UN Human Rights pages on Myanmar

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Title: List of documents on Burma/Myanmar in the Treaty Body Database
Description: CRC, CEDAW and CRPD documents on Myanmar from 2004
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of entry/update: 2009-03-18
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: Arabic, Chinese, English, French Russian, Spanish
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Title: Myanmar Homepage
Description: Information about the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, The UNSG?s Special Representative plus links to documents on Burma/Myanmar of the Charter-based and Treaty-based mechanisms
Source/publisher: United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of entry/update: 2008-03-29
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Title: Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar
Description: Some information about the Special Rapporteur plus list of documents and press releases
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of entry/update: 2011-08-28
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Title: UN Human Rights Documents on Myanmar
Description: List of UN Charter-based human rights documents on Burma/Myanmar
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of entry/update: 2009-03-18
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
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Individual Documents

Title: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Thomas H. Andrews (A/HRC/61/58) (Advance unedited version)
Description: "Human Rights Council Sixty-first session 23 February–2 April 2026 Agenda item 4 Human rights situations that require the Council's attention..... Summary: Five years after launching a military coup against a democratically elected government, the Myanmar military junta continues to relentlessly attack civilians and obstruct humanitarian aid, driving Myanmar into a spiraling humanitarian crisis. Thousands of political prisoners remain behind bars. The situation of the Rohingya people has become more perilous than ever. The military junta’s efforts to assert its authority across Myanmar and wrestle its people into submission are failing. It has lost control of vast swathes of territory and is more reviled than ever. Violence and chaos have reverberated across Myanmar’s borders, with armed conflict, cyberscam operations, drug trafficking and refugee flows impacting its neighbors’ sovereignty and citizens. In a sign that international pressure is impacting the junta, coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing orchestrated a sham election in an apparent attempt to hide military oppression behind the trappings of a nominally civilian government. The spectacle fooled no one, least of all the people of Myanmar, who continue to demand respect for human rights and the establishment of a federal, democratic system of government free from military control. The international community’s response to the situation in Myanmar has shown promise, impeding the junta’s ability to secure the weapons and financing that it needs to sustain itself and its military assaults on civilians. Alarmingly, however, the resolve of many governments to support the people of Myanmar appears to be waning. Sanctions regimes- which have played an important role in isolating the junta and weakening its capacity to attack civilians - have not been kept up to date. Global cuts to foreign aid are devastating humanitarian programs for refugees and vulnerable populations. The Security Council continues to be unwilling to act, and there is a lack of political will to ensure accountability for grave human rights violations. In this, his final report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur urges governments that value human rights to double down on effective measures that have been taken to support the people of Myanmar and deny the junta the three things that it needs to sustain itself: money, weapons and legitimacy. Just as most governments refused to recognize a sham election as legitimate, he urges that they similarly refuse to recognize the government that will emerge as legitimate. Finally, he reiterates his call for concerted, coordinated action by the international community including reversing funding cuts that undermine humanitarian aid and human rights..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva)
Date of publication: 2026-03-04
Date of entry/update: 2026-03-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar - Bulletin Issue 12, October 2024 [EN/MY]
Description: "MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF THE MECHANISM Last month, floods caused by Typhoon Yagi ripped through Myanmar leading to widespread death, damage and displacement. This natural disaster has compounded the devastation caused by multiple armed conflicts, and by war crimes and crimes against humanity that are being committed with impunity across the country. As detailed in the Mechanism’s recent Annual Report and in my statement to the Human Rights Council in September, these crimes have become increasingly brutal. Unfortunately, on an almost daily basis the Mechanism receives reports of new atrocities including aerial attacks on civilian targets, unlawful imprisonment, torture in detention centres, violent sexual and gender-based crimes, the burning of villages, beheadings and the public display of sexually mutilated bodies. Many of these crimes appear to be committed to punish and induce terror in the civilian population. Most of the information we have collected concerns crimes committed by the Myanmar security forces. However, we are increasingly collecting credible evidence that armed groups fighting against the military are also perpetrating crimes, such as the execution of civilians suspected of being military informers or collaborators. We are investigating all perpetrators of serious international crimes, no matter their political affiliation, beliefs or ethnicity. We recently opened new investigations in Rakhine State where fighting between the Arakan Army and the military has escalated, and there are allegations of crimes by multiple armed groups involved in the conflict. We have received shocking reports of killings, torture and rapes, and we are collecting and verifying information received and seeking to identify those persons responsible for these crimes. Civilians from all ethnicities in Rakhine have suffered, but the Rohingya population are particularly vulnerable. They have been directly targeted and tens of thousands have had to flee their homes. The echoes of the 2016 and 2017 clearance operations against the Rohingya are impossible to ignore. In August, I released a statement commemorating seven years since the violent attacks that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee Myanmar. I reflected that the current situation in Rakhine and elsewhere in the country is the result of decades of impunity. When crimes go unpunished, perpetrators are emboldened to commit more crimes. The Mechanism was created to fight against this impunity. In this regard, we have accelerated the volume of information and analysis we are sharing with the authorities conducting proceedings concerning crimes against the Rohingya at the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and in Argentina. Our fight against impunity would be impossible without courageous individuals and organizations who share information with us in the most challenging of circumstances. Internet blackouts, blocked technologies and increased surveillance deepen the security risks people take to engage with us. We are doing all we can to make their interactions with us as safe as possible, and to ensure that the risks they take are not in vain. I am optimistic that the information people share with us now will one day bring the perpetrators of these horrific crimes to justice..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2024-10-25
Date of entry/update: 2024-10-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Deputy High Commissioner warns the crisis continues to sink into an abyss of human suffering
Description: "Delivered by: United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif At 57th session of the Human Rights Council Mr. Vice-President, Your Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, The crisis in Myanmar continues to sink into an abyss of human suffering. Entrenched in armed conflicts spreading the length and breadth of the country, the military continues to lose ground, exacting an ever-higher price as it goes along the way. Airstrikes and artillery – the military’s weapons of choice -- have killed scores of civilians in villages and Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camps, violating international human rights and humanitarian law. While not comparable in scale and scope to the military, some ethnic armed groups have also harmed civilians, at times apparently deliberately. Recently, the Office issued another warning about the possible reoccurrence of atrocities against Rohingya caught between the ‘Arakan Army’ – which is forcing them to flee their homes -- and the military, leaving them nowhere safe to run. In Rakhine, the situation continues to deteriorate, with intensified clashes killing more civilians, with desperately needed food and medical assistance almost entirely blocked. Credible sources have verified a minimum of 5,600 civilians, including 1,160 women and 624 children, killed by the military since February 2021. Compounding the violence, the number of people forced to flee due to natural disasters continues to escalate daily. Earlier this month, flooding from Typhoon Yagi resulted in an estimated over 800,000 displaced with over 300 reported deaths. Yet the military has reportedly failed to issue warnings or to help non-military families evacuate affected areas. United Nations figures indicate that over 18.6 million people are in humanitarian need; over 3 million have been displaced due to violence across the country and over 15 million are food insecure. These numbers tell only a partial story. As the economy plummets, essential commodities, to the extent that they remain available, are becoming unaffordable for many. More than half the population now lives in poverty with the country’s GDP dropping 12 percent annually on average since the coup in 2021. Meanwhile, the Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan is only 12 percent funded. For many, essential services have long since ceased to function. Shortages of food and medicine, along with a rise in cases of malaria, dengue fever, and cholera, combined with a lack of access to vaccinations, were reported in several areas. Yet rather than addressing the needs of the people and mitigating the crisis, the military have doubled down on repression and restrictions on humanitarian operations, especially in conflict-affected areas. After attempting to forcibly conscript civilians between 18 and 35, the military has announced its intention to arm civilians in local militias to defend territories which the military itself cannot. This risks of course leading to wider militarization and greater violence across the country. Throughout the crisis, the people of Myanmar have consistently expressed their desire for democracy, the rule of law, and accountability, in the face of a military desperately trying to hold on to power by any means necessary. The report before you highlights the military’s use of the criminal justice process, law enforcement and the penal apparatus to deter and punish any form of opposition. Applicable laws have been repeatedly and unilaterally modified in attempts to justify detaining an ever-growing number of actual or perceived opponents. Credible sources have verified 26,933 individuals arrested, including 5,556 women and 547 children, indefinitely incarcerated. Between April 2023 and June 2024, over 9,000 individuals were verified as having been detained with 1,648 convicted by military-controlled courts that do not ensure minimum respect of basic judicial guarantees. It is deeply disturbing that a full third of all those verified as having been killed since this crisis began, died in military custody. In the reporting period alone, over 1,853 people have been killed while in the military’s custody – whether in places of detention or during military operations in the field, including 759 people. We remain very concerned by the possible use of the death penalty, with 167 people sentenced to death since the military coup. Torture and ill-treatment, including multiple reports of sexual violence in detention – against women and LBGTI persons -- remain rampant in interrogation centers, prisons, and other detention sites. Interviewees describe being subjected to some of the most depraved treatment, including electrocution, asphyxiation, having insects and animals set upon them, and sexual torture. Perpetrators have been emboldened by long-standing impunity. Appalling conditions in detention further contributed to multiple violations of human rights suffered by detainees. Interviewees released from 12 military-run prisons across nine states and regions described generally squalid facilities with cells being badly-lit, poorly ventilated, and overcrowded – often at double their original capacity. In addition, continued exposure to violence and associated fear, have had a devastating impact on the mental health and well-being of victims and communities across Myanmar. The lack of adequate resources to provide mental health support has been further exacerbated by mental health professionals fleeing the country. Mr. Vice-President, This situation is not new. This crisis has been in a steady downward spiral for over three and half years now. Every indicator across the country is tipping downwards. Despite this, there has been little focused international attention to stem this tide of horror. When the High Commissioner last addressed this Council, he spoke clearly of the need for a new approach to end this crisis. There is an urgent need for political will and leadership at regional and international levels to demand, and achieve, a solution in the best interests of the people of Myanmar. It is imperative that Member States, notably those with influence, work together to bolster and support ASEAN members to resolve this crisis and bring an end to the violence in Myanmar. Our Office has proposed concrete ways to address key aspects of this self-perpetuating crisis. The flow of arms, other military material and aviation fuel that is powering the military’s campaign of violence against the civilian population must stop. The political process must be renewed, engaging equally with the National Unity Government, ethnic armed groups and the democracy movement to define future solutions for the country. People in Myanmar need to have their voices and agency in this crisis fully recognized. Engagement with the youth, women and civil society must be reinvigorated and broadened to ensure they have a voice at the table. Creative ways should be used to get humanitarian aid to the people, including through cross-border operations. This means supporting civil society and community-based organizations that have been at the forefront of efforts to deliver services where public institutions have failed to do so. The initiatives of civil society exemplify how people-led movements are able to take steps to effectively mitigate, within limited resources, many aspects of the current suffering. Such efforts will be crucial to Myanmar’s future and to ensuring there is capacity to deliver once this crisis ends. Myanmar’s democratic prospects rest squarely on these organizations and networks, which have stepped up since February 2021 to support those in need, despite severe security concerns and challenges. Increased political and financial support to local organizations, is critical to ensuring civil society’s full involvement in decision-making processes concerning their country’s future. In the midst of so much suffering, it is imperative that steps are taken to protect Rohingya civilians, in line with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in January 2020. The time to hold military leaders accountable is now. In this, the International Criminal Court, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and a variety of national jurisdictions are all playing key roles. Member States with influence should take meaningful steps to ensure the military complies with its obligations under international law, including the release of all arbitrarily detained prisoners, in order to return the country to the stable and democratic path its people so deserve..."
Source/publisher: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2024-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2024-09-24
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Title: The UN Security Council’s Astonishing Silence on Myanmar Atrocities
Description: "The United Nations Security Council should mobilize to prevent further atrocities in Myanmar. The Council’s inaction over the last few months starkly contrasts with the clear warnings from senior UN officials who are urgently ringing alarm bells. As the Council is grappling with calls for reform, the current silence on Myanmar only deepens the sense that the Council can’t rise to the moment when it matters. The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar warned in July that “the situation carries echoes of the lead-up to genocidal violence in 2016 and 2017.” In a rare joint statement, the UN special advisers on genocide prevention and the responsibility to protect urged the international community to undertake “joint efforts to reassess the crisis in Myanmar in the light of the significant developments that are unfolding and launch a robust coordinated effort.” In the last few weeks, both the UN children’s agency, Unicef, and the UN’s acting resident coordinator in Myanmar have condemned attacks on civilians in Rakhine State. The Council’s last open meeting on Myanmar was held in April. Britain is the “penholder” on Myanmar, which means it takes the lead on all statements or resolutions in the Council and bears unique responsibility to galvanize the members. The Council has allowed paralysis at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) level around Myanmar to influence its approach, leading to paralysis at the international level too. The Council has also failed to follow up on its December 2022 resolution on Myanmar, the body’s first since the country’s independence in 1948. In contrast, both the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly have adopted a series of stronger but nonbinding resolutions on Myanmar, including calls for an embargo on arms and jet fuel to the military junta. The crisis presents a key test for the UK’s new Labour government, which has claimed the mantle of “progressive realism” and defense of international law. Progressive realism may promote engaging with regional blocs, but allowing regional paralysis to mute the Security Council amid atrocities certainly is neither progressive nor pragmatic. Since the breakdown of an unofficial ceasefire between the Myanmar military and the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army last November, Human Rights Watch has been warning that the ethnic Rohingya population, which was already marginalized, faced even greater risks. The Rohingya have been subjected for years to movement restrictions, mass detention, denial of medical care persecution and apartheid. The recent violence has included the killing of nearly 200 Rohingya civilians on the banks of the Naf River. They were attempting to escape hostilities after monthlong Arakan Army attacks on Rohingya villages and neighborhoods. Satellite imagery and thermal anomaly data analyzed by Human Rights Watch reveal that more than 40 villages and hamlets in Buthidaung township were partly or completely destroyed by fire from April 24 to May 21. The Myanmar military has been stoking tensions between the Rakhine Buddhist and Rohingya Muslim communities for years, most recently through the unlawful recruitment of Rohingya men and boys, triggering heightened hate speech and misinformation. These divisive tactics were previously used during the ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya in 2012. The community’s vulnerability was then deepened by the military junta’s 2017 scorched-earth campaign, rampant sexual violence and genocidal acts, which left villages burned to ash as several hundred thousand people fled to Bangladesh. More than 327,000 Rohingya have been newly displaced across Rakhine State since fighting resumed in late 2023, bringing the overall number of displaced people to well over a half a million. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 400,000 people are experiencing “food gaps” in Rakhine State with cross-border supplies limited because of the conflict. Members of the military junta, the Arakan Army and other armed groups could also face scrutiny by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes amid the current conflict committed in Bangladesh, such as forced recruitment and deportation of Rohingya. The court is investigating the situation, but its jurisdiction is limited to crimes committed, at least in part, in Bangladesh, an ICC member country, or on the territory of any other member of the court. The Security Council should expand the court’s jurisdiction by referring the situation in Myanmar, which is not an ICC member country, to the court. Recent events also underscore the blatant disregard of the provisional measures ordered by International Court of Justice in the ongoing case brought by Gambia against Myanmar. The provisional measures are binding, and the Council should play a role in enforcing them. In a June report, the UN high commissioner for human rights found that “actions taken by all parties that endanger the Rohingya appear inconsistent with the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.” Article 94(2) of the UN Charter makes clear that parties to disputes may take recourse to the Security Council if their opponent fails to “perform obligations incumbent upon it under a judgment rendered by the Court.” The Council’s great-power deadlock means that it has been far too quiet on Myanmar for years. But if it chooses to let recent events pass without even a meeting or public show of concern, that neglect will stain the legacy of every ambassador sitting on the Council, particularly the UK, which is supposed to “lead” on Myanmar..."
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Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication: 2024-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2024-09-05
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (A/HRC/57/18) [EN/AR/MY/RU/ZH]
Description: "Geneva, 13 August 2024 – There is substantial evidence that brutal war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar military have escalated at an alarming rate across the country, according to information collected and analysed by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (Mechanism) and detailed in its Annual Report released today. The Report focuses on the period 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 – a time when armed conflicts increased across Myanmar as the challenges to military rule intensified. During this time, the Mechanism collected significant evidence of more intensive and violent war crimes, such as aerial attacks on schools, religious buildings and hospitals where there was no apparent military target, and physical mutilations against people detained during the armed conflicts, including beheadings and public displays of disfigured and sexually mutilated bodies. “We have collected substantial evidence showing horrific levels of brutality and inhumanity across Myanmar. Many crimes have been committed with an intent to punish and induce terror in the civilian population,” said Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism. The Mechanism is also investigating the unlawful imprisonment, including arbitrary detention and manifestly unfair trials, of perceived opponents of the military junta. Thousands of people have been arrested and many tortured or killed in detention. There is abundant evidence of systematic torture, including severe physical and mental abuse such as beatings, electric shocks, strangulations and sleep deprivation. There is also evidence of gang rape, the burning of sexual body parts and other violent sexual and gender-based crimes committed in detention. The victims include people of all genders and ages, including children. “No one has been held accountable for any crimes, which emboldens perpetrators and deepens the culture of impunity in the country. We are trying to break this cycle. I believe the Mechanism has made considerable progress in building criminal cases against those most responsible for these crimes,” said Koumjian. The findings in the Report are based on information and evidence collected from more than 900 sources, including more than 400 eyewitness testimonies, and additional evidence such as photographs, videos, audio material, documents, maps, geospatial imagery, social media posts and forensic evidence. While the vast majority of information collected by the Mechanism concerns crimes committed by the Myanmar security forces, there is also credible evidence of crimes committed by armed groups which are fighting against the military. This includes summary executions of civilians suspected of being military informers or collaborators. While the Mechanism is working hard to investigate the high volume of crimes committed since the military takeover in February 2021, it also maintains its commitment to the investigation of earlier crimes committed against the Rohingya during the Myanmar military’s 2016 and 2017 clearance operations. In particular, the Mechanism has analysed the movements of military units, the resettlement practices and policies intended to attract the migration of non-Rohingya people to Rakhine State, and the quantities and qualities of weapons possessed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army at the time of the clearance operations. The Mechanism has shared these analyses, along with a vast volume of evidence, with authorities working on ongoing cases concerning the Rohingya at the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and in Argentina. The Mechanism is proactively sharing evidence that may be relevant to the proceedings and is also responding to targeted requests from these authorities for specific information and analysis. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM or Mechanism) was created by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018 to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and other violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. It aims to facilitate justice and accountability by preserving and organizing this evidence and preparing case files that can be used by authorities to prosecute individuals in national, regional and international courts..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva)
Date of publication: 2024-08-13
Date of entry/update: 2024-08-13
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 251.1 KB 522.87 KB 525.81 KB 334.87 KB 446.85 KB 241.29 KB
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Title: Statement by Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and Ms. Mô Bleeker, Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, on the escalation of violence in Myanmar
Description: "(New York, 29 July 2024) The Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Mô Bleeker, express concern about the situation since the military coup in 2021 and are alarmed at the increase of violence and conflict across Myanmar. The situation has been under the close observation of the Office and in March 2021 the Special Adviser Wairimu Nderitu and the then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michele Bachelet, issued a joint statement calling for an end to systemic impunity in Myanmar. Converging reports indicate that serious crimes under international human rights and humanitarian law are being committed, notably the direct targeting of civilians with aerial and artillery bombardments, numerous violations of children’s rights, among them enforced recruitment, maiming and abduction by the Armed Forces. Despite provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in January 2020, Rohingya in Myanmar, including women and children, continue to suffer from targeted killings and indiscriminate violence, including by airstrikes, shelling, burning, landmines, and unexploded ordnance. OCHA reports that the humanitarian crisis “has entered a dangerous new chapter with entrenched conflict posing grave risks to civilians, stirring a worrying resurgence of inter-communal tension and driving record levels of displacement”. As of today, more than 3.2 million people have been internally displaced with young people, boys and girls, reported to be leaving Myanmar, trying to avoid conflict, and enforced military conscription. “Since October 2023, civilians across the country are paying the brunt of renewed violence between the ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar military. Regardless of religion, ethnicity, origin, gender, political affiliation, the Myanmar military is primarily responsible to address and counter hate speech and prevent incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence against minorities, as well as to prevent and protect the entire civil population from and against the crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity”, the Special Advisers note. The Special Advisers reiterate concerns raised by the High Commissioner for Human Rights in his statement to the Human Rights Council on 18 June, which described most serious allegations of targeted violence against the Rohingya, by both the Arakan Army and the Armed forces, including beheadings, burning of villages as people sleep, drone attacks, killings of unarmed people fleeing, evacuation orders with nowhere to go. The situation has seriously deteriorated, and disturbing reports indicate that displaced civilians, many of whom are Rohingya, are being used as human shields. In this context, hate speech is also being used again, since 2017, to stoke ethnic tensions between Rohingya and Arakhan community, with the view to exacerbate interethnic polarization. In addition, reports indicate forced recruitment of the Rohingya into the Armed Forces and the Arakhan Army. Furthermore, the Special Advisers stress recent reports of escalation of violence in the Shan State and the neighboring Mandalay Region, ending a six-month ceasefire as set by the Haigen agreement, resulting in a deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation also in the north of the country. Measures to prevent further hate speech and incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence, as well as violations of human rights, international humanitarian law, and protection of all groups at risk across the country among other against forced internal displacement and forced recruitment, must be put in place. In UNITED NATIONS PRESS RELEASE particular, the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in 2020 in relation to the members of the Rohingya group on the territory of Myanmar must be upheld. The restrictions on humanitarian aid threatening civilians in conflict areas may be considered as violation of international humanitarian law. The Special Advisers recall that parties to the armed conflict shall fully respect international law and international humanitarian law and urge them to return to dialogue, deescalate violence, and fully protect civilians. The Special Advisers also urge for a prompt implementation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2669 (2022) on the situation in Myanmar, which demands an immediate end to all forms of violence throughout the country, and restraint and de-escalation of tensions. They encourage ASEAN to renew urgent and commensurate efforts towards a political solution and a full protection of civilians, taking into account the ongoing serious deterioration of the situation. An inclusive and comprehensive national political dialogue and nationwide reconciliation process is required with the full, effective, and meaningful participation of all ethnic groups, including Rohingya and other minorities, women, young people, and persons with disabilities, as well as civil society and religious leaders. Finally, the Special Advisers urge for the international community to implement joint efforts to reassess the crisis in Myanmar in the light of the significant developments that are unfolding and launch a robust coordinated effort. The Special Advisers also expressed concern over the ongoing instrumentalization of justice against the political opposition and call the Myanmar Military to respect and reestablish the full independence of justice. The Special Advisers also acknowledge the important efforts taking place before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as well as the work being carried out by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) established by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Ensuring the full observance of the principles of Rule of Law today and ensuring accountability for past crimes, to realize a holistic transitional justice process and trial the most serious international crimes committed are indispensable to bring sustainable peace, justice, safety and create the basis for a new peaceful future for all people across Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of publication: 2024-07-29
Date of entry/update: 2024-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Interactive dialogue on the oral progress report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
Description: "56th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 4: Interactive dialogue on the oral progress report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Oral statement delivered by Khin Ohmar On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) 3 July 2024 Mr. President, We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s conference room paper on the gendered impact of the coup. The Myanmar military’s systematic and widespread use of sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, as a weapon of war against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities has been well documented and widely reported by Myanmar’s ethnic women organisations since early 2000s, as well as by the UN Fact-Finding Mission for Myanmar in 2019. It is international inaction and failure to hold the military accountable for its decades of blatant disregard for international law that has emboldened it to deploy this weapon on a national scale as we are witnessing now following its illegal coup attempt in 2021. While intensified fighting between Arakan Army and Myanmar military has severely impacted all communities in Rakhine, Arakan Army’s actions against Rohingya in Northern Rakhine State are once again threatening the existence of Rohingya in their ancestral land. This underscores the urgent need to hold accountable all perpetrators of violence against Rohingya. Myanmar military is rapidly losing while the people’s revolution is advancing. The sacrifices of Myanmar’s people to defeat the junta must not revert the country back to the pre-2021 status quo. But building a new Myanmar with this revolution also requires all revolutionary actors to comply with international humanitarian and human rights law in their resistance against the junta. This moment presents a critical opportunity that should not and cannot be missed to end repetitive cycles of Myanmar military’s violence and impunity. Myanmar military needs to be held accountable for genocide against the Rohingya as well as its continuing war crimes and crimes against humanity throughout the country. In this regard, we reiterate the Special Rapporteur’s call to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) under Article 14 of the Rome Statute. The international community must also assist to enable Myanmar’s resistance organisations to comply with international law, protect of civilians, and ensure justice and accountability in their efforts to dismantle the Myanmar miliary and to realize their vision to establish federal democracy that guarantees inclusivity, equality and peaceful co-existence..... Thank you...... (၅၆) ကြိမ်မြောက် ကုလသမဂ္ဂလူ့အခွင့်အရေးကောင်စီ ပုံမှန်အစည်းအဝေး အကြောင်းအရာ (၄)။ ။ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံလူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာ အထူးကိုယ်စားလှယ်၏ အစီရင်ခံချက်အပေါ် အပြန်အလှန်ဆွေးနွေးမှု။ Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) ကိုယ်စား ဒေါ်ခင်ဥမ္မာ၏ နှုတ်ဖြင့် တင်ပြချက် ၂၀၂၄ ခုနှစ် ဇူလိုင်လ ၃ ရက်နေ့ လေးစားရပါသော ဥက္ကဌကြီး ရှင့် အာဏာသိမ်းရေး ကြိုးပမ်းမှုနှင့်ဆက်စပ်၍ ကျား-မအခြေပြု သက်ရောက်မှုနှင့်ပတ်သက်သည့် အထူးကိုယ်စားလှယ်၏ အစီရင်ခံစာတင်ပြချက်ကို မိမိတို့မှ ထောက်ခံကြိုဆိုသည်။ မြန်မာစစ်အုပ်စုသည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာများနှင့် အခြားသော လူနည်းစုတိုင်းရင်းသားများအပေါ် မုဒိမ်းကျင့်ခြင်း အပါအဝင် လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာနှင့် ကျား-မ အခြေပြု အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများကို စစ်လက်နက်သဖွယ်အသုံးချပြီး စနစ်တကျဖြင့် ကျယ်ကျယ်ပြန့်ပြန့် ကျူးလွန်နေခဲ့သည်ကို မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ တိုင်းရင်းသား အမျိုးသမီးအဖွဲ့အစည်းများက ၂၀၀၀ ခုနှစ် အစောပိုင်းနှစ်များ ကတည်းက ကောင်းမွန်စွာ မှတ်တမ်းတင်ထားကြပြီး ကျယ်ကျယ်ပြန့်ပြန် အစီရင်ဖော်ထုတ်ခဲ့ကြသည့်အပြင် ၂၀၁၉ ခုနှစ်တွင်လည်း ကုလသမဂ္ဂ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာ အချက်အလက်ရှာဖွေရေးမစ်ရှင် (UN Fact-Finding Mission for Myanmar – FFM) က အလားတူ လုပ်ဆောင်ခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်သည်။ နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအနေဖြင့် ထိရောက်သော အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်မှု မရှိခြင်းနှင့် နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေကို လျစ်လျူရှုပြီး ဆယ်စုနှစ်ပေါင်းများစွာ ပြောင်ပြောင်တင်းတင်းချိုးဖောက်နေသည့် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်အား တာဝန်ယူမှု တာဝန်ခံမှု ရှိလာစေရေး အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်ရန် ပျက်ကွက်ခဲ့ခြင်းတို့က ၎င်းကို ပိုမို အတင့်ရဲလာစေပြီး ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် နောက်ပိုင်းတွင် တစ်နိုင်ငံလုံး အတိုင်းအတာဖြင့် ကျူးလွန်မှုများကို မျက်မြင်ကြုံတွေ့နေရပြီး ဖြစ်သည်။ အာရက္ခတပ်တော် (Arakan Army – AA)နှင့် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်တို့အကြား ပြင်းထန်နေသည့် တိုက်ပွဲများသည် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ လူမှုအသိုက်အ၀န်း အားလုံးအပေါ် ဆိုးရွားလှသော ဆိုးကျိုးသက်ရောက်မှုများ ရှိနေသည့် တစ်ချိန်တည်းတွင် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်မြောက်ပိုင်းရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအပေါ် ကျူးလွန်နေသည့် အာရက္ခတပ်တော်၏ လုပ်ဆောင်မှုများသည် ဘိုးဘွားပိုင်မြေပေါ်မှ ၎င်းတို့၏ တည်ရှိမှုအပေါ် ထပ်မံ ခြိမ်းခြောက်နေသည်။ ယင်းအခြေအနေသည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်မှု ကျူးလွန်သူအားလုံးမှ တာ၀န်ယူမှု တာဝန်ခံမှု ရှိလာစေရေး အရေးတကြီး လုပ်ဆောင်ရန် လိုအပ်ကြောင်း မီးမောင်းထိုးဖော်ပြနေသည်။ မြန်မာပြည်သူများ၏ တော်လှန်ရေး အသာစီးရလာနေသည့်တစ်ချိန်တည်းတွင် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်မှာမူ တစ်ဟုန်ထိုး ကျဆုံးနေလျက်ရှိသည်။ စစ်အုပ်စုကို အောင်နိုင်ရေး လုပ်ဆောင်နေသည့် ပြည်သူများ၏ စွန့်လွှတ် အနစ်နာခံမှုများသည် တိုင်းပြည်ကို ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်မတိုင်မီ ပိုနေမြဲ ကျားနေမြဲ အခြေအနေကို ပြန်ရောက်ရေး လုပ်ဆောင်နေခြင်း မဟုတ်ပေ။ သို့ရာတွင် ဤတော်လှန်ရေးဖြင့် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသစ်ကို တည်ဆောက်ရာတွင် စစ်အုပ်စုကို ဆန့်ကျင်တော်လှန်နေသည့် တော်လှန်ရေးလုပ်ဆောင်နေသူများ အားလုံးအနေဖြင့် နိုင်ငံတကာ လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ထားမှုဆိုင်ရာနှင့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာ ဥပဒေများကို လေးစားလိုက်နာရန် လိုအပ်သည်။ ဤအချိန်ကာလသည် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်၏ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများနှင့် အပြစ်ဒဏ်ပေး အရေးယူခံရခြင်းမှ ကင်းလွှတ်နေမှု သံသရာကို အဆုံးသတ်ရန် လက်မလွှတ်သင့်သော၊ လက်လွှတ်၍မရသော အရေးကြီးသည့် အခွင့်အရေး ဖြစ်သည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများအပေါ် ကျူးလွန်သော လူမျိုးသုဥ်းသတ်ဖြတ်မှုများ အပါအ၀င်၊ နိုင်ငံတဝှမ်းတွင် ကျူးလွန်နေသော စစ်ရာဇ၀တ်မှုများနှင့် လူသားမျိုးနွယ်အပေါ် ကျူးလွန်သော ရာဇ၀တ်မှုများအတွက် တာဝန်ယူမှု တာ၀န်ခံမှု ရှိလာစေရန် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်အပေါ် အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်မှုများ လုပ်ဆောင်ရန် လိုအပ်သည်။ ဤကိစ္စနှင့်စပ်လျဉ်း၍ အထူးကိုယ်စားလှယ်၏ တောင်းဆိုချက်ဖြစ်သော ရောမစာချုပ် အပိုဒ် ၁၄ ပါအချက်အရ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံအခြေအနေအား အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ ရာဇဝတ်ခုံရုံး (International Criminal Court – ICC) သို့ လွှဲပြောင်းပေးရန် ဆိုသောအချက်ကို မိမိတို့မှ ထပ်လောင်းတောင်းဆိုလိုက်သည်။ မြန်မာတော်လှန်ရေးအဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှ နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေများအားကို လေးစားလိုက်နာမှု ရှိစေရန်၊ အရပ်သားပြည်သူများကို အကာအကွယ်ပေးရန်၊ မြန်မာစစ်တပ်အား ဖြိုချဖျက်သိမ်းရေး ကြိုးပမ်းမှုများမှ တစ်ဆင့် တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် တာဝန်ခံမှု တာ၀န်ယူမှု ရှိလာစေရေးအတွက် သေချာစွာလုပ်ဆောင်ရန်၊ နှင့် အားလုံးပါဝင်မှုရှိပြီး တန်းတူညီမျှမှုနှင့် ငြိမ်းချမ်းစွာ အတူတကွယှဉ်တွဲနေထိုင်ရေးကို အာမခံသည့် ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီကို ထူထောင်မည့် ၎င်းတို့၏ မျှော်မှန်းချက်များကို အကောင်အထည်ဖော် ဆောင်ရွက်နိုင်ရန်အတွက် နိုင်ငံတကာအသိုင်းအ၀ိုင်းအနေဖြင့် ပံ့ပိုးကူညီပေးရမည် ဖြစ်သည်။..... ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher: Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
Date of publication: 2024-07-04
Date of entry/update: 2024-07-04
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Title: India must end racial discrimination against Rohingya, cease forced deportation and arbitrary detention, urges UN Committee
Description: "The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on Tuesday called on India to end the arbitrary detention of Rohingya who fled Myanmar to India and refrain from forcible deportation and returns to Myanmar, where they would risk being subjected to serious human rights violations and abuses. In a statement issued today under its early warning and urgent action procedure, the Committee also said that it was alarmed by reports of widespread racist hate speech and harmful stereotypes against Rohingya, including by politicians and public figures. It urged the State party to firmly condemn such heinous acts and ensure they are investigated and adequately punished, in compliance with its international obligations arising from the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Committee said it was “concerned about reports of arbitrary mass detention of the Rohingya, including children, in inadequate conditions and in some cases without due process or access to legal representation.” It is also alarmed about reports of “several cases of forcible deportation and returns to Myanmar between 2018 and 2022 as well as the ongoing risk of deportation of the remaining Rohingya in India, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.” It urged India to end the arbitrary mass detention of the Rohingya, and only apply immigration detention as a measure of last resort - for the shortest possible period - and to provide detained Rohingya with legal safeguards and access to legal counsel. It also called on India to ensure that living conditions in places of detention are adequate and in accordance with international standards. The Committee further called on the State party to “end racial discrimination against Rohingya and to remove restrictions preventing them from enjoying their rights without discrimination, in particular with regard to access to employment, health and education, especially by ensuring the issuance of long term visas and other identity document.” The Committee called on the State party to continue to collaborate with the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, including by facilitating a country visit to India. CERD’s early warning and urgent action procedure primarily aims to consider situations that might escalate into conflicts, in order to take appropriate preventive actions to avoid full-scale violations of human rights under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination..."
Source/publisher: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Geneva)
Date of publication: 2024-07-02
Date of entry/update: 2024-07-02
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Title: High Commissioner for Human Rights Says Myanmar is Being Suffocated by an Illegitimate Military Regime, Speaks of Stories of Horrific War Tactics and Brutal Atrocity Crimes
Description: "The Human Rights Council this morning held an interactive dialogue with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on his report on Myanmar, hearing that Myanmar was being suffocated by an illegitimate military regime, and of stories of horrific war tactics and brutal atrocity crimes. Volker Türk, High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Myanmar was being suffocated by an illegitimate military regime. It was in agonising pain. This was a crisis, he said, emblematic of a decades-long legacy of military domination, the stifling of dissent, and division. Right now, these very same dynamics were playing out in terrifying form with the Rohingya and Rakhine communities. There were stories of horrific war tactics, such as beheadings, midnight drone attacks, and the burning of homes as people slept, Mr. Türk recounted. People being shot at as they fled for their lives. The military had lost control over a considerable amount of territory. It was resorting to increasingly extreme measures: forced conscription; indiscriminate bombardment of towns and villages; and brutal atrocity crimes. Since February 2021, at least 5,280 civilians, including 1,022 women and 667 children, had been killed at the hands of the military, Mr. Türk reported. At least 26,865 individuals had been arrested and 20,592 remained in detention. There were now three million people internally displaced by these conflicts. These and so many more of the cruel consequences of the military’s continued denial of humanitarian access remained invisible and under-reported. He also reported witnessing a profound sense of hope. There was a new generation of young people from all ethnic communities leading the struggle to create an inclusive vision for the future of Myanmar. The international community was witnessing a people’s revolution against decades of oppression and violence. In some areas outside the military’s control, new local governance structures had emerged, supported by ethnic armed groups and activists alike. They were providing food, shelter, education and healthcare for hundreds of thousands who were otherwise receiving little to no humanitarian support. Mr. Türk said nobody should be forcibly returned to Myanmar at this time. There needed to be an urgent rethink of how the international community could respond collectively to this unmitigated crisis. It was time to go beyond the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Five Point Consensus that had failed to stem the violence or restore democracy. The Association’s efforts needed to be reenergised and backed by a consortium of influential States to develop a new roadmap that could restore the destiny of Myanmar to its people. This needed to factor in the new realities of local governance emerging on the ground, which could provide building blocks towards a democratic future from the bottom up. Myanmar’s people needed to have a place at the table. This meant reaching out to the democracy movement and youth, involving them meaningfully in the resolution of this crisis. The new generation in Myanmar – particularly the women’s leadership that had emerged – needed to be supported in a “visioning process” for the future of the country. With more attention, more investment, more political will and more action, this situation could be turned around for a better tomorrow for the people of Myanmar. In the ensuing debate, many speakers, among other things, said they remained deeply disturbed by the frequent and credible reports of serious violations and abuses of human rights and international law in Myanmar and the deeply deteriorating humanitarian situation. They shared the grave concerns expressed in recent statements from the High Commissioner, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, and the Special Rapporteur that detailed targeted attacks against civilians, including Rohingya, which had led people to flee to the Bangladesh border and hampered humanitarian access. Speakers condemned the repressive actions of the Myanmar military; all violence against civilians needed to cease. States were called on to prevent or halt the flow of arms, military and dual-use materials to the Myanmar military. In the context of decreasing funding for the Joint Response Plan, the international community needed to keep investing in the wellbeing, safety, and dignity of Rohingya, and help realise their right to return to their homeland in Rakhine. Some speakers said that only by upholding sovereign equality and non-involvement in internal affairs could the problems truly be solved, and human rights upheld. Repatriation was the only way out of the Rohingya crisis. Some speakers expressed concern at the ongoing politicisation of the Human Rights Council’s mandate on Myanmar and the fact that the country concerned did not consent to the process. Speaking in the interactive debate were Australia on behalf of a group of countries, European Union, Luxembourg on behalf of a group of countries, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Denmark on behalf of a group of countries, Kuwait, Ireland, Egypt, Japan, Iran, United Nations Children's Fund, Sierra Leone, Türkiye, Indonesia, Spain, France, Maldives, Switzerland, China, United States, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation, Malta, Belarus, Cyprus, Malaysia, Georgia, United Kingdom, Austria, Ghana, Venezuela, Gambia, India, Malawi, Thailand, Viet Nam and Lao People's Democratic Republic. Also speaking were Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, CIVICUS - World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Centre pour les Droits Civils et Politiques - Centre CCPR, Association Ma'onah for Human Rights and Immigration, Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada, Human Rights Watch, Association caritative étudiante pour la jeunesse and Legal Action Worldwide. The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-sixth regular session can be found here. The Council will reconvene at 3 p.m. this afternoon, 18 June. It will next hold an enhanced interactive dialogue on the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, before commencing an interactive dialogue on the oral update of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan. Report The Council has before it the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar A/HRC/56/23 Presentation of Report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights VOLKER TÜRK, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Myanmar was being suffocated by an illegitimate military regime. It was in agonising pain. The disintegration of human rights continued at breakneck speed. This was a crisis emblematic of a decades-long legacy of military domination, the stifling of dissent, and division. Right now, these very same dynamics were playing out in terrifying form with the Rohingya and Rakhine communities. There were stories of horrific war tactics, such as beheadings. Midnight drone attacks. The burning of homes as people slept. People being shot at as they fled for their lives. The military had lost control over a considerable amount of territory. It was resorting to increasingly extreme measures: forced conscription; indiscriminate bombardment of towns and villages; and brutal atrocity crimes. Mr. Türk said he had just returned from a visit to south-east Asia, where he heard from Myanmar civil society on the spiralling regional impacts of the crisis and the urgent need for leadership and influence to halt this catastrophe. The Myanmar military continued to gain access to foreign currency and weapons it needed to sustain its campaign of terror, while international financial support for the people of Myanmar was meagre at best. He also reported witnessing a profound sense of hope. There was a new generation of young people from all ethnic communities leading the struggle to create an inclusive vision for the future of Myanmar. Mr. Türk said he was moved by their solidarity and shared hopes. Young people had strong expectations of the international community. They sought for the extent of Myanmar’s suffering to be genuinely acknowledged and given the attention it deserved. They hoped that funding would be made available to those on the ground to deliver humanitarian assistance and services directly to communities throughout the country. They had risked their lives and livelihoods to help communities in need and resist the repression by the military. And with them, a future was possible. The High Commissioner said the international community was witnessing a people’s revolution against decades of oppression and violence. In some areas outside the military’s control, new local governance structures had emerged, supported by ethnic armed groups and activists alike. They were providing food, shelter, education and healthcare for hundreds of thousands who were otherwise receiving little to no humanitarian support. They were delivering critically needed protection services in the complete absence of a functioning public system. The Karenni Interim Executive Council in Kayah State, for example, had created a local governance system, where seven members had been elected by the people to respond to the community’s needs. Mr. Türk called on all anti-military armed groups to ensure the protection of civilians, defectors and persons who surrendered at all times. The people of Myanmar needed to be spared more despair, more suffering, more fear. Armed conflicts continued to rage brutally across the country, taking an increasingly grim toll on the lives of civilians. The High Commissioner’s Office was investigating several reported attacks against civilians in Rakhine state and Sagaing over recent days with large numbers of civilians allegedly killed in airstrikes, naval artillery barrages and shootings. Mr. Türk said he was very concerned about the situation in Maungdaw. The Arakan Army this weekend gave all remaining residents – including a large Rohingya population – a warning to evacuate. But Rohingya had no options. There was nowhere to flee. Following a similar pattern in Buthidaung, where Rohingya were ordered to flee, and then the town burned, it seemed that the international community was – yet again -- about to bear witness to displacement, destruction and abuses. The military also reportedly ordered evacuation of ethnic Rakhine villages around Sittwe, where they had been conducting mass arrests in recent days. In another instance, the village of Byaing Phyu was reportedly emptied of its several hundred residents, as the military tried to identify men of fighting age who sympathised with their armed opponent, the Arakan Army. Men were separated from women. Dozens of men were allegedly tortured, shot and killed. Multiple reports alleged that at least five women were also raped and killed in the incident. Their village was burned. Hundreds of men taken away were now missing. In a cynical move, the military had pressured and threatened young Rohingya men to join their ranks. Some reports had indicated thousands of Rohingya youth had been conscripted into the very same forces that displaced hundreds of thousands of their community in 2016 and 2017. In response, the Arakan Army had exhorted Rohingya to fight with them against the military. They had targeted their communities by forcibly displacing residents. On multiple occasions, they had detained or killed men of fighting age who they suspected of taking up arms against them. These tactics had brought back the shocking images and memories from 2017 of systematic terrorisation, persecution and forced displacement of populations. Today, sections of Maungdaw and Buthidaung had been alternately burned. Ethnic Rakhine houses and neighbourhoods were set alight, followed days later by the burning of Rohingya villages. Tens of thousands of civilians from these communities had been forced to flee, among them entire Rohingya communities with no guarantees of finding safe haven. Over one million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh were still living in limbo in dire conditions, with no prospect for durable solutions. All this in the face of binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice for the protection of Rohingya while it examined the case alleging genocide brought before it by Gambia and other Member States. Accountability, including in proceedings currently pending before the International Criminal Court, was absolutely critical. The failures to ensure accountability in Myanmar’s past transition were now allowing history to repeat itself and were haunting the present and the future. The situation in Rakhine state was – tragically – just one example of how this coup, which had resulted in three years of conflict, had brought pain and suffering to an entire country. The attacks by the military had been, and continued to be, indiscriminate. Since February 2021, at least 5,280 civilians, including 1,022 women and 667 children, had been killed at the hands of the military. At least 26,865 individuals had been arrested and 20,592 remained in detention. There were now three million people internally displaced by these conflicts, the vast majority still without proper shelter, access to food or water, essential medicines or healthcare. These and so many more of the cruel consequences of the military’s continued denial of humanitarian access remained invisible and under-reported. Mr. Türk said the violence needed to end. The attacks against civilians, the forced conscription and the denial of humanitarian aid needed to end. Mr. Türk urged all parties to prevent the recurrence of the atrocity crimes committed against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017. He also called on countries in the region to ensure international protection, and provision of adequate shelter, support and long-term access to essential services to people fleeing the violence and persecution. Special provisions needed to be made for human rights defenders, who were particularly exposed and often faced transnational threats and refoulement. Mr. Türk said nobody should be forcibly returned to Myanmar at this time. There needed to be an urgent rethink of how the international community could respond collectively to this unmitigated crisis. It was time to go beyond the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ Five Point Consensus that had failed to stem the violence or restore democracy. The Association’s efforts needed to be reenergised and backed by a consortium of influential States to develop a new roadmap that could restore the destiny of Myanmar to its people. This needed to factor in the new realities of local governance emerging on the ground, which could provide building blocks towards a democratic future from the bottom up. Myanmar’s people needed to have a place at the table. This meant reaching out to the democracy movement and youth, involving them meaningfully in the resolution of this crisis. The new generation in Myanmar – particularly the women’s leadership that had emerged – needed to be supported in a “visioning process” for the future of the country. With more attention, more investment, more political will and more action, this situation could be turned around for a better tomorrow for the people of Myanmar. Discussion In the discussion, many speakers, among other things, said they remained deeply disturbed by the frequent and credible reports of serious violations and abuses of human rights and international law in Myanmar and the deeply deteriorating humanitarian situation. They shared the grave concerns expressed in recent statements from the High Commissioner, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and the Special Rapporteur that detailed targeted attacks against civilians, including Rohingya, which had led people to flee to the Bangladesh border and hampered humanitarian access. Speakers condemned the repressive actions of the Myanmar military; all violence against civilians must cease. Conflict continued to escalate across Myanmar, causing suffering across the country, including through military attacks causing civilian fatalities; aerial attacks and shelling of homes, schools, places of worship and hospitals; and mass killings, persecution, torture and sexual and gender-based violence. The forced and prolonged recruitment of conscripts, including forced recruitment of children, exacerbated the civil war and disrupted society at every level, while fuelling identity-based violence. A record 1.3 million people had been displaced, with many of them being children, facing increasing human rights violations. Many speakers said they were deeply concerned at the resumption of hostilities in Rakhine state and at the recent reports of violence, forced displacement and property destruction against the Rohingya Muslims in Buthidaung township in Rakhine. In Rakhine state, the reported forced recruitment of Rohingya was further dividing communities, and bringing to the surface deep-seated ethnic tensions and mistrust, making it increasingly dangerous for all civilians. Since February, Myanmar security forces had press ganged as many as 5,000 Rohingya men and boys from across Rakhine. Thus, Rohingya who had been denied citizenship and basic freedoms under the military’s system of apartheid were being forced unlawfully to fight on the junta’s behalf. Grave concern was expressed at the forced recruitment and use of Rohingya as a human shield by the warring parties in Rakhine. It was vital to immediately put an end to this illegal conscription and allow Rohingya already conscripted to return home. Speakers underscored the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures order from 23 January 2020 and the urgent need for compliance with it. Without accountability, there could be no lasting peace. Some speakers welcomed the appointment of the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar, Julie Bishop. Bangladesh was commended for hosting the Rohingya refugees, as well as Gambia for its efforts to hold the perpetrators accountable at the International Criminal Court of Justice. Some speakers reiterated their willingness to work with Gambia and like-minded countries to bring justice to the Rohingya. Some speakers said the Myanmar issue was very complex. Only by upholding sovereign equality and non-involvement in internal affairs could the problems truly be solved, and human rights upheld. Repatriation was the only way out of the Rohingya crisis. Some speakers expressed concern at the ongoing politicisation of the Human Rights Council’s mandate on Myanmar and the fact that the country concerned did not consent to the process. Some information from the Myanmar Government had not been included in the report, a speaker said, meaning the report provided a distorted reality of the situation on the ground. Many speakers urged all conflicting parties to protect the Rohingya Muslims and ensure their safety and security. They called for an immediate end to all violations and abuses against civilians, the provision of full and unhindered humanitarian access, the release of all political prisoners, and an inclusive dialogue with meaningful participation of all stakeholders. All parties, in particular the Myanmar military, needed to allow complete, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all persons in need and ensure the protection of civilians. States were called on to prevent or halt the flow of arms, military and dual-use materials to the Myanmar military. In the context of decreasing funding in Joint Response Plan, the international community needed to keep investing in the wellbeing, safety, and dignity of Rohingya, and help realise their right to return to their homeland in Rakhine. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights needed to closely monitor the situation in Rakhine and play an active role in pursuing a durable solution to the crisis, including through contributing to accountability processes. Many speakers reiterated their resolute support for the people of Myanmar. Ensuring justice and accountability for all human rights violations and abuses, committed by any actor, was crucial, and in this regard, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar was vital. Speakers reiterated their support for this important mechanism. Among questions, speakers asked the High Commissioner to provide more information on the unique needs of women and girls who were internally displaced and what could be done to strengthen their protection? How instrumental was the flow of dual-use goods and jet fuel to committing human rights violations and abuses? What else could be done to ensure accountability of perpetrators of grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, which, despite all the processes initiated at the international level, was still being committed? Concluding Remarks by the High Commissioner VOLKER TÜRK, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in concluding remarks, said the response to the crisis was cross-regional. The message to the military in Myanmar was that the world was watching and urgent action needed to be taken. This was an issue that had regional and global implications. The violence had affected a large percentage of Myanmar’s townships. There were over 18 million people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance and 25 million living below the poverty line. There were over a million refugees being hosted in Bangladesh, and hundreds of thousands in other neighbouring countries. This was a crisis that had international implications. Many women and girls had been killed by the military since the start of the coup. Women had been sentenced to death. Half of the internally displaced population were women and girls. They had limited access to shelter and food. The humanitarian response needed to be stepped up and there needed to be more creativity in how it was delivered. It needed to avoid all military channels. The non-military channels needed to be increased massively. The support of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations needed to be built up and United Nations support needed to be strengthened. Neither the Arakan Army nor the military would protect the Rohingya. All human rights violations needed to be properly documented. The impact of airstrikes on the civilian population was horrendous. Airstrikes had claimed at least 362 civilians since last August. There were governance structures at the local level providing essential services. There needed to be creative models developed to support these structures. There were capacities at the local level to forge a new Myanmar society. Women’s leadership was essential in this regard. The International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court processes were essential for ensuring accountability. Mr. Türk congratulated Gambia for pursuing these processes. He also called for support for the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. The Security Council needed to broaden its mandate on the situation in Myanmar. More efforts needed to be devoted to ensuring that hate speech and disinformation on the issue was not prevalent on social media. It was possible to reconstruct community cohesion. Mr. Türk said that he had in his most recent visit to the region been able to visit with refugees from all affected groups; this had not been possible in the past. There needed to be a stepping up of international support to respond to this deeply worrying situation in the country. Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the information media; not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva)
Date of publication: 2024-06-18
Date of entry/update: 2024-06-18
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Title: Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/56/23) (Advance unedited version)
Description: "Human Rights Council Fifty-sixth session 18 June–12 July 2024 Agenda item 2 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Summary Prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 50/3, this report presents findings based on OHCHR monitoring and verification of the situation of human rights in Myanmar regarding implementation of the recommendations made by the independent international fact-finding mission, including those on accountability, and to track progress on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities. I. Introduction and methodology 1. Pursuant to its resolution 50/3, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor and follow up on the implementation of the recommendations made by the independent international fact-finding mission, including those on accountability, and to continue to track progress on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, including of Rohingya Muslims (Rohingya) and other minorities, and on the overall situation in the country and to report back during the 56th session. 2. Findings have been verified by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) based on remote monitoring conducted between 1 August 2023 and 31 March 2024. While this report refers to patterns of violations since the military coup in February 2021, it also examines trends and patterns in violations of international human rights law and, where applicable, of international humanitarian law, focusing on the human rights situation of the Rohingya and other minorities. 3. In line with resolution 50/3, the report’s objective is to document violations to ensure that verified information is readily available for use in existing and future accountability processes. It underscores the importance of accountability to address the root cause of the escalating human rights crisis and as a cornerstone of sustainable peace. 4. OHCHR conducted 181 interviews, including with victims and witnesses, eleven consultations with local and international organizations, UN entities and thematic experts, as well as analysis of satellite images and official documents. In the absence of recognized governmental authorities,1 OHCHR submitted requests for information to the Myanmar military (the military), UN entities, other stakeholders including the National Unity Government, relevant ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) exercising effective control in certain areas, civil society organizations, and religious organizations and representatives. Inputs received were analysed and reflected as appropriate. 5. OHCHR prioritized the full respect of the “do no harm” principle over any other consideration. Factual determinations of incidents and patterns were made where there were reasonable grounds to believe that relevant incidents had occurred as described. Figures of verified deaths likely underestimate realities on the ground as military-imposed internet shutdowns since 1 February 2021 and other restrictions hamper ability to verify fully all casualties. 6. This report builds on findings from previous reports and updates. 2 However, conflict dynamics altered substantially since the end of October, following coordinated operations by Ethnic Armed Organizations and other allied anti-military groups in most ethnic states and central regions. In retaliation, the military scaled up airstrikes and the use of heavy weapons, including against civilians and populated areas. The report examines the human rights impacts, including killings, disappearances, and arrests, of the military’s imposition of mandatory military service which has engendered profound fear amongst the public, especially those within the target age of conscription and their families. As fighting intensified, particularly in areas inhabited by minority communities, the report examines attacks against protected religious objects. Similarly, grave human rights concerns affecting the Rohingya and other communities in Rakhine following the resumption of hostilities in November 2023 are analysed, in further context of the binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in 2020.3 7. Amid this dire human rights situation, the report concludes by presenting some positive examples of emerging local forms of administration and governance providing services that protect and promote human rights. Some of these structures, including those in Kayah and Kayin, strive to ensure effective representation and participation of civil society and ensure the representation of women in decision-making. The High Commissioner recommends that these emerging ground-up models be further encouraged and supported, as they may lend themselves to application in other areas of Myanmar as part of possible future solutions..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2024-05-22
Date of entry/update: 2024-06-13
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Title: Myanmar: Urgent international action crucial to save lives of thousands of Rohingya in Rakhine State says UN expert
Description: "GENEVA (23 May 2024) – Thousands of innocent lives will be lost if the international community fails to respond to ominous signs of another Rohingya bloodbath in Rakhine State, a UN expert said today. “Once again, the world seems to be failing a desperate people in their hour of peril while a hate-driven unnatural disaster unfolds in real time in Myanmar’s Rakhine State,” said Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar. “While the military-imposed internet shutdown makes it challenging to get information from Northern Rakhine, alarming and credible reports of killings, enforced disappearances, and widespread arson are emerging,” Andrews said. Satellite imagery reveals the burning of large parts of the Buthidaung town, with reports that tens of thousands of Rohingya are being displaced. “Information that has already emerged from northern Rakhine State more than warrants an immediate emergency response by the international community,” the Special Rapporteur said. “With multiple armed groups actors operating in Rakhine, including the Myanmar military, the Arakan Army, and Rohingya groups, including the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, I call on all to adhere to international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect innocent civilian lives, regardless of religion or ethnicity. Mechanisms to provide emergency humanitarian aid must be immediately established and all parties must support the robust infusion of aid into Rakhine,” the expert said. “While an investigation must ultimately uncover the truth and justice must be pursued to hold those responsible fully accountable, the military’s role is clear in fostering toxic conditions in Rakhine State, from propaganda fueling ethnic tensions to the forced recruitment of young Rohingya men into the junta’s military.” Andrews recalled that by opening its border in 2017, Bangladesh saved the lives of untold numbers of Rohingya who fled in the face of genocidal attacks. “Once again, Bangladesh’s generosity may be their only hope as large groups of Rohingya are forcibly displaced and move towards the border. I urgently appeal to the Government of Bangladesh to reverse its closed border policy and demonstrate their humanitarian support for the Rohingya once again,” he said. The Special Rapporteur warned however that Bangladesh does not have the capacity to meet the demands of this crisis without the emergency intervention and support of the international community. Rations cuts, inadequate infrastructure, spiraling violence, and reported forced recruitment by Rohingya militant groups have threatened the lives and wellbeing of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. He urged all States to provide an emergency infusion of funds to help rescue and support desperate families fleeing conflict and address the current conditions in the camps. “The choice of these States to either step up or step away from this horror could literally be a matter of life and death for countless Rohingya,” Andrews said. Mr. Thomas Andrews (United States of America) is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. A former member of the US Congress from Maine, Andrews is a Robina Senior Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School and an Associate of Harvard University’s Asia Center. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and parliamentarians, NGOs and political parties in Cambodia, Indonesia, Algeria, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine and Yemen. He has been a consultant for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and the Euro-Burma Network and has run advocacy NGOs including Win Without War and United to End Genocide. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Comprising the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, Special Procedures is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2024-05-23
Date of entry/update: 2024-05-24
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Title: UN Shows Conflicting Approaches to Myanmar Crisis
Sub-title: Security Council Inaction Highlighted at Rare Open Meeting
Description: "Myanmar’s already abysmal human rights situation is getting worse. That’s what senior United Nations officials told the UN Security Council on April 4, during a rare open meeting on Myanmar, its first since February 2019. The council heard of a spiraling human rights and humanitarian catastrophe, with particularly worrisome abuses in Rakhine State. Conflict has “weakened transnational security” and instability has led to a crisis with “global implications,” officials said. In December 2022, the council adopted Resolution 2669, condemning the Myanmar military’s abuses and attacks on civilians since its February 2021 coup. The resolution called on the military to release political prisoners, restore democratic institutions, and engage in dialogue. Since then, however, the Security Council has been largely silent on the situation. Meanwhile, Myanmar’s junta has ramped up attacks on civilians, including airstrikes, and increasingly blocked humanitarian aid. Refugees are fleeing to Bangladesh, China, India, and Thailand. Thousands of Rohingya are making dangerous journeys by sea to find refuge in Indonesia, Malaysia, and elsewhere. The open meeting occurred the same day as the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva adopted a new resolution on Myanmar, which urged the UN secretary-general and General Assembly to renew attention to Myanmar at the Security Council. The Security Council should take more meaningful steps to address rights concerns, including instituting an arms embargo, referring the situation to the International Criminal Court, and imposing targeted sanctions on military-owned companies. Regional efforts by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been utterly inadequate. The Human Rights Council’s April 4 resolution calls for restricting the Myanmar military’s access to jet fuel, a call echoed by the United States at the Security Council meeting. But at the Security Council, China and Russia continue to block consideration of an embargo or any other measures, and now oppose even holding debates. At the Security Council meeting, both disputed that the situation in Myanmar was within the council’s mandate. Almost every other member government raised serious concerns about the crisis, and many bemoaned the body’s inaction. The Security Council needs to act. Even countries usually not in favor of strong UN action on human rights in Myanmar should recognize the dangers of continued inaction. As a Japanese delegate put it, the Security Council’s inaction is not what the people of Myanmar “expect from this august body.” ..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication: 2024-04-04
Date of entry/update: 2024-04-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Anti-Rohingya Hate Speech on Facebook: Content and Network Analysis
Description: "Publication of IIMM Analytical Reports Reports on Myanmar military’s anti-Rohingya hate speech campaign and Myanmar authorities’ failure to investigate and punish sexual violence committed against Rohingya Statement by Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar Geneva, 27 March 2024 – Today the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar is publicly releasing two analytical reports. One report details the Myanmar military’s covert Facebook network that systematically distributed hate speech against the Rohingya at the time of the 2017 clearance operations. The second report examines the response of Myanmar state authorities to allegations of sexual and gender-based crimes committed by security forces against the Rohingya. This report concludes that the authorities failed in their duty under international law to investigate and punish these acts. These reports form a small part of the evidence and analysis that the Mechanism has shared with authorities working on ongoing cases concerning the Rohingya at the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and in Argentina. These two reports have been made public on an exceptional basis. The vast majority of the material the Mechanism has collected and analyzed must remain confidential. Confidentiality protects the security and privacy of witnesses and sources. It is also standard procedure to maintain the confidentiality of ongoing criminal investigations before evidence is presented at trial to prevent efforts to hide or destroy evidence, to protect the integrity of witness testimony, and to avoid alerting suspects who could evade arrest or detection. However, the Mechanism recognizes that there is a significant public interest in our work, and we aim to be transparent whenever possible. Perhaps some of our analysis can be used by others to advance the purpose of creating the Mechanism: ensuring accountability for the most serious international crimes committed in Myanmar and contributing to ending the very worst violence inflicted upon Myanmar’s people. After careful evaluation we have decided to publish these reports. Some redactions have been made in the versions of the reports released today in order to preserve future investigative opportunities, avoid disclosing information that could assist perpetrators’ efforts to destroy or conceal evidence, and protect the safety and privacy of witnesses, sources and other persons. The material that has been redacted includes several annexes to the hate speech report. Report on hate speech The hate speech report provides a rigorous analysis of content posted on 43 Facebook Pages between July and December 2017. All of these Pages were removed by Facebook in 2018. Six Pages were removed because they were connected to individuals or organizations that Facebook banned from the platform as international experts had found evidence that they had “committed or enabled serious human rights abuses (in Myanmar)”. The other 37 Pages were removed for engaging in “coordinated inauthentic behaviour” in violation of the company’s misrepresentation policies.1 The Mechanism’s analysis concluded that these seemingly unrelated Pages, some of which were devoted to celebrity news and popular culture, were part of a network with clear ties to the Myanmar military. These Pages often shared creators, administrators, and editors and regularly posted material using the same IP addresses used by the Myanmar military. Identical material was often posted on multiple Pages in this network, sometimes within minutes. The report identifies more than 10,000 posts on these Pages that the Mechanism considered hate speech. One such post received more than 200 comments calling for Rohingya to be shot, killed, or permanently removed from Myanmar. The report concludes that at the very time of mass violence against the Rohingya, the Myanmar military was carrying out a coordinated hate speech campaign against the group. Report on failure to investigate and punish sexual and gender-based crimes The report analyzes how state authorities in Myanmar responded to multiple allegations of sexual and gender-based crimes against the Rohingya during the 2016 and 2017 clearance operations. Under international law, military and civilian leaders are obliged to investigate and, where appropriate, punish acts of those under their command that could amount to serious international crimes, including acts of sexual violence. Furthermore, rape can constitute an underlying act of genocide if committed with the intent to destroy a group. Therefore, the failure to investigate and punish these crimes could amount to a violation of Myanmar’s obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The report summarizes a variety of material that was publicly available about sexual and gender-based crimes against the Rohingya during the clearance operations, including information published by the media, NGOs and various UN bodies, as well as discussions in the UN Security Council and findings of the International Criminal Court Pre-Trial Chamber and demonstrates that Myanmar state authorities would have been aware of these very serious allegations. The report then examines the response of Myanmar state authorities, including several investigations and inquiries, and explains why these were grossly inadequate both in the process and the results. The report notes that there is no evidence that any soldier or police officer was charged or prosecuted for sexual and gender-based crimes, nor any commander dismissed, demoted, or sanctioned for failing to stop or punish those committing these crimes. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM or Mechanism) was created by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018 to collect and analyze evidence of the most serious international crimes and other violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. It aims to facilitate justice and accountability by preserving and organizing this evidence and preparing case files that can be used by authorities to prosecute individuals in national, regional, and international courts..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2024-03-27
Date of entry/update: 2024-03-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: Military junta even greater threat to civilians as it imposes military draft, warns UN expert
Description: "NEW YORK (21 February 2024) – Myanmar’s military junta is becoming an even greater threat to civilians, even as it shows further signs of weakness and desperation through the imposition of mandatory military service, warned a UN expert. Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, today called for stronger international action to protect increasingly vulnerable populations. “While wounded and increasingly desperate, the Myanmar military junta remains extremely dangerous,” he said. “Troop losses and recruitment challenges have become existential threats for the junta, which faces vigorous attacks on frontlines all across the country. As the junta forces young men and women into the military ranks, it has doubled down on its attacks on civilians using stockpiles of powerful weapons.” On 10 February, the junta issued an order that purportedly brought the 2010 People’s Military Service Law into force. Citizen men aged 18 to 35 and citizen women aged 18 to 27 are eligible for conscription, though “professional” men and women can be conscripted up to the ages of 45 and 35 respectively. Those who evade military service or help others evade military service are subject to up to five years imprisonment. A junta spokesperson has indicated that the junta intends to conscript 5,000 individuals per month beginning in April. In the face of inaction by the Security Council, the Special Rapporteur urged States to strengthen and coordinate measures to reduce the junta’s access to the weapons and financing it needs to sustain its attacks on the people of Myanmar. “Make no mistake, signs of desperation, such as the imposition of a draft, are not indications that the junta and its forces are less of a threat to the people of Myanmar. In fact, many are facing even greater dangers.” “By seeking to activate the conscription law, the junta is trying to justify and expand its pattern of forced recruitment, which is already impacting civilian populations around the country. In recent months, young men have reportedly been kidnapped from the streets of Myanmar’s cities or otherwise compelled into joining the military’s ranks. Villagers have reportedly been used as porters and human shields,” said Andrews. “Young people are horrified by the possibility of being forced to participate in the junta’s reign of terror. The numbers fleeing across borders to escape conscription will surely skyrocket.” The Special Rapporteur also called for an infusion of humanitarian aid for impacted communities, including through the provision of cross-border aid. “I implore the international community to provide increased levels of humanitarian aid to those impacted by the conflict while supporting leaders committed to a democratic transition process that affirms human rights, transparency, and accountability,” he said. “Now, more than ever, the international community must act urgently to isolate the junta and protect the people of Myanmar.” ENDS Mr. Thomas Andrews (United States of America) is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. A former member of the US Congress from Maine, Andrews is a Robina Senior Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School and an Associate of Harvard University’s Asia Center. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and parliamentarians, NGOs and political parties in Cambodia, Indonesia, Algeria, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine and Yemen. He has been a consultant for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and the Euro-Burma Network and has run advocacy NGOs including Win Without War and United to End Genocide. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Comprising the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, Special Procedures is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2024-02-21
Date of entry/update: 2024-02-21
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Statement by Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (30 Jan 2024) [EN/MY]
Description: "Three years of widespread, systematic violence in Myanmar and the evidence against perpetrators is mounting Geneva, 30 January 2024 – Three years ago, the Myanmar military overthrew the country’s elected government. A host of serious international crimes followed, starting with the violent suppression of protests and arrests of those daring to speak out against the military regime. Thousands, including political opponents and journalists, have been detained without due process of law, and these detentions have often been accompanied by torture and other abuses, including sexual violence. The military takeover also triggered an intensification of armed conflicts in Myanmar, during which brutal crimes have been committed, including indiscriminate air strikes killing numerous civilians, mass killings of detainees, dismemberment and desecration of bodies, rape, and the deliberate burning of entire villages. Thousands have been killed, and around two million have been displaced. The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has been collecting evidence of these crimes from hundreds of sources over the past three years. The evidence reveals a pattern that indicates that these are not isolated crimes but rather a manifestation of an organizational policy, implemented on a widespread and systematic basis by the military regime. No one has yet been held accountable for these crimes, which has deepened the culture of impunity in the country. Through our analysis of the information we have collected, including testimonies from survivors, defectors and eyewitnesses, we are assembling evidence which can reveal who is responsible for these crimes. This includes the identity of those who are directing this policy, and many of those committing the crimes on the ground, from the air, or inside detention facilities. We are investigating the perpetrators who ordered and executed these crimes, as well as those who failed to punish the crimes committed by those under their command. The Mechanism continues to collect and analyze new information it receives regarding past or ongoing crimes, and each piece of evidence takes us closer to seeing the perpetrators held to account. We stand ready to support relevant authorities from national, regional or international courts or tribunals who will prosecute these crimes, now or in the future. We believe that one day this evidence will be presented in a court of law and those responsible will face justice. *The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM or Mechanism) *was created by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2018 to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and other violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011. It aims to facilitate justice and accountability by preserving and organizing this evidence and preparing case files for use in future prosecutions of those responsible in national, regional and international courts..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2023-01-30
Date of entry/update: 2024-01-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Myanmar: UN expert urges Member States to strengthen “growing trend” of coordinated action as human rights and humanitarian crisis deepens
Description: "NEW YORK (24 October 2023) – A growing trend of coordinated action by Member States, including sanctions targeting key financial institutions and jet fuel, is offering the hope of a more effective path forward to weaken a military junta that is driving Myanmar deeper into a human rights and humanitarian crisis, said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in remarks to the General Assembly’s Third Committee in New York. “The junta continues to attack the people of Myanmar with the relentless bombing of villages, hospitals, schools, and camps for internally displaced persons. But, non-Myanmar nationals are also being victimized by transnational criminal enterprises, including scam operations, that are flourishing on the border.” “Now is the time for UN Member States to strengthen and coordinate actions that weaken the junta,” Andrews said. “A world beset by conflagrations of mass violence must not lose sight of the runaway fire of brutality and human rights violations that is burning in Myanmar, threatening the lives of millions and eroding regional stability,” he said. In his report to the UN General Assembly, Andrews highlighted the junta’s attacks against civilians, including reports of mass killings, beheadings, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, forced labor, and the use of human shields by junta forces. Massive humanitarian needs have been exacerbated by the junta’s deliberate obstruction of the delivery of lifesaving aid, according to the report. Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have endured drastic cuts in food rations even as they face the threat of coercive repatriation back into the hands of the same military forces whose genocidal attacks forced them over the border. “Junta leaders would like the world to believe that only they can restore peace and stability in Myanmar. The opposite is true. The junta is an agent of chaos and violence, creating a vacuum of governance in the country that is increasingly impacting Myanmar’s neighbours and the international community,” Andrews said. While condemning the actions of Member States that supply the junta with arms and provide other forms of material or diplomatic support, Andrews praised positive actions taken by governments to deprive the junta of weapons, money and legitimacy. “Sanctions targeting aviation fuel and key financial institutions relied on by the junta are potent measures that could help alleviate the suffering of the people of Myanmar and push the country back towards the path to democracy,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Some of Myanmar’s neighbours have boycotted diplomatic and defense summits attended by junta officials and denounced the junta’s plans to hold fraudulent elections,” Andrews said. “The international community must build on the momentum created by these positive developments through a working coalition of States that are committed to human rights and engaging in coordinated actions that add up to a powerful whole,” he said. “The people of Myanmar deserve no less.” ENDS Mr. Thomas Andrews (United States of America) is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. A former member of the US Congress from Maine, Andrews is a Robina Senior Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School and an Associate of Harvard University’s Asia Center. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and parliamentarians, NGOs and political parties in Cambodia, Indonesia, Algeria, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine and Yemen. He has been a consultant for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and the Euro-Burma Network and has run advocacy NGOs including Win Without War and United to End Genocide. The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Comprising the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, Special Procedures is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2023-10-24
Date of entry/update: 2023-10-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Comment by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Myanmar
Description: "Six years ago this week, Myanmar’s military initiated its latest brutal campaign in a decades-long persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State. In what has been alleged to be a genocidal operation against the Rohingya, some 10,000 men, women, boys, girls, and newborns were killed, over 300 villages destroyed and over 700,000 fled to Bangladesh within a short period of time. In all, over a million Rohingya have fled persecution and systematic discrimination to seek international refugee protection in Bangladesh, and more than 100,000 others are being held in closed displacement camps inside Myanmar. In a sign of their desperation, thousands more continue to attempt dangerous sea crossings from Myanmar and Bangladesh, too often ending in tragedy. More must be done to hold the military to account for their repeated campaigns of persecution against the Rohingya, and for driving the country into its current human rights and humanitarian crisis. In the face of the impunity enjoyed by the Myanmar military for past and present crimes against the Rohingya as well as other groups, I call on States fully to support the ongoing international accountability efforts. Having spent many years trying to ease the plight of the Rohingya, my most fervent wish is for them to be able to return to their homes in dignity, in freedom and properly recognised as part of the diversity of Myanmar’s population. Their human rights must be fully respected and their security guaranteed. This is currently not the case given the precarious conditions in Rakhine State. Furthermore, the military has shown no willingness to address systematic discrimination against the Rohingya. In the face of competing crises, the international community must not forget the Rohingya people or their host community in Bangladesh. Humanitarian appeals for supporting the Rohingya, both in Myanmar and in the camps in Bangladesh, need greater support and funding. At the same time, third countries should expand Rohingya resettlement programmes or provide temporary protection, particularly in the region. And international efforts must be redoubled to reverse course in Myanmar and to ensure accountability and justice..."
Source/publisher: UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication: 2023-08-24
Date of entry/update: 2023-08-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: Report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (A/HRC/54/19) [EN/AR/RU/ZH]
Description: "Human Rights Council Fifty-fourth session 11 September–6 October 2023 Agenda item 4 Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention Summary The present document is the fifth report submitted by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 39/2 of 27 September 2018. It covers the activities carried out by the Mechanism between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. Four years after it began operations, the Mechanism continues to actively monitor and investigate the deteriorating situation in Myanmar. Armed conflicts substantially intensified during the reporting period. The Mechanism reiterates its previous assessment that there is strong evidence indicating that serious international crimes are being inflicted against the people in Myanmar. With no foreseeable end to the violence, the work of the Mechanism to facilitate justice and accountability is more relevant and necessary than ever. The Mechanism has made consistent and notable progress in fulfilling its mandate. It significantly increased the amount of first-hand testimonial evidence collected, by conducting several investigative missions to refugee camps and other locations and by carrying out screenings and in-person interviews with witnesses, survivors and defectors. The Mechanism also continued to collect additional evidence, such as photographs, videos, audio material, documents, maps, geospatial imagery, social media posts and forensic evidence. By the end of the reporting period, the Mechanism had collected millions of information items, and engaged with over 700 sources and information providers. The evidence collected will enable the Mechanism to continue building case files and analytical products to prove individual criminal responsibility for serious international crimes in Myanmar. The Mechanism is sharing evidence it has collected and its analysis for use in ongoing judicial processes. During the reporting period, the Mechanism completed three major analytical reports to be shared with national and international courts or tribunals, focusing on the structure and reporting lines within the Myanmar military; the failure of Myanmar authorities to investigate or punish sexual and gender-based crimes; and the organized spread of hate speech content on Facebook by the Myanmar military before, during and after the 2017 “clearance operations”. The Mechanism made significant strides in expanding and diversifying its collaboration with civil society organizations, which make critical contributions to its work owing to their access to on-the-ground information and contacts with potential witnesses. In the second quarter of 2023, the Mechanism held its first civil society dialogue, bringing together representatives from relevant civil society organizations to deepen partnerships and strengthen processes for ongoing cooperation and information-sharing. The civil society dialogues will be a regular and important component of the Mechanism’s increased engagement and collaboration with civil society organizations..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2023-06-30
Date of entry/update: 2023-08-09
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Size: 233.89 KB 304.08 KB 309.93 KB 456.77 KB
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Title: MEDIA ADVISORY: In first meeting in Nay Pyi Taw, Special Envoy Heyzer states steps State Administration Council must take to de-escalate conflict and reduce suffering of Myanmar people
Description: "NAY PYI TAW – Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer met with State Administration Council (SAC) Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Nay Pyi Taw today, in her first visit to Myanmar as Special Envoy, to communicate in person the pragmatic steps to de-escalate the violence, address the multidimensional crisis and advance unfettered humanitarian assistance free of discrimination to all people in need. The Special Envoy’s meeting with the Senior General and his senior advisers is part of broader efforts by the United Nations to urgently support an effective and peaceful Myanmar-led political pathway to return to civilian rule based on the will and the needs of the people. The Special Envoy’s mandate as an impartialactor is to engage with all stakeholders in Myanmar, the region and globally consistent with the principles of the United Nations. The Special Envoy’s visit follows her extensive consultations with actors from across the political spectrum, civil society and as communities affected by the conflict. “The United Nations Secretary-General is extremely concerned about the gravity of the humanitarian, security, economic and political crisis,” Special Envoy Heyzer said. “My visit is to convey the concern of the United Nations and propose concrete steps needed to reduce the conflict and suffering of the people. UN engagement does not in any way confer legitimacy. The people of Myanmar have the right to democracy and self-determination free from fear and want, which will only be possible by the good will and efforts of all stakeholders in an inclusive process.” She added that the United Nations was focused on providing support to women in Myanmar, the protection and empowerment of whom is key to achieving peace and any economic and social transformation. The Special Envoy stated that any progress in Myanmar depended on an end to the violence and visible and significant improvements in the lives of people on the ground. Following the recent death sentences carried out against pro-democracy activists that the United Nations has strongly condemned, the Special Envoy directly urged the Senior General to impose a moratorium on all future executions. She also reiterated the United Nations Secretary-General’s call for the release of all political prisoners. “I urged the SAC to implement the Secretary-General’s appeal,” the Special Envoy said. “I also conveyed a specific request from the Australian Government that has asked for the release of Australian economist Sean Turnell. Personally, I call for the release of all children who are being detained in prisons or other facilities.” The Special Envoy amplified the latest call from the Security Council for an immediate cessation of all forms of violence, full respect for human rights and the rule of law, and full, safe and unfettered humanitarian access to all those in need. She called for immediate and specific de-escalation steps including ending aerial bombing and the burning of civilian houses and infrastructure. The Special Envoy stated her deep concern about civilian displacement across communities and the need for greater space for humanitarian actors to reach those affected with lifesaving support. She underlined that all parties must facilitate the unimpeded and immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance to all people in need without discrimination and free from instrumentalization. She highlighted the importance of delivery through all channels and raised the issue of an inclusive forum for humanitarian engagement, which several key ethnic armed organizations and other actors have asked her to establish, focusing on the emergency that is a direct result of the political crisis. The Special Envoy raised her request for a meeting with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi following her latest sentencing. “I’m deeply concerned about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s health and well-being in her current situation, and request that she can return home soon,” Special Envoy Heyzer said. “I want to have an opportunity to meet with her as soon as possible, both because I care about her personally and I believe she is a critical stakeholder for my dialogue with all parties concerned.” Ahead of her mission to Bangladesh later this month, the Special Envoy told the Senior General she plans to consult with the Government and visit the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazaar that host about 1 million Rohingya and other forcibly displaced people. She highlighted Myanmar’s responsibility for conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees as well as to ensure that the Rohingya’s rights and well-being are integral to the future of a peaceful and prosperous Myanmar. The Special Envoy presented the Senior General with a copy of the UN Charter, on which the ASEAN Charter is based, and emphasized that sovereignty must come with development for all, leaving no one behind, and the promise that every individual in every country has an equal claim to dignity, respect and freedom from want or fear. The UN Charter is the foundation of the rule-based world order, the Special Envoy told the Senior General, adding that these norms and standards must be met if peace and stability are to be achieved. The Special Envoy emphasized the strong commitment of the United Nations to continue making all efforts to provide humanitarian assistance and community-based resilience support and protection services to people in need, guided by the internationally recognized principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence, and asked the Senior General to respect and support these efforts. She highlighted her continued resolve to act in a bridging role and leverage her convening power to address the protection needs and suffering of the most vulnerable and to end the conflict. Going forward, the Special Envoy and the Senior General agreed to engage in frank conversations, focusing on the need for inclusive solutions to a peaceful and democratic Myanmar, reflective of the will of the people..."
Source/publisher: UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs via United Nations Myanmar
Date of publication: 2022-08-17
Date of entry/update: 2022-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: A brief and independent inquiry into the involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar from 2010 to 2018 – Report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/49/73) (Advance Unedited Version)
Description: "Human Rights Council Forty-ninth session 28 February–1 April 2022 Agenda item 4 Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention Progress made in the implementation of follow-up action to the recommendations of the “A Brief and Independent Inquiry into the Involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar from 2010 to 2018” to strengthen the prevention capacity of the United Nations system* Report of the Secretary-General Summary In resolution 73/264 on the “Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar”, the UN General Assembly noted “the recommendation by the fact-finding mission on the conduct of a comprehensive, independent inquiry into the involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar since 2011 and encourage[d] the United Nations system to follow up on the issues raised and to ensure that all engagement with Myanmar takes into account, and addresses, human rights concerns.” Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 73/264 of 22 December 2018, and to resolution 39/2 Adopted by the Human Rights Council, the Secretary-General appointed Mr. Gert Rosenthal in December 2018 to conduct an independent inquiry into the involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar from 2010 to 2018. Following oral presentations to the Human Rights Council on the findings and implementation of the recommendations of Mr. Rosenthal’s review in 2020 and 2021, Human Rights Council resolution 46/21 (March 2021) invited the Secretary-General to provide a written report on progress made in the implementation of follow-up action to enable more effective work in the future and to strengthen the prevention capacity of the United Nations system. **I. Introduction ** In resolution 73/264 on the “Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar”, the UN General Assembly noted “the recommendation by the fact-finding mission on the conduct of a comprehensive, independent inquiry into the involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar since 2011 and encourage[d] the United Nations system to follow up on the issues raised and to ensure that all engagement with Myanmar takes into account, and addresses, human rights concerns.”1 Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 73/264 of 22 December 2018,2 and to resolution 39/2 Adopted by the Human Rights Council,3 the Secretary-General appointed Mr. Gert Rosenthal in December 2018 to conduct an independent inquiry into the involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar from 2010 to 2018. Mr. Rosenthal’s observations can be categorised as three sets of interrelated areas and challenges to be addressed: (i) UN structures, coordination, information sharing and decisionmaking; (ii) interaction with the host government; (iii) interaction with other Member States (both within UN bodies and bilaterally) and the wider international community, including international NGOs. Following oral presentations to the Human Rights Council on the findings and implementation of the recommendations of Mr. Rosenthal’s review in 2020 and 2021, Human Rights Council resolution 46/214 (March 2021) invited the Secretary-General to provide a written report on progress made in the implementation of follow-up action to enable more effective work in the future and to strengthen the prevention capacity of the United Nations system. Since Mr. Rosenthal’s review, the Secretary-General launched his Call to Action for Human Rights (Call to Action), which promotes a transformative vision of human rights across the United Nations system, recognising human rights as offering solutions and tools, and as speaking to the aspirations of every human being. The initiative underlines that “human rights are the responsibility of each and every United Nations actor and that a culture of human rights must permeate everything we do, in the field, at regional level and at Headquarters”.5 It also makes clear the link between human rights protection and prevention. The present report should be read in conjunction with efforts underway in the context of the Call to Action, as well as Our Common Agenda,6 launched by the Secretary-General in September 2021. Our Common Agenda contains recommendations across four broad areas, including a new social contract anchored in human rights. Together, the Call to Action and Our Common Agenda provide the UN system with the necessary frameworks, coherence, and momentum, to ensure that human rights is placed at the centre of our efforts across the three pillars, as envisaged in Mr. Rosenthal’s review..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council via "Reliefweb" (New York)
Date of publication: 2022-03-15
Date of entry/update: 2022-03-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Title: UNHCR visit to Rakhine State postponed
Description: ''Myanmar has postponed a planned visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, The New Age, a Bangladesh daily, reported on January 15. Myanmar authorities canceled the trip following renewed fighting between government forces and ethnic rebels in Rakhine State. Thirteen Myanmar police officers were killed by Arakan Army militants on January 4 in attacks near the border with Bangladesh. Grandi was supposed to visit areas where hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees fled from to Bangladesh in 2017. The UNHCR was supposed to oversee a repatriation of the refugees in accordance with agreements reached between Myanmar and Bangladesh, but The New Age quoted an unnamed UN Security Council diplomat as saying the Myanmar side had “done nothing at all and didn’t particularly want that to be exposed.”
Creator/author: Bertil Lintner
Source/publisher: Asia Times
Date of publication: 2019-01-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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