 2005. He is being held in a Manhattan jail.

Lawyers for Epstein did not respond to requests for comment outside business hours. Maxwell has not been criminally charged.

The Giuffre deposition and the other documents were released after a federal appeals court in Manhattan rejected Maxwell's bid to keep them under seal.

Giuffre claimed in a May 3, 2016, deposition that Maxwell directed her to have sex with people including former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former US Senator George Mitchell, modelling agent Jean Luc Brunel, and financier Glenn Dubin.

It was not clear from the deposition transcript included in the court documents how old Giuffre was at the time of the alleged direction.

The transcript does not indicate whether Giuffre actually engaged in sex with the four men.

None of the four men has been criminally charged in connection with Epstein.

Richardson, Mitchell, and Dubin, or their respective representatives, all said the various allegations against them were false.&nbsp;

A lawyer for Brunel did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment.

A spokeswoman for Richardson said the former governor had never met Giuffre.

'These allegations and inferences are completely false,' she said.&nbsp;

'To be clear, in Governor Richardson's limited interactions with Mr Epstein, he never saw him in the presence of young or underage girls.'

Mitchell said in a statement: 'The allegation contained in the released documents is false. I have never met, spoken with or had any contact with Ms Giuffre.'

A spokeswoman for Dubin said he was 'outraged' by the unsealed allegations, which he considered 'demonstrably false and defamatory,' and said that he had flight records and other evidence that 'definitively' disproved them.

The name of US President Donald Trump, who was once a friend of Epstein, appears in a Nov. 14, 2016, deposition of Giuffre, in which she said Trump and Epstein had been good friends.

In response to a question about how she knew whom Trump had sex with, Giuffre said she 'didn't physically see him have sex with any of the girls.'

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

A woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein of keeping her as a sex slave said one of the financier's associates had instructed her to have sex with at least a half-dozen prominent men, according to a court filing unsealed on Friday in a civil lawsuit.

A woman who accused Jeffrey Epstein of keeping her as a sex slave said one of the financier's associates had instructed her to have sex with at least a half-dozen prominent men, according to a court filing unsealed on Friday in a civil lawsuit. The claim by Virginia Giuffre came in a deposition that was included among roughly 2,000 pages of documents related to her defamation lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, the associate whom Giuffre has said helped Epstein procure girls for sex. Lawyers for Maxwell did not respond to several phone and email requests for comment. Epstein has pleaded not guilty to charges of sex trafficking involving dozens of underage girls as young as 14, from at least 2002 to 2005. He is being held in a Manhattan jail. Lawyers for Epstein did not respond to requests for comment outside business hours. Maxwell has not been criminally charged. The Giuffre deposition and the other documents were released after a federal appeals court in Manhattan rejected Maxwell's bid to keep them under seal. Giuffre claimed in a May 3, 2016, deposition that Maxwell directed her to have sex with people including former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, former US Senator George Mitchell, modelling agent Jean Luc Brunel, and financier Glenn Dubin. It was not clear from the deposition transcript included in the court documents how old Giuffre was at the time of the alleged direction. The transcript does not indicate whether Giuffre actually engaged in sex with the four men. None of the four men has been criminally charged in connection with Epstein. Richardson, Mitchell, and Dubin, or their respective representatives, all said the various allegations against them were false. A lawyer for Brunel did not respond to a phone call and email seeking comment. A spokeswoman for Richardson said the former governor had never met Giuffre. 'These allegations and inferences are completely false,' she said. 'To be clear, in Governor Richardson's limited interactions with Mr Epstein, he never saw him in the presence of young or underage girls.' Mitchell said in a statement: 'The allegation contained in the released documents is false. I have never met, spoken with or had any contact with Ms Giuffre.' A spokeswoman for Dubin said he was 'outraged' by the unsealed allegations, which he considered 'demonstrably false and defamatory,' and said that he had flight records and other evidence that 'definitively' disproved them. The name of US President Donald Trump, who was once a friend of Epstein, appears in a Nov. 14, 2016, deposition of Giuffre, in which she said Trump and Epstein had been good friends. In response to a question about how she knew whom Trump had sex with, Giuffre said she 'didn't physically see him have sex with any of the girls.' The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Jeffrey Epstein accuser links powerful men to financier: Civil court filing

Veteran US&nbsp;diplomat Bill Richardson has resigned from an international panel set up by Myanmar to advise on the Rohingya crisis, saying it was conducting a &quot;whitewash&quot; and accusing the country&#39;s leader Aung San Suu Kyi of lacking &quot;moral leadership&quot;.

Richardson, a former Clinton administration cabinet member, quit as the 10-member advisory board was making its first visit to western Rakhine State, from where nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled in recent months.

&quot;The main reason I am resigning is that this advisory board is a whitewash,&quot; Richardson told Reuters in an interview, adding he did not want to be part of &quot;a cheerleading squad for the government&quot;.

Richardson said he got into an argument with Suu Kyi during a meeting on Monday with other members of the board, when he brought up the case of two Reuters reporters who are on trial accused of breaching the country&#39;s Officials Secrets Act.

He said Suu Kyi&#39;s response was &quot;furious&quot;, saying the case of the reporters &quot;was not part of the work of the advisory board&quot;. The argument continued at a dinner later that evening, the former New Mexico governor said.

Suu Kyi&#39;s spokesman, Zaw Htay, told Reuters on Thursday that the Advisory Board was meeting about the &quot;Rakhine issue&quot;.

&quot;(Richardson) talked on a topic outside the agenda of the meetings and went beyond the framework,&quot; Zaw Htay said. &quot;We feel sorry for his resignation due to the misunderstanding.&quot; Reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, had worked on Reuters coverage of the crisis in Rakhine, from where 688,000 Rohingya have fled an army crackdown on insurgents since late August, according to estimates by the United Nations.

They were detained on December&nbsp;12 after they had been invited to meet police officers over dinner in Yangon. The government has cited police as saying they were arrested for possessing secret documents relating to the security situation in Rakhine.

&#39;Good faith efforts&#39;

US&nbsp;State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert called Richardson&#39;s decision to resign from the board and his reasons for doing so &quot;cause for concern&quot;, but noted he had been acting as a private citizen in joining the board and visiting Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.

&quot;Ultimately, the Burmese government and military have the authority to determine whether the Advisory Board will succeed,&quot; Nauert said. &quot;The United States has made clear that we are willing to support good faith efforts to implement the Annan Commission recommendations.&rdquo;

The Advisory Board for the Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State was set up by Myanmar last year, to advise on enacting the findings of an earlier commission headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

The armed forces have been accused by Rohingya witnesses and human rights activists of carrying out killings, rapes and arson in a campaign senior officials in the United Nations and United States have described as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar rejects that label and has denied nearly all the allegations.

Richardson said he was also &quot;taken aback by the vigour with which the media, the United Nations, human rights groups and in general the international community were disparaged&quot; during the last three days of meetings the board held with Myanmar officials.

&quot;She&#39;s not getting good advice from her team,&quot; Richardson said of Suu Kyi, whom he said he has known since the 1980s. &quot;I like her enormously and respect her. But she has not shown moral leadership on the Rakhine issue and the allegations made, and I regret that.&quot;

Suu Kyi&#39;s national security adviser, Thaung Tun, told Reuters he had escorted the other board members on a trip to Rakhine on Wednesday, but that Richardson had not taken part.

&quot;He said he was unhappy about the situation but I am not sure what he was unhappy about,&quot; he said. &quot;This is just the initial stage, this is the start of a whole year of business so I don&#39;t know what happened to make him feel like that.&quot;

Panel chairman slammed&nbsp;

Before Richardson quit the advisory board had 10 members, including five from overseas, chaired by former Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai.

Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, also had harsh words for Surakiart.

The board chairman, he said, was not &quot;genuinely committed&quot; to implementing recommendations regarding the issues of Rohingya safety, citizenship, peace, stability and development.

&quot;He parroted the dangerous and untrue notion that international NGOs employ radicals and that humanitarian agencies are providing material support to ARSA,&quot; Richardson said, referring to Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militants.

Surakiart was travelling with other members of the board in Rakhine and did not respond to requests for comment.

Another board member, former South African Defence Minister Roelof Meyer, told Reuters the visit to Rakhine had been &quot;very constructive&quot;.

&quot;If anybody would say that we are just a rubber stamp or a voice on behalf of the government that would be completely untrue, unfair,&quot; he said. &quot;We haven&#39;t done any recommendations so far.&quot;

Other members of the board, which also includes British doctor and politician Lord Darzi of Denham and speaker of the Swedish parliament Urban Ahlin, were not immediately available for comment.

Richardson said he declined to join the advisory board&#39;s tour of a new repatriation camp in Rakhine State on Wednesday, instead of travelling to Yangon.

Mass grave

Myanmar&#39;s military said earlier this month its soldiers had taken part in the killings of 10 captured Muslim &quot;terrorists&quot; during insurgent attacks at the beginning of September after Buddhist villagers had forced the captured men into a grave the villagers had dug.

It was a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing during its operations in Rakhine by the Myanmar military, which said legal action would be taken against members of the security forces who violated their rules of engagement and the villagers involved.

Richardson said he has asked the board to recommend that the Myanmar government set up an independent investigation into &quot;the mass grave issue, especially as it pertained to ... the involvement of the military&quot;. He did not say how the board had responded.

The Rohingya crisis erupted after ARSA attacks on security posts in Rakhine on Aug. 25 triggered a fierce military response. Myanmar says its troops were engaged in legitimate counterinsurgency operations.

The UN&nbsp;on Wednesday called on Myanmar to give aid agencies unhindered access to camps it has built for tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees after agreeing to a deal with Bangladesh on their return.

Richardson, a former US ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, also had harsh words for Surakiart

Veteran US diplomat Bill Richardson has resigned from an international panel set up by Myanmar to advise on the Rohingya crisis, saying it was conducting a "whitewash" and accusing the country's leader Aung San Suu Kyi of lacking "moral leadership". Richardson, a former Clinton administration cabinet member, quit as the 10-member advisory board was making its first visit to western Rakhine State, from where nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled in recent months. "The main reason I am resigning is that this advisory board is a whitewash," Richardson told Reuters in an interview, adding he did not want to be part of "a cheerleading squad for the government". Richardson said he got into an argument with Suu Kyi during a meeting on Monday with other members of the board, when he brought up the case of two Reuters reporters who are on trial accused of breaching the country's Officials Secrets Act. He said Suu Kyi's response was "furious", saying the case of the reporters "was not part of the work of the advisory board". The argument continued at a dinner later that evening, the former New Mexico governor said. Suu Kyi's spokesman, Zaw Htay, told Reuters on Thursday that the Advisory Board was meeting about the "Rakhine issue". "(Richardson) talked on a topic outside the agenda of the meetings and went beyond the framework," Zaw Htay said. "We feel sorry for his resignation due to the misunderstanding." Reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, had worked on Reuters coverage of the crisis in Rakhine, from where 688,000 Rohingya have fled an army crackdown on insurgents since late August, according to estimates by the United Nations. They were detained on December 12 after they had been invited to meet police officers over dinner in Yangon. The government has cited police as saying they were arrested for possessing secret documents relating to the security situation in Rakhine. 'Good faith efforts' US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert called Richardson's decision to resign from the board and his reasons for doing so "cause for concern", but noted he had been acting as a private citizen in joining the board and visiting Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. "Ultimately, the Burmese government and military have the authority to determine whether the Advisory Board will succeed," Nauert said. "The United States has made clear that we are willing to support good faith efforts to implement the Annan Commission recommendations.” The Advisory Board for the Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State was set up by Myanmar last year, to advise on enacting the findings of an earlier commission headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The armed forces have been accused by Rohingya witnesses and human rights activists of carrying out killings, rapes and arson in a campaign senior officials in the United Nations and United States have described as ethnic cleansing. Myanmar rejects that label and has denied nearly all the allegations. Richardson said he was also "taken aback by the vigour with which the media, the United Nations, human rights groups and in general the international community were disparaged" during the last three days of meetings the board held with Myanmar officials. "She's not getting good advice from her team," Richardson said of Suu Kyi, whom he said he has known since the 1980s. "I like her enormously and respect her. But she has not shown moral leadership on the Rakhine issue and the allegations made, and I regret that." Suu Kyi's national security adviser, Thaung Tun, told Reuters he had escorted the other board members on a trip to Rakhine on Wednesday, but that Richardson had not taken part. "He said he was unhappy about the situation but I am not sure what he was unhappy about," he said. "This is just the initial stage, this is the start of a whole year of business so I don't know what happened to make him feel like that." Panel chairman slammed Before Richardson quit the advisory board had 10 members, including five from overseas, chaired by former Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai. Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and energy secretary in the Clinton administration, also had harsh words for Surakiart. The board chairman, he said, was not "genuinely committed" to implementing recommendations regarding the issues of Rohingya safety, citizenship, peace, stability and development. "He parroted the dangerous and untrue notion that international NGOs employ radicals and that humanitarian agencies are providing material support to ARSA," Richardson said, referring to Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militants. Surakiart was travelling with other members of the board in Rakhine and did not respond to requests for comment. Another board member, former South African Defence Minister Roelof Meyer, told Reuters the visit to Rakhine had been "very constructive". "If anybody would say that we are just a rubber stamp or a voice on behalf of the government that would be completely untrue, unfair," he said. "We haven't done any recommendations so far." Other members of the board, which also includes British doctor and politician Lord Darzi of Denham and speaker of the Swedish parliament Urban Ahlin, were not immediately available for comment. Richardson said he declined to join the advisory board's tour of a new repatriation camp in Rakhine State on Wednesday, instead of travelling to Yangon. Mass grave Myanmar's military said earlier this month its soldiers had taken part in the killings of 10 captured Muslim "terrorists" during insurgent attacks at the beginning of September after Buddhist villagers had forced the captured men into a grave the villagers had dug. It was a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing during its operations in Rakhine by the Myanmar military, which said legal action would be taken against members of the security forces who violated their rules of engagement and the villagers involved. Richardson said he has asked the board to recommend that the Myanmar government set up an independent investigation into "the mass grave issue, especially as it pertained to ... the involvement of the military". He did not say how the board had responded. The Rohingya crisis erupted after ARSA attacks on security posts in Rakhine on Aug. 25 triggered a fierce military response. Myanmar says its troops were engaged in legitimate counterinsurgency operations. The UN on Wednesday called on Myanmar to give aid agencies unhindered access to camps it has built for tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees after agreeing to a deal with Bangladesh on their return.

US diplomat quits Rohingya panel, accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of lacking 'moral leadership'

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Bill Richardson, globe-trotting US diplomat, brilliant negotiator and former New Mexico governor, dies at 75

Former US diplomat and hostage negotiator on visit to Myanmar

Who's Who in the Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal

Jeffrey Epstein accuser links powerful men to financier: Civil court filing

US diplomat quits Rohingya panel, accuses Aung San Suu Kyi of lacking 'moral leadership'