Crimes Against Humanity
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Wikipedia
Date of entry/update:
2017-10-18
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Crimes Against Humanity
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"Responding to a decision by the United Nations Human Rights Council to adopt a resolution on Myanmar that for the first time calls on UN member states to refrain from the export, sale or transfer of jet fuel to the Myanmar military, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research, Montse Ferrer, said:
“This resolution is a step in the right direction to combat the deadly supply chain that enables the Myanmar military to continue its barrage of air strikes in which schools, clinics, religious buildings and other civilian infrastructure have all been targeted. It highlights the urgent need to suspend shipments of aviation fuel to Myanmar, where it is used by the military to carry out war crimes.
“In a violent, worsening trend that continues up to this very week, air strikes have pulverized homes, devastated communities and caused mass internal displacement. More than three years after the coup, escalating conflict in Myanmar puts even greater urgency on the need to stop the flow of aviation fuel to the military, which increasingly relies on airpower to carry out strikes that are in violation of international humanitarian and international human rights laws.
“The threat aviation fuel poses to civilians in Myanmar should be well known by now, yet Amnesty International’s research shows the military continues to be able to bypass international restrictions and source the aviation fuel needed for these deadly air strikes. Today’s vote should build momentum to disrupt this supply chain before the human rights situation deteriorates even further. It is imperative that states and companies act now to end the supply of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military.
“It is critical that member states, many of whom have national companies that have played – or continue to play – a role in the aviation fuel supply chain, stand by the commitment expressed through the resolution. All Human Rights Council members must take all necessary steps to prevent business entities from using their jurisdictions to supply aviation fuel to the Myanmar military.”
Background:
On 4 April 2024 the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Myanmar by consensus. The resolution includes a call for all states to “refrain, in accordance with applicable national procedures and international norms and standards, from the export, sale or transfer of jet fuel, surveillance goods and technologies and less-lethal weapons, including ‘dual-use’ items, when they assess that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that such goods, technologies or weapons might be used to violate or abuse human rights, including in the context of assemblies.”
While China was the only state that chose to disassociate itself from the consensus, it did not contest the resolution by calling for a vote.
In November 2022, Amnesty International published Deadly Cargo: Exposing the Supply Chain that Fuels War Crimes in Myanmar, in collaboration with Justice for Myanmar.
The report revealed how aviation fuel ended up with the Myanmar military and how it reached bases from which air attacks that constituted war crimes were conducted. In March 2023, Amnesty published updated findings on new shipments.
Following evidence linking foreign and domestic companies to the supply of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military, the UK, the USA, Canada, the EU and Switzerland imposed sanctions on companies and individuals in Myanmar and Singapore involved in the procurement and distribution of aviation fuel into Myanmar.
In August, the USA extended the reach of potential sanctions, stating that anyone involved in this industry was at risk.
Earlier this year Amnesty published new research based on data that suggested that despite sanctions, aviation fuel was still being shipped into Myanmar, primarily through a port in, and companies from, Viet Nam..."
Source/publisher:
"Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication:
2024-04-04
Date of entry/update:
2024-04-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
UN human rights documents on Myanmar, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Crimes Against Humanity
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"This week, in Melbourne, the Australian government for the second time is hosting leaders for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Australia Special Summit.
It's been six years since the last summit on Australian soil.
While many countries in the region have seen economic growth during that time, repression and democratic backsliding has also been growing. The rights of people across the region are being trampled or ignored. The summit is an opportunity to put those issues, and the rights of south-east Asian people, front and center.
In 2018, Aung San Suu Kyi represented the government of Myanmar at the summit. Since then, the military has ousted the civilian-led government and has drawn the country into a spiraling human rights and humanitarian crisis.
The military has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity - Aung San Suu Kyi is among the tens of thousands arbitrarily detained. She is serving 27 years in prison under a slew of fabricated charges.
Six years ago, Hun Sen was Cambodia's leader posing for selfies at Sydney Harbor and brazenly threatening Cambodians who dared to protest that he would "beat them." Now his son Hun Manet is leader.
As Human Rights Watch has documented, physical assaults of opposition members have continued. The opposition leader Kem Sokha is serving a 27-year sentence confined to his home, and the main opposition party was banned from contesting the sham 2023 elections.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited last time and will attend the summit again, but his term is ending. Indonesia's democratic institutions meant to provide a check on power such as the Constitutional Court and Anti-Corruption Commission have been eroded, with a return to dynastic patronage politics.
His likely successor is currently the defence minister, Prabowo Subianto - implicated in massacres in East Timor in 1983, and the 1997-1998 kidnappings of activists in Java that led to his dismissal from the army.
The lesson is that when there is no proper accountability following a truth commission as in Timor-Leste, even notorious human rights abusers can go on to hold political power. Prabowo has the support of Widodo, who paired his son Gibran Raka to be Prabowo's vice-president.
Then-Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte skipped the last summit. Now it's Ferdinand Marcos jnr son of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos. His son is desperate to rehabilitate the family name and is being feted by Western leaders from Washington to Canberra.
While the Australian government may be relieved to have a non-volatile pro-West partner in Malacaang Palace, the summary killings of drug suspects still occur regularly because of the lack of accountability for police violence.
The government refuses to co-operate with the International Criminal Court's investigation into the "drug war" killings, and killings of leftist activists and trade unionists continue, fueled by the authorities' practice of "red-tagging" them as "communists."
Thailand's then-Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha, who seized power in a 2014 military coup, attended the last summit. As in Myanmar, Thai generals had the foresight to shore up their continued domination of the political process through a constitutional and legal framework that enabled the military to determine who became prime minister.
So when the reformist Move Forward Party resoundingly won the most votes in the May 2023 election, entrenched interests had ways to prevent them from assuming power. Now Thailand is ruled by Srettha Thaivisin, a former businessman from the Pheu Thai party, while the former exiled prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is back home, on parole and holding court for ruling party politicians.
Malaysia's leader in attendance is Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who doggedly won the last election after years of trumped-up charges against him. As Anwar struggles to hold together a fragile coalition of parties, many of his promises for reform have gone unmet.
Vietnam and Laos both remain Communist Party states that don't even pretend to hold independent elections. Laos is chairing ASEAN this year. Vietnam is enjoying attention from Western capitals and companies looking to "de-risk" from China. Meanwhile, its crackdowns have intensified against activists, including environmental defenders.
This regional backsliding on democracy and human rights should be of immense concern to the Australian government and Australians. The government is rightly worried about the Chinese government's growing influence in the region. Across south-east Asia, Chinese companies as part of China's mass surveillance infrastructure are building "smart" city systems that collect massive amount of personal and other data without oversight.
Beijing is actively seeking to shore up support for votes from governments in the region to evade accountability at the United Nations and in the global arena.
And it is pressing south-east Asian governments to return dissidents and ethnic Uyghurs, sending a stark reminder to Chinese nationals that even if they have left the mainland, they are not truly safe.
Instead of taking bold steps to defend democracy and human rights, Australia and other democratic governments have shown less willingness to hold human rights abusers responsible if those abusers are strategic allies, trade partners in "de-risking," or otherwise considered helpful in containing China.
The approach is deemed "pragmatic" but involves passively monitoring the decline of human rights and democracy across the region or raising matters privately, where there is little chance of impact.
Meanwhile, civil society activists, government critics and journalists are facing intimidation, threats, harassment, and in some cases physical attacks.
ASEAN has proven woefully inadequate in addressing regional human rights crises - most starkly evident with its impotent and ineffectual response to atrocities in Myanmar.
This is hardly likely to improve now that Laos is the chair. Australia should use this summit to press for meaningful co-ordinated action on Myanmar.
Australia is right to forge greater trade and security ties and strengthen its relationships in the region.
But those ties alone will not be enough to stop the authoritarian slide. In its capacity as summit host, the Australian government can direct conversations with a human rights focus.
It can encourage openness by acknowledging the deficiencies in its domestic rights record.
This forthright approach will send the message that strong diplomatic relations still thrive without condoning or covering up each other's human rights concerns..."
Source/publisher:
The Canberra Times via Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2024-03-04
Date of entry/update:
2024-03-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, ASEAN-Burma relations, Crimes Against Humanity, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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"Air strikes by the Myanmar military killed 17 civilians – including nine children – as they gathered to attend church last month, Amnesty International said in a new investigation.
The strikes, at approximately 10.30am on Sunday 07 January, struck close to Saint Peter Baptist Church in Kanan village in Sagaing region, near the country’s western border with India. More than 20 people were injured.
Witnesses told Amnesty International that two children were killed by the first set of explosions while playing football in front of a nearby school. Many of the other victims were trying to run to safety when the second air strike hit. The attack damaged the church and school, as well as six civilian houses.
“The Myanmar military’s deadly attacks on civilians show no signs of stopping,” said Matt Wells, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme.
“The world cannot continue to look the other way while the Myanmar military relentlessly attacks civilians and civilian targets, including churches, schools and hospitals. Countries and companies around the world must stop the flow of jet fuel to the military, to protect civilians from further catastrophe.
“These attacks must be investigated as war crimes, and the UN Security Council should refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. The perpetrators of these crimes under international law must be brought to justice.”
Amnesty International interviewed four witnesses to the attacks, one person who visited Kanan after the attack and saw the bodies of those killed, and another person with knowledge of military operations in the area. The organization also analysed 99 photos and videos of the strikes and their aftermath, including images of those killed and injured.
All of the structural damage caused to the school, church and nearby homes is consistent with air strikes. The combined photo and video evidence indicates at least three impact locations, with craters consistent with aircraft bombs of approximately 250kg each. Satellite imagery taken after the strike also confirms significant damage to the school, adjacent structures and nearby homes, all consistent with an air strike.
The Myanmar military has denied responsibility for the attack, claiming no planes were flying in the area that morning. However, Amnesty International reviewed a video taken during the strike which shows the distinctive swept-wing silhouette of an A-5 fighter jet flying over the village. In Myanmar, only the military flies A-5 jets, which were imported from China.
Amnesty International previously documented how the Tada-U military air base, near Mandalay, is often used to launch aircraft in strikes aimed at Sagaing. Satellite imagery of Tada-U, taken shortly before and after the strike, shows active A-5 operations on the airfield. In three separate postings on a group messaging channel reviewed by Amnesty International, flight spotters on the ground indicated they witnessed a fighter jet taking off from Tada-U air base at 10am; an A-5 flying northwest over Kalewa, in the direction of Kanan, at 10.26am; and then an A-5 landing from the northwest at Tada-U at 10.56am. The locations, directions and timings of these observations are all consistent with an attack on Kanan at approximately 10.30am.
Sources interviewed by Amnesty International said they had been told that members of a local People’s Defense Force (PDF) – one of many local armed groups formed since the coup to oppose the military’s rule – had planned a ceremony at the village school later that day. However, based on consistent witness accounts, fighters do not appear to have been present at the time of the strikes, which killed and injured civilians only.
Even if the military believed there may have been lawful targets present, it dropped several large bombs on a residential area at a time on Sunday when civilians were gathering for church, and struck again as civilians fled in panic. As such, these attacks were indiscriminate at a minimum, and should be investigated as war crimes.
Last week, Amnesty International called again for the sale or transfer of jet fuel to Myanmar to be suspended after its investigation suggested the military were still importing fuel despite sanctions being placed on individuals and companies linked to the supply chain.
‘We can’t sleep when we think about what happened’
The Myanmar military has repeatedly attacked civilians and civilian objects – often destroying or damaging schools, religious buildings and other key infrastructure – in the three years since carrying out a coup.
Kanan – a village of an estimated 7,000 people – is located just north of the town of Khampat in Tamu township. Most of its residents are ethnic Chin, and practice Christianity.
Residents of Kanan said that, prior to these strikes, they had not directly experienced armed conflict since the February 2021 coup. However, on 07 November 2023, a coalition of resistance forces seized Khampat from the military following four days of clashes. The military attempted to retake the town with a series of ground offensives in December, but was unsuccessful and retreated after a week, according to local media reports.
Witnesses told Amnesty International of the devastation caused by the air strikes on 07 January 2024. A 56-year-old community worker said he saw a jet flying overhead as he prepared to leave his home for the nearby church. Moments later, the first strike hit approximately 200 meters from where he was standing.
He hid in his family’s rice storage shed with his wife and two children, just before another strike hit. Around 15 minutes later, he went to assist the injured and collect the bodies of the dead, which he described as “distressing”. Amnesty International reviewed photographs of the aftermath of the strike, which showed that one of the victim’s bodies had been dismembered, and that others had suffered catastrophic head injuries, also as described by witnesses.
A 68-year-old man, who was inside the church when the first bomb struck, said: “We only knew about it when the bomb fell. We didn’t hear the plane. We were singing inside the church when it happened. The church’s ceiling collapsed and windows were broken, so people inside the church fled outside.”
A 43-year-old market vendor, who was struck on the head by falling debris as he attempted to leave the church, told Amnesty International the second strike hit people who were running for their lives. He said: “Everyone was scared and fleeing and trying to get home, and the second air strike hit at that moment. There is a road behind the church, and it hit the people who were running home.”
A 40-year-old man said the traumatized community remained on constant alert fearing further attacks. He said: “Even when we hear the sound of a motorbike, we are frightened thinking of a plane coming. We can’t sleep when we think about what happened… [The attack] has left emotional scars. We can’t go to church.”
The damage caused, as well as fear of further attacks, forced the majority of villagers to flee, seeking refuge in nearby villages, farms and forests, or across the border with India. Many of those displaced are relying on support from relatives, local religious and charity groups, and host communities to survive.
Background
Since the February 2021 coup, Myanmar has experienced a severe escalation of human rights violations.
Amnesty International’s May 2022 report, ‘Bullets rained from the sky’: War crimes and displacement in eastern Myanmar, found Myanmar’s military had subjected civilians to collective punishment via widespread aerial and ground attacks, arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions and the systematic looting and burning of villages.
An August 2022 report, 15 days felt like 15 years: Torture in detention since the Myanmar coup, documented torture and other ill-treatment when Myanmar’s military interrogated and detained individuals suspected of being involved in protests.
A November 2022 report, Deadly Cargo: Exposing the Supply Chain that Fuels War Crimes in Myanmar, called for a suspension of the supply of aviation fuel to prevent the military from carrying out further unlawful air strikes.
Amnesty International also documented an air strike on an internally displaced persons camp in Kachin State 09 October 2023, which killed at least 28 civilians, including children..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of publication:
2024-02-08
Date of entry/update:
2024-02-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Human Rights and international relations, Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Crimes Against Humanity
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"7 February 2024: Comments from SAC-M’s founding members in response to the joint statement issued by nine members of the United Nations Security Council ahead of a closed-door Council meeting on the situation in Myanmar on Monday, 5 February 2024:
Yanghee Lee: “The UN Security Council has abjectly failed to enforce its Resolution 2669 (December 2022) on Myanmar, which demanded an immediate end to all forms of violence. Instead, the Council holds closed-door meetings and issues mere statements, while the military junta drops bombs on refugee schools and its supporters burn people alive for supporting the resistance.”
Marzuki Darusman: “The crisis in Myanmar is escalating rapidly and the Myanmar people urgently need support and protection from the UN Security Council. It is simply not good enough for the Security Council to issue toothless statements and defer to an even more toothless ASEAN. The junta must face justice for its deplorable acts.”
Chris Sidoti: “The UN Security Council should have referred the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) long ago. If it can’t, or won’t, then others must act to finally bring the perpetrators of grave international crimes in Myanmar to justice through the ICC or a special tribunal.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2024-02-07
Date of entry/update:
2024-02-07
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Individual Documents
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Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity, International Criminal Court
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"In the early morning of February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military sent armored vehicles through the capital, Naypyidaw, arresting the country’s elected civilian leaders. Three years on, the junta’s relentless efforts to consolidate power have caused a spiraling human rights and humanitarian catastrophe.
Junta security forces have killed over 4,000 people, arrested over 25,000, and deliberately blocked humanitarian aid from reaching millions of people amid countrywide economic and infrastructure collapse. The number of people needing assistance has grown from 1 million before the coup to 18.6 million in 2024, including 6 million children.
The military’s widespread and systematic abuses amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes, fueled by decades of impunity and meager international efforts to stop the violations.
While atrocities spiral and slivers of refuge disappear, the United Nations Security Council remains at a standstill.
In December 2022, the Security Council passed its first resolution on Myanmar since the country’s independence in 1948, denouncing the military’s post-coup abuses. But the final text was troublingly watered down, with the calls for sanctions and arms embargoes in an initial United Kingdom-led draft removed to stave off threatened vetoes from China and Russia.
The UK, the Security Council’s designated penholder for resolutions on Myanmar, has for years taken a hyper-cautious approach to the country, a strategy that failed to promote any chance of accountability in the wake of the military’s 2017 crimes against humanity and acts of genocide against the ethnic Rohingya.
When the resolution passed—with 12 members in favor and abstentions from China, Russia, and India—the UK and others presented the compromised text as a first step, opening the door to heightened scrutiny of the atrocities taking place on the ground. “We stand ready to take further action,” the UK ambassador said. “We expect this resolution to be implemented in full.”
One year on, that further action has not materialized. Without any leverage or enforcement mechanism in the resolution, the junta has disregarded the document’s calls, such as for the release of prisoners and full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access.
Instead, since the resolution was passed, security forces have arrested more than 2,200 people, killed over 1,700, and bombed schools, hospitals, and displacement camps.
The junta has ramped up its deadly blockages of humanitarian aid as a method of collective punishment against the civilian population. After Cyclone Mocha made landfall in May, junta authorities refused to authorize travel and visas for aid workers, release urgent supplies from customs and warehouses, or relax onerous and unnecessary restrictions on lifesaving assistance for millions of people in need. The UN estimates that 10,000 children under 5 died in 2023 due to the lack of treatment for malnutrition.
Since late October, fighting between junta forces and alliances of ethnic and anti-junta armed groups has erupted across much of the country. Over 660,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in the months since, pushing the total number of internally displaced to 2.6 million.
“We’re living in constant fear of attacks, arrests, and harassment by the military,” said a villager in Rakhine State, where fighting broke out in mid-November, ending a year-long unofficial ceasefire. “Most of the men from Rakhine villages have gone into hiding to avoid arrest. The fighting left so many of our houses destroyed to the ground. All communication from other townships has been shut down.”
The latest spike in fighting has triggered further restrictions, with the military blocking urgently needed access to major roads, telecommunications services, and waterways.
“All the nongovernmental organization work has been suspended and the roads and communication to the north and south have been blocked since the attacks on November 13,” an aid worker in Rakhine State told Human Rights Watch. “There are new checkpoints set up by the Border Guard Police at the town entry points. We’re already facing a food crisis because we can’t get essential goods and food from the blocked villages. The costs of everything have gone so high.”
The authorities have prevented the humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from operating its 25 mobile clinics in Rakhine State. “The continuation of these current blockages will have a catastrophic impact on people’s health,” MSF said.
These restrictions sustain the military’s longstanding “four cuts” strategy, designed to exert control over an area by isolating and terrorizing civilians. They also violate Myanmar’s international obligations on the rights to life, health, and shelter.
The junta’s abuses are having an increasing impact beyond Myanmar’s borders as well, spilling over into China, India, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Meanwhile, the 2022 Security Council resolution has not become the hoped-for on-ramp to stronger action, but the feeble peak of council activity on a country in harrowing crisis.
The coup anniversary and the junta’s unrelenting repression should mobilize the UK to lead Security Council members into taking concrete steps. Members should pass a binding resolution instituting a global arms embargo, referring the country situation to the International Criminal Court, and imposing targeted sanctions on the junta’s leadership and military-owned companies. And if Russia and China block a resolution, then individual governments should use their own national sanctions capabilities to work toward a de-facto global arms embargo—in line with the UN General Assembly’s call for states to halt arms transfers to Myanmar back in 2021.
The Security Council should hold regular public meetings to be briefed on junta atrocities and people’s efforts to assert their rights. Governments should take more concerted measures to pressure the junta and support Myanmar civil society. The voices of the Myanmar people should be guiding international efforts, their resolute struggle for democracy and freedom a clarion call that global actors need likewise to persevere. There is no other way forward..."
Source/publisher:
The Diplomat (Tokyo) via Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2024-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2024-01-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
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"The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement.
It demonstrates the firm determination and strong will of the two countries to jointly combat transnational telecom fraud crimes and work together to maintain security and stability, it said.
The ministry said that for a long time, multiple criminal groups in the Kokang region in northern Myanmar have openly organized armed fraud gangs and carried out telecom fraud crimes against Chinese citizens. They were also suspected of multiple and severe violent crimes such as intentional homicide, intentional injury, and illegal detention.
On Dec. 10, 2023, the Chinese police issued a public reward for 10 ring leaders of the telecom fraud criminal gangs in the Kokang region and sent a working group to Myanmar.
Tuesday's successful handover took place after China and Myanmar reached a consensus following multiple rounds of talks and consultations.
An officer of the ministry said that 44,000 telecom fraud suspects have been handed over to China from Myanmar so far, including 2,908 fugitives.
The Chinese police will always maintain a high-pressure posture to crack down on such crimes, and continue to deepen international law enforcement cooperation and arrest ring leaders of telecom fraud criminal gangs, said the officer.
Criminal suspect Bai Suo Cheng is escorted by Chinese police officers at the Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Criminal suspect Bai Suo Cheng is escorted by Chinese police officers at the Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Criminal suspect Liu Zheng Mao is handed over to Chinese police officers at the Nay Pyi Taw International Airport in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Criminal suspect Liu Zheng Xiang is handed over to Chinese police officers at the Nay Pyi Taw International Airport in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Criminal suspect Wei Huai Ren is handed over to Chinese police officers at the Nay Pyi Taw International Airport in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Criminal suspect Xu Lao Fa is handed over to Chinese police officers at the Nay Pyi Taw International Airport in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Criminal suspect Bai Ying Cang is handed over to Chinese police officers at the Nay Pyi Taw International Airport in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Criminal suspect Bai Suo Cheng is handed over to Chinese police officers at the Nay Pyi Taw International Airport in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)
Criminal suspects are escorted by Chinese police officers at the Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 30, 2024. The Myanmar police on Tuesday handed six key leaders of Kokang telecom fraud gangs and four other major criminal suspects over to China, according to China's Ministry of Public Security.
The ten suspects were escorted by Chinese police officers back to China via a charter flight that landed in Kunming on Tuesday evening, the ministry said, adding that it is another landmark achievement of Chinese and Myanmar police cooperation in law enforcement. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua News Agency" (Beijing)
Date of publication:
2024-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2024-01-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Illegal Economy - general, Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity
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"Attacks killed and displaced civilians in Rakhine State
Myanmar military arbitrarily detained civilians and looted valuables
Amnesty International documents military use of cluster munitions in Shan State
Myanmar’s military has unlawfully killed, arbitrarily detained and stolen from civilians as it struggles to contain the heaviest outburst of armed resistance since the 2021 coup, Amnesty International said today.
Drawing on interviews with 10 civilians from Pauktaw township in Rakhine State and analyses of photographs, video material and satellite imagery, Amnesty International has documented likely indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects as well as, in northern Shan State, the use of banned cluster munitions, all of which should be investigated as war crimes.
“The Myanmar military has a blood-stained résumé of indiscriminate attacks with devastating consequences for civilians, and its brutal response to a major offensive by armed groups fits a longstanding pattern,” said Matt Wells, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme.
“Nearly three years after the coup, the suffering of civilians across Myanmar shows no signs of easing, even as the issue has largely fallen off the international agenda.”
Hostilities have significantly escalated since 27 October 2023, when three ethnic armed organizations — the Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army — launched coordinated attacks on military posts on the country’s northeastern border with China, in an offensive known as ‘Operation 1027’.
Other armed groups fighting the military have increased their operations as well, collectively seizing territory and military posts and capturing soldiers. The fighting represents the heaviest clashes since the coup, according to the UN. As of 15 December, the UN said the violence since 27 October had reportedly killed at least 378 civilians, injured 505 more, and displaced more than 660,000 people, adding to the nearly two million already displaced across the country.
‘Everyone was struggling for their survival’
On the morning of 16 November, Myanmar’s military began firing by air into Pauktaw town, Rakhine State, after the Arakan Army captured a police station.
After its morning attack, the military ordered all civilians to leave within one hour. According to Amnesty International’s interviews with nine civilians present at the time and with a monk from a nearby village, most of Pauktaw’s 20,000 residents fled immediately. But at least several hundred were unable to evacuate before the military’s attacks resumed that afternoon.
One community worker, who helped people flee but was himself unable to evacuate until 24 November, said many older people and people with disabilities were left behind despite local volunteers’ efforts. He said: “Cars, motorbikes and other vehicles were no longer available for hire. Everyone was struggling for their survival.”
Many civilians sought refuge within the Lawka Hteik Pan pagoda compound on the town’s outskirts. “We thought that another plane and warships were coming, so [my wife and I] fled our home,” said a 65-year-old man. “We couldn’t run far.”
The military attacked again on the afternoon of 16 November, firing from inside the town and the outskirts, as well as from the air and sea, according to witnesses.
Videos and photographs analyzed by Amnesty International’s weapons investigator show that Mi-24 Hind helicopters fired 57mm S-5K rockets, and ships fired 40mm high-explosive shells, into the city on 16 November. Only the Myanmar military operates those weapon systems.
The use of these inaccurate weapons in populated areas raises concerns about the Myanmar military’s ability to distinguish between military targets and civilians or civilian objects. The attacks may thus be indiscriminate and, as such, should be investigated as war crimes.
After the firing stopped during the afternoon of 16 November, soldiers entered the Lawka Hteik Pan compound and arrested the people who were hiding there, according to four civilians present at the time.
“I was arrested at gunpoint,” said a 24-year-old woman, who had sought shelter there with her family, including a young child. “The soldiers asked me if I was a member of the AA [Arakan Army]… I couldn’t say anything because I was so scared.”
During the day on 16 November, three women — two teachers and a pregnant popsicle vendor — were killed while hiding inside the Lawka Hteik Pan compound, according to one person who was also taking shelter in the compound and another person who saw the bodies. Amnesty International could not independently determine how the women were killed, but the person who saw the bodies indicated they had gunshot wounds.
The same day, a 76-year-old monk was killed in the same compound. A person who saw the body told Amnesty International the monk was killed by a strike, not gunfire.
The Arakan Army has reported that the monk was killed by a naval artillery shell. Amnesty International has not been able to independently verify that detail, including after reviewing photographs of the monk’s body.
‘We slept in fear’
That night, soldiers forced the more than 100 civilians at the Lawka Hteik Pan compound to stay outside in the heavy rain. “Some people’s hands were tied behind their backs,” said the 24-year-old woman arrested at gunpoint. “We all had to sit in the rain all night. At dawn the next day, they forced us to enter the temple [and] locked the door.”
A 28-year-old woman who stayed in the town with her parents said soldiers from the Myanmar military discovered the place where they were hiding with two other families on the afternoon of 16 November, taking all the men and leaving the women and children behind after stealing their valuables including gold, cash and mobile phones. At dawn the next morning, another group of soldiers came and arrested the rest.
Soldiers also arrested a 60-year-old shopkeeper on 17 November, along with three other people with whom he had been hiding and two other people living on his street, bringing them to the Lawka Hteik Pan compound. “They threatened that they could kill all of us,” he said.
Those trapped at the Lawka Hteik Pan compound described being locked inside the prayer hall and denied food and water for two days. They also said soldiers took their mobile phones and other valuables.
After two days, the soldiers selected a handful of men to go take food from the town. “Some of the arrested men were called and forced to break into the stalls in the market and take food,” said the 24-year-old woman.
The arrest and detention of persons sheltering in the Lawka Hteik Pan compound amount to arbitrary deprivation of liberty. The treatment of the detained civilians, including through denial of food and water and exposure to extreme weather, violates the principle of humane treatment. Moreover, the stealing of civilians’ private property amounts to pillage, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime.
A community worker, who was trapped in the town after helping others to flee, said that for the first five nights he could hear repeated gunfire and explosions.
He hid with four other men in a house where they had no electricity, and their phone batteries ran out after two days. They also ran low on food and bottled water. “Some days we didn’t eat, and we slept in fear,” he said. At dawn on 24 November, he escaped to a nearby village.
“[The military] has blocked any aid for IDPs [internally displaced persons] and prices are also skyrocketing,” he said. He said there had been severe health consequences for some displaced people, especially older people and young children, as they lacked adequate shelter and blankets during the heavy rain.
‘We had to run away through those bombardments’
On 21 November, the Arakan Army drove military forces out of Pauktaw and evacuated the captives from the Lawka Hteik Pan compound. Witnesses said that, as they escaped, the military fired on the town.
“We had to run away through those bombardments,” said the 28-year-old woman who had been held in the temple and is now sheltering in a nearby village. “I feel that I am safer now than before. However, we can still see our Pauktaw town burning with smoke after being bombarded.”
In the following days, the military continued to fire on civilian infrastructure in Pauktaw from the sea and air.
Amnesty International reviewed satellite imagery of Pauktaw, though high-resolution imagery coverage is limited. A clear image captured on 01 December 2023 shows multiple areas with extensive burning, damage and destruction, including a probable market, probable civilian homes and areas around religious sites.
In addition, the false-colour, near-infrared satellite imagery shows major destruction to buildings within a hospital compound and a crater nearby. The level of destruction and the size of the nearby crater suggest this damage was likely the result of air strikes. Imagery indicates the destruction occurred between 21 and 23 November.
Evidence of cluster munitions
Amnesty International also documented an attack on Namkham township in northern Shan State. Late in the evening of 01 December 2023 or very early on 02 December, the Myanmar military conducted an air strike on Namkham using bombs that were most likely cluster munitions.
Cluster munitions are internationally banned as they are inherently indiscriminate, and their use constitutes a war crime.
Amnesty International’s weapons investigator analyzed five photographs of ordnance scrap recovered at the scene, and identified the remains of a cluster munitions dispenser.
In addition, two videos provided to Amnesty International, and confirmed by the organization’s Crisis Evidence Lab as newly posted online, show the moment of the attack. After the sound of a passing jet aircraft, there are approximately 10 detonations in a line over the course of three seconds.
The videos are dark, as the attack was at night, but the aircraft use and pattern of detonations are consistent with the deployment of air-dropped cluster munitions. According to a report by the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, the attack killed one local resident, injured five others, and damaged some homes.
The tail kit, exposed electronics, and internal plumbing of the dispenser scrap in the photographs match the remnants of previous cluster munitions used in attacks by the Myanmar military.
Amnesty International has documented the military’s unlawful use of cluster munitions in attacks on a community gathering in a school in Mindat township in Chin State on 02 July 2022, on a village in Demoso township in Kayah State on 13 April 2022, and during fighting in Kayin State on 10 April 2022.
“As the world stands by, the Myanmar military is again showing the brutality it unleashes on civilians. The UN Security Council must urgently impose an arms embargo to protect civilians from further catastrophe,” said Matt Wells.
“The military’s impunity must finally end. We reiterate our call to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court and bring the perpetrators of crimes under international law to justice.”
Background
Since the February 2021 military coup, Myanmar has experienced a severe escalation of human rights violations. The military’s use of lethal force against nonviolent protesters in February and March of 2021 provoked an armed uprising that continues to intensify.
In a May 2022 report, ‘Bullets rained from the sky’: War crimes and displacement in eastern Myanmar, Amnesty International found Myanmar’s military had subjected civilians to collective punishment via widespread aerial and ground attacks, arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions, and the systematic looting and burning of villages.
An August 2022 report, 15 days felt like 15 years: Torture in detention since the Myanmar coup, documented violations by the Myanmar security forces, including torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, when they arrested, interrogated, and detained individuals suspected of being involved in protests.
A November 2022 report, Deadly Cargo: Exposing the Supply Chain that Fuels War Crimes in Myanmar, called for a suspension of the supply of aviation fuel to prevent the military from carrying out unlawful air strikes.
On 09 October 2023, a military air strike followed by mortar fire on Mung Lai Hkyet, an internally displaced persons camp in Kachin State, killed at least 28 civilians including children, and injured at least 57 others..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of publication:
2023-12-21
Date of entry/update:
2023-12-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity
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Description:
"8 December 2023: An international criminal tribunal for Myanmar can and must be urgently established, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M). A briefing paper published today by SAC-M explains why, and identifies several ways in which such a tribunal could be created. Download the paper here: Establishing an International Criminal Tribunal for Myanmar
Myanmar has long been plagued by systemic impunity designed and perpetuated by successive military juntas. Extensive evidence of grave human rights violations, war crimes, crimes against humanity and possible genocide, of which the military is the primary perpetrator, has been documented over many years. Yet, no genuine trials have ever taken place and no meaningful justice has been achieved for the many, many victims.
“The need for justice in Myanmar is becoming more urgent by the day,” said Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “The number of people that have suffered at the hands of Myanmar’s military – the vast majority of them still living in unbearable conditions – is devastating and continues to grow. Myanmar’s peoples simply cannot be made to wait for justice any longer.”
The justice system in Myanmar is currently unable to prosecute those accused of committing international crimes and is unlikely to be for many years to come. An international solution for the accountability deficit is therefore needed. The international community has already established the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) and other mechanisms before it to advance the cause of justice in Myanmar. But these efforts alone are insufficient and incomplete.
“The work of the IIMM, the Fact-Finding Mission and other international justice efforts for Myanmar will be in vain unless and until a competent court with comprehensive jurisdiction can commence prosecution of those most responsible for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Myanmar,” said Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “The National Unity Government has already accepted the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court in Myanmar, but the Prosecutor of the ICC is not acting on that acceptance, so that is why we are proposing these practical alternatives if the ICC Prosecutor does not act.”
Calls for justice in Myanmar have grown louder since the military attempted a coup in February 2021 and a nationwide resistance emerged in response to its ensuing brutality. The international community has done little during that time to support the cause of justice and freedom in Myanmar. Establishing an international criminal tribunal for Myanmar would be a practical way of finally responding to the calls of the Myanmar people and upholding the international community’s obligations under international law.
“The people’s national uprising is fundamentally changing the course of the Myanmar nation,” said Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “There are many challenges ahead. ASEAN, the United Nations, the international community at large, cannot continue to leave the Myanmar people to face these challenges alone. Ensuring that the primary architects of Myanmar’s suffering are finally brought to justice could be the single most significant contribution that the international community makes to Myanmar’s democratic future.”..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2023-12-08
Date of entry/update:
2023-12-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
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95.47 KB 132.37 KB 552.76 KB
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Sub-title:
Tougher Measures Needed to Impel Junta to End Abuses
Description:
"A “raging fire of brutality” is engulfing Myanmar, where military forces have killed more than 4,000 civilians since seizing power in a 2021 coup, according to an independent United Nations expert on Myanmar. On Monday before a UN General Assembly committee, the UN secretary-general, the UN special rapporteur on Myanmar, and a special UN investigative team presented separate reports detailing war crimes and crimes against humanity in the country.
Since taking power, the military junta has unlawfully attacked villages in areas controlled by anti-junta forces and ethnic armed groups, including schools, hospitals, and camps for displaced people. Airstrikes in some regions have increased more than 300 percent in the past year. The special rapporteur, Thomas Andrews, said the security forces have executed civilians in custody, “at times in mass killings.” They have “burned, beheaded, dismembered, and disfigured bodies in an apparent attempt to terrorize the civilian population.”
Andrews reported that “[c]ruelty and dehumanization are defining features of sexual crimes perpetrated by the military, including gang rape.” In some cases, the bodies of the victims of extrajudicial killings have shown signs of rape or sexual violence. According to Andrews, “[these] victims have included children.” The UN special investigative mechanism stated that crimes are committed with “the highest levels of cruelty and harm to the victims.”
The reports are shocking but none of them comes as a surprise. Myanmar’s military has a record of brutality that dates back decades: long-running atrocities against ethnic groups, violence against students, monks, and journalists since the 1980s, and post-coup abuses against pro-democracy and minority groups, including Rohingya Muslims who remain in apartheid conditions in Rakhine State.
Myanmar’s generals have never faced any real accountability for these abuses. This impunity has fueled ongoing crimes.
The UN Security Council should urgently impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on the military’s revenues. The council should also refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.
China and Russia have opposed such measures. Without Security Council action, governments that have already imposed targeted sanctions on Myanmar’s military and its money flows, including restrictions targeting aviation fuel, should better coordinate to make those sanctions more effective. Neighboring countries, including Thailand and Singapore, should cooperate with these efforts. All concerned governments should be focusing their own legal systems on Myanmar’s military, using universal jurisdiction laws on war crimes and crimes against humanity to build cases for prosecution..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2023-10-24
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations, Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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Title: Myanmar: 28 civilians killed in military air strike – new investigation and witness testimony
Sub-title:
At least 12 children killed, and a reported 57 people injured
Description:
"The Myanmar military killed at least 28 civilians in an air strike on a displaced persons camp in an attack that may amount to a war crime, Amnesty International said today.
At approximately 11.30pm on 9 October 2023, the Myanmar military launched an attack that hit the Mung Lai Hkyet displacement camp, close to the town of Laiza in Kachin State, near Myanmar’s border with China.
Witnesses told Amnesty International that a large bomb exploded near the camp, which was followed by sustained mortar fire from nearby Myanmar military positions.
The world must wake up to the horror unfolding daily in Myanmar
Matthew Wells, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme
The camp is home to an estimated 150 displaced families and situated near other civilian homes in Mung Lai Hkyet village. The camp is around three miles from central Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/A), an ethnic armed group that has fought the Myanmar military for decades.
“This murderous assault by the Myanmar military is further proof of their complete disregard for civilian life,” said Matthew Wells, Director of Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Programme.
“The air strike on the Mung Lai Hkyet displaced persons camp is the latest in a long list of indiscriminate attacks against civilians committed by the Myanmar military since its coup in 2021, many of which amount to war crimes.
“The world must wake up to the horror unfolding daily in Myanmar. The UN Security Council should impose a long-overdue arms embargo, including on the supply of aviation fuel, as the Myanmar military repeatedly unleashes its arsenal on civilians across the country.”
Amnesty International’s weapons expert analyzed photos and videos of the aftermath of the attack, which show evidence of a single massive blast that flattened dozens of nearby buildings – including a church, preschool and many homes – and started fires.
The blast wave caused catastrophic overpressure and fragmentation injuries to the victims, including fatal wounds to heads, lacerations that exposed organs, and the removal and pulverization of limbs. The size of the crater and observed damage is consistent with the largest aerial-delivered bombs known to be in the inventory of the Myanmar military. Amnesty International believes the Myanmar military almost certainly used an unguided bomb, which is an inaccurate weapon completely inappropriate for use in the vicinity of civilians.
The Myanmar military denied responsibility in a statement, saying it was an explosion of a site where the KIO/A stored ammonium nitrate. That explanation is at odds with consistent witness accounts, which noted the explosion served as the start of a coordinated attack. In addition, the bomb fell on a large open field with regular vehicle traffic, unlikely to be an ammonium nitrate storage area.
Based on the totality of the evidence, Amnesty International finds the most likely scenario to be a strike with a single unguided bomb. The Myanmar military has an extensive history of carrying out indiscriminate attacks similar to this one, including on other displaced persons camps.
Under international humanitarian law, which applies to the ongoing non-international armed conflicts in Myanmar, including in Kachin State, indiscriminate attacks are those that fail to distinguish between military objectives and civilians or civilian objects, and as such are prohibited. Where an indiscriminate attack kills or injuries civilians, it amounts to a war crime.
‘On that night, I even thought that I would die’
Amnesty International interviewed three witnesses of the attack and immediate aftermath.
One woman, whose family survived the blast, told Amnesty International: “I went to bed around 10.30pm. While I was listening to news about the conflict between Israel and Hamas on Facebook, at around 11.30pm, a huge bomb fell.
“I was staying with my niece in one room, and my sister and other people were staying in another room. I suddenly woke up once the heavy weapons exploded. While I was still laying in my bed, I called out to my family members… I said, ‘We cannot stay here anymore. We need to move’.
“As we are IDPs [internally displaced people], we have to live on other people’s land… We did not have a place to dig a bomb shelter. We had to hide in the concrete water drain on the side of the road. We sat there and kept on shouting for help… On that night, I even thought that I would die.”
The woman and her nine family members remained hiding as mortar fire landed a short distance away, before escaping to take shelter nearby. She added: “When I look into the future of our [IDP] lives, I feel darkness.”
A person staying nearby, who arrived approximately two hours after the bomb exploded, told Amnesty International: “We don’t know how they dropped or fired the first bomb, but we know that the… follow-up firing came from where [Myanmar] military posts are located.
“I saw 28 bodies… Almost all [of the] people were killed because of the bomb blast. Some of their heads were destroyed beyond recognition. A mother and two of her children were among the victims. I could not bear it when I saw the baby and children die. I could not control my tears.”
According to a list of victims seen by Amnesty International, which appears to have been compiled by the KIO, at least 12 children were among those killed, and at least 57 more people were injured.
Another witness living next to the camp, who said he heard the sound of a jet overhead, told Amnesty International the bomb left a huge crater in the middle of a nearby field. He said a Baptist church on a hill, like dozens of other civilian objects near where the bomb fell, was destroyed.
He said: “The explosion destroyed all the houses… In Kachin language, this kind of bomb is called a ‘hell bomb’… I had to crawl out of the debris to survive… My whole body is in pain, and my ears are still buzzing from the bombing.”
Amnesty International is again calling for the UN Security Council to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar and to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, so that those responsible for crimes under international law can be brought to justice.
Background
Since carrying out a coup on 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military has increasingly relied on air strikes to attack the civilian population.
The KIO/A is one of numerous ethnic armed organizations in Myanmar’s border areas. The Myanmar military and the KIO/A have been engaged in a non-international armed conflict for decades. Fighting between the two forces has continued since the coup, with the KIO/A active in the broader nation-wide movement against the military’s rule.
In a May 2022 report, ‘Bullets rained from the sky’: War crimes and displacement in eastern Myanmar, Amnesty International found that Myanmar’s military had subjected civilians to collective punishment via widespread aerial and ground attacks, arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions, and the systematic looting and burning of villages.
A further investigation in October 2022 found that deadly air strikes on a music concert in Kachin State, which killed dozens of people including civilians, appeared to fit a pattern of unlawful attacks. A November 2022 report, Deadly Cargo: Exposing the Supply Chain that Fuels War Crimes in Myanmar, identified companies involved in the supply chain of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military, and revealed new accounts of air strikes on civilians..."
Source/publisher:
"Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication:
2023-10-13
Date of entry/update:
2023-10-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Internal displacement/forced migration of Kachin, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Deputy High Commissioner Expresses Concern about Proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill and Law to Regulate Media Broadcasting in Sri Lanka
The Human Rights Council this morning held an interactive dialogue on the report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, and started an interactive dialogue on the written update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cameroon also addressed the Council.
Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, said last year he reported to this Council an increase in serious international crimes committed in Myanmar. Tragically, the frequency and intensity of war crimes and crimes against humanity had only increased in recent months, with more brazen aerial bombings and indiscriminate shelling, resulting in the deaths of innocent civilians, including children; increased executions of captured combatants and civilians; and intentional burnings of homes and villages.
The Mechanism was currently sharing information and evidence with three ongoing proceedings focused on crimes committed against the Rohingya at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and in Argentina. It was finalising three analytical reports to share with these authorities concerning the military chain of command in Rakhine state; the failure of Myanmar authorities to investigate or punish sexual and gender-based crimes; and the organised spread of hate speech content on Facebook by the Myanmar military during the 2017 clearance operations. Mr. Koumjian said the people of Myanmar were suffering deeply from the effects of these ongoing horrific crimes. The Mechanism was committed to pursuing justice for them and focusing all its efforts to ensure that the perpetrators would one day be held to account.
In the discussion, some speakers said they fully supported the work of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. They thanked the Mechanism for its work, which was being conducted in difficult and dangerous conditions. The report revealed that the situation in Myanmar continued to be tragic. The population suffered from ongoing fighting resulting in numerous human rights violations. Many speakers fully condemned all human rights violations and abuses in Myanmar and called for an immediate end to brutal attacks on civilians, including the Rohingya. Some speakers expressed concern about the continued politicised mandates against Myanmar, including the Mechanism. Only good will and the cooperation of the country would lead to tangible results on the ground. Some speakers called for the international community to refrain from putting pressure on the Government and for human rights defenders to undertake an unbiased approach and expand the space for cooperation.
The Council then started an interactive dialogue on the written update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka.
Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, presenting the written update of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, said one year after the remarkable protest movement demanding deep political and democratic reforms, the transformation that was hoped for to address long-standing challenges had still not materialised. The international community, including international financial institutions, should keep on supporting Sri Lanka in its recovery, by providing the fiscal space needed while pressing for genuine progress in governance, transparency and accountability.
Ms. Al-Nashif said the report provided an analysis of concerns with some forthcoming legislation, in particular the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill replacing the Prevention of Terrorism Act and a new law to regulate media broadcasting, and urged a moratorium on the use of the Act in the meantime, and for the review of long-standing cases under the Act to be expedited. Fourteen years since the war ended, tens of thousands of victims and their families continued to suffer in agony and grief as they waited for truth, justice and remedy. The report recommended that the Government accelerate investigations and prosecutions in emblematic cases of human rights violations, in compliance with international human rights standards.
Sri Lanka, speaking as a country concerned, reiterated that the Government had consistently rejected resolutions 46/1 and 51/1 that led to the setting up of the so-called ‘Accountability Project’. The Government also rejected the written update, its conclusions and recommendations. Sri Lanka had repeatedly pointed out that this was an unproductive and unhelpful drain on the resources of the Council and its members. For these reasons, Sri Lanka would not cooperate with it. However, Sri Lanka would continue to engage constructively with other mechanisms of the Council that had been productive and beneficial, such as the Universal Periodic Review process. Sri Lanka remained firmly committed to pursuing tangible progress on human rights through domestic institutions and had made significant progress.
In the discussion, some speakers said as the recovery continued, economic reform measures must uphold the economic, social and cultural rights of the people of Sri Lanka. The Government must promptly hold legally prescribed elections, which were now overdue, and safeguard the fundamental rights of peaceful assembly, expression and association. Sri Lanka had made important recent commitments on land issues and devolution of political authority. Some speakers encouraged Sri Lanka to turn these commitments into meaningful action and deliver long-awaited results. Sri Lanka still had a long way to go to fulfil commitments to justice, accountability, and reconciliation. Some speakers deplored the politicisation of human rights, and their use as a pretext to interfere in the national and sovereign affairs of certain countries.
Speaking in the discussion on Myanmar were Finland on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic countries, European Union, Pakistan (on behalf of Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Liechtenstein, Egypt, Luxembourg, Costa Rica, Belgium, Netherlands, France, United States, Japan, Switzerland, Türkiye, Malta, United Nations Children's Fund, China, Malawi, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Bangladesh, Australia, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Mauritania, Gambia, Iran, Bulgaria and Belarus.
Also speaking were CIVICUS - World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Centre pour les Droits Civils et Politiques - Centre CCPR, Southeast Asia Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression Caucus (ASC), Inc., International-Lawyers.Org, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, iuventum e.V., International Bar Association, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, International Commission of Jurists, and Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada.
Speaking in the discussion on Sri Lanka were New Zealand, European Union, United Kingdom, Oman, Liechtenstein, Egypt, Luxembourg, Germany, France, United States, Japan, Israel, Switzerland, Türkiye, Canada and Cuba.
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-fourth regular session can be found here.
The Council will reconvene at 3 p.m. this afternoon to continue the interactive dialogue on the written update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, followed by an interactive dialogue on the oral update of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2023-09-11
Date of entry/update:
2023-09-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from July 15 to 21, 2023
Military Junta troops launched airstrikes and dropped bombs including fire bombs in Sagaing Region, Chin State, and Kayin State from 15th to 21st July. 12 civilians including 2 children died by the Military’s arresting and killing. They also burnt and killed 3 civilians from Kyaukdaga Township in Bago Region. Military Junta troops killed at least 12 local civilians from Sonechaung Village, Yinmabin Township, Sagaing Region on 21st June.
The rumors came out that the Military Junta will arrest the CDMs in Pyay Township, Bago Region and they searched the houses. 2 civilians died and 1 was injured by the Military’s land mines within a week..."
Source/publisher:
Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma
Date of publication:
2023-07-24
Date of entry/update:
2023-07-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
801.94 KB
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Description:
"Justice For Myanmar calls on the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) to immediately cancel Myanmar junta and Russia led counter terrorism military exercises to be held in the coming months.
The drills are being organised by the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Counter Terrorism, co-chaired by the Myanmar military junta and the Russian regime, and will involve a tabletop exercise in Myanmar in August and a field training exercise in Russia in September.
The working group held its final planning conference for the exercises in June in Khabarovsk, Russia, attended by all members of ASEAN and dialogue partners China and India. The USA, Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand boycotted the meeting.
The exercises will involve military training that coordinates a response to a simulated terrorist attack and will help the Myanmar military build the capabilities of elite troops engaged in a campaign of terror against the people.
ASEAN’s practical assistance and support for the training of Myanmar junta troops makes the bloc further complicit in ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Since the military’s illegal coup attempt on February 1, 2021, the junta has murdered more than 3,600 people, arbitrarily arrested more than 23,000, committed indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling, torture, and sexual violence, and displaced at least 1.5 million people.
Since 2021, ADMM’s counter terrorism working group has been led by Major General Aung Myo Thant, Deputy Chief of the Myanmar military’s Armed Forces Training, and Major General Grigorii Tiurin of the Operational and Strategic Command of Russia’s Eastern Military District. Their co-chairpersonship ends this year.
The working group is also used by the junta for propaganda purposes and to seek regional support for its attacks against the legitimate National Unity Government (NUG), People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) and Ethnic Revolutionary Organisations.
For instance, a junta propaganda article on the December 2021 ASEAN counter terrorism meeting, hosted by the junta, reported on Aung Myo Thant’s speech, “highlighting… the terrorist activities of NUG and PDF, electoral fraud which led to the state of emergency declared by Tatmadaw to maintain the State affairs, efforts of Tatmadaw in various ways to peacefully find a solution on vote-rigging, the NLD government’s multiple rejections on the discussion and its intent to form a new government with controversial election results.”
ASEAN has not only failed to take action in support of human rights and democracy in Myanmar but is actively aiding the junta’s criminal conduct through direct military support like the planned military exercises. This makes ASEAN complicit in the junta’s atrocity crimes.
ASEAN is also impeding effective international action to resolve the crisis in Myanmar by acting as an institutional barrier that supports the junta by providing cover for its members and dialogue partners to enhance military cooperation and avoid taking action to protect the human rights of the Myanmar people and end the military’s impunity.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: “If the world needs anymore evidence that the Five Point Consensus has failed, ASEAN’s training of junta troops in “counter terrorism” should be the nail in the coffin.
“ASEAN’s planned training of junta troops will make the bloc further complicit in the junta’s violent attacks against the Myanmar people.
“Rather than helping to resolve the Myanmar crisis, ASEAN’s actions are worsening it and causing real harm.
“The fact these military exercises are planned is testament to the shocking failure of Indonesia as ASEAN chair to uphold basic principles of democracy and human rights.
“ASEAN must immediately cancel the exercises, ban the junta from all meetings and recognise and support the National Unity Government as the legitimate government of Myanmar.
“If, under Indonesia’s leadership, the exercises do go ahead, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and the incoming Thai government should boycott the exercises and stand with the people of Myanmar in support of human rights and democracy.”..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2023-06-22
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
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"Media Release from Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK) today published its latest report ‘Preventable deaths in Cyclone Mocha and the Rohingya genocide’, on the Burmese junta’s continued defiance of the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Gambia’s genocide case against Myanmar. The order is aimed at protecting the Rohingya, who the ICJ described as ‘extremely vulnerable’. Until the case concludes, Myanmar is obliged to report on its compliance with the ICJ’s order every six months, with its latest report due on 23 May 2023.
On 14 May, Cyclone Mocha struck Myanmar’s Rakhine State, leaving a trail of destruction. BROUK’s new report examines the circumstances which led to the preventable deaths of hundreds of Rohingya in Cyclone Mocha, in the context of the ongoing Rohingya genocide. Hundreds of Rohingya have been killed and injured after Rohingya were left behind in internment camps in Rakhine State. To date, the junta continues to block vital humanitarian aid from reaching impacted Rohingya communities.
“In the context of the regime’s policies of persecution towards the Rohingya, what the United Nations describes as ‘waiting for access’ is genocide right in front of our eyes,” said Tun Khin, President of the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK.
The report focuses on the regime’s ongoing commission of the genocidal act of ‘deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of a group in whole or in part’, in this case the Rohingya. The authorities instigated and participated in the 2012 violence which forcibly displaced more than 140,000 Rohingya, then detained them in overcrowded, flood-prone internment camps surrounded by barbed wire where they have remained for over a decade. The junta’s response to Cyclone Mocha was willfully negligent. The regime failed to evacuate all the Rohingya who were in danger from the cyclone and has blocked humanitarian aid.
BROUK points out that the regime’s obstruction of humanitarian aid may cause additional preventable deaths among extremely vulnerable Rohingya survivors. The Rohingya community in Thet Kay Pyin camp in Sittwe are already reporting an outbreak of diarrhoea among children in the camp due to unclean water sources, which can quickly spread and prove fatal if left untreated.
BROUK’s report finds that the Burmese military are continuing to violate the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ amid an ongoing genocide. The British government, penholder on Myanmar at the United Nations Security Council, has not yet convened a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the violation of the provisional measures.
“The International Court of Justice and the UN Security Council are fully aware that the Burmese military are violating the provisional measures but are not even talking about it, let alone taking action,” said Tun Khin. “What was the point of imposing provisional measures to prevent genocide if there are no consequences if they are ignored? This sets a dangerous precedent that will be watched by authoritarian regimes worldwide. We don’t just have ongoing genocide of the Rohingya, we also have ongoing failure of the United Nations Security Council and the rest of the international community to do anything about it.”
BROUK urged the British government and the wider international community to secure public hearings at the UN Security Council on the junta’s breaches of the ICJ’s order and to coordinate concrete follow-up actions. BROUK also renewed its calls to the ICJ to amend or issue further provisional measures to order Myanmar to allow all humanitarian actors immediate, unrestricted, and sustained access to Rakhine State and the rest of the country. This would benefit not only Rohingya survivors of Cyclone Mocha, but all the people of Myanmar who are suffering due to the regime’s obstruction of humanitarian aid.
The Burmese military are violating the provisional measures in many other ways, including through denial of the Rohingya identity and citizenship, restrictions on travel and access to essential services, and deliberate blocking of humanitarian assistance, leading to mental and bodily harm and preventable deaths. The junta criminalises and imprisons Rohingya who attempt to flee these appalling conditions of life, including children. The report concludes that the proactive attempts by the junta to prevent the Rohingya from escaping the conditions of life inflicted on them demonstrate its ongoing genocidal intent..."
Source/publisher:
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Date of publication:
2023-05-25
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - Myanmar
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1.27 MB (30 pages) - Original version
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Sub-title:
Returnees to Myanmar Would Face Junta’s Crimes of Apartheid, Persecution
Description:
"(Bangkok) – Bangladesh and Myanmar are organizing returns of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to Myanmar’s Rakhine State without consulting the community or addressing the grave risks to their lives and liberty, Human Rights Watch said today.
On May 5, 2023, Bangladesh officials, in coordination with Myanmar junta authorities, took 20 Rohingya refugees to Rakhine State to visit resettlement camps as part of renewed efforts to repatriate about 1,100 Rohingya in a pilot project. Donor governments and United Nations experts should call for a halt to any Rohingya repatriation until conditions are in place for safe and sustainable returns.
“Bangladesh authorities shouldn’t forget the reasons why Rohingya became refugees in the first place, and recognize that none of those factors have changed,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Bangladesh is frustrated with its burden as host, but sending refugees back to the control of a ruthless Myanmar junta will just be setting the stage for the next devastating exodus.”
About 600,000 Rohingya remain in Rakhine State, confined to squalid camps and villages that leave them exceptionally vulnerable to extreme weather events such as Cyclone Mocha, compounded by the junta’s severe restrictions on humanitarian aid.
Human Rights Watch spoke with five Rohingya refugees who were part of the go-and-see visit. They said that the detention-like conditions and lack of full citizenship rights were not conducive to a safe return. “We aren’t at all satisfied seeing the Rakhine situation,” a Rohingya refugee said. “It’s another trap by Myanmar to take us back and then continue the abuses like they have been doing to us for decades.”
Rohingya refugees have consistently said they want to go home, but only when their security, access to land and livelihoods, freedom of movement, and citizenship rights can be ensured.
The Rohingya delegation visited the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp and Kyein Chaung resettlement camp in Rakhine State’s Maungdaw township. The camps were built by Myanmar authorities on Rohingya land that Myanmar security forces burned and bulldozed in 2017 and 2018. The transit camp is surrounded by barbed-wire perimeter fencing and security outposts, similar to the confinement in the Rohingya detention camps in Sittwe and other townships in central Rakhine State.
“I could see my village,” a Rohingya refugee said of the visit. “The Hla Poe Kaung transit camp land used to be my home. My house was destroyed, my school is now a health center. Three whole Rohingya villages used to be where the transit camp is now. Myanmar authorities are trying to confine us in camps like in Sittwe.”
Myanmar authorities have held about 140,000 Rohingya arbitrarily and indefinitely in camps for more than 10 years. Recent measures to ostensibly close the camps appear designed to make the Rohingya’s segregation and confinement permanent. The camps, which have been in constant disrepair due to Myanmar authorities’ restrictions, were severely damaged by Cyclone Mocha on May 14.
“We asked the Myanmar authorities why our villages were turned into displacement camps,” one Rohingya refugee said. “They said they didn’t have any other options. They didn’t answer our questions about whether we would ever be given back our land. If these camps are temporary, then why haven’t the Rohingya living in the central Rakhine camps been able to return to their original villages?”
Conditions in Rakhine State have not been conducive to voluntary, safe, or dignified returns of Rohingya refugees since 2017, when more than 730,000 Rohingya fled the Myanmar military’s crimes against humanity and acts of genocide. The prospect of safe returns has decreased since the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, carried out by the same generals who orchestrated the 2017 mass atrocities.
Myanmar junta officials provided the visiting Rohingya with booklets titled, “Facts on the Arrangement of the Myanmar Government for Reception and Resettlement of Displaced Persons on their Return under the Pilot Project,” dated April 2023. The booklet, written in Burmese, English, and Bangla, states that returnees will be housed at the Hla Poe Kaung transit camp for up to two months, then relocated to one of two resettlement camps with prefabricated houses or a land plot in one of 15 “designated villages,” where they can build a home through a cash-for-work program.
The booklet states that security personnel will be deployed “to ensure the rule of law and security in the areas where the returnees reside or pass through.” Myanmar authorities have long invoked “security concerns” as the rationale for violating the rights of Rohingya to travel outside of their camps and villages in Rakhine State.
The junta claims in the booklet that the UN Development Programme, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be involved in the pilot project. The UNHCR said in a recent statement that “visits are an important part of voluntary refugee returns, providing a chance for people to observe conditions in their home country first-hand ahead of return and contributing to the making of an informed decision on return.” However, the agency reported in March that it is not involved in the pilot repatriation discussions and that “conditions in Myanmar’s Rakhine State are currently not conducive to the sustainable return of Rohingya refugees.”
The junta’s systematic abuses against the Rohingya amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution, and deprivation of liberty. Since the 2021 coup, security forces have arrested thousands of Rohingya men, women, and children for “unauthorized travel.” The junta has imposed new movement restrictions and aid blockages on Rohingya camps and villages, increasing water scarcity and food shortages.
A major concern among Rohingya on the trip was the booklet’s reference to National Verification Cards (NVCs), documentation that does not grant Myanmar citizenship. Rohingya have widely rejected the NVC process, seeing it as marking them as foreigners in their own country. NVC-holders have not been granted meaningful freedom of movement, while threats and coercion to force Rohingya to accept the card have been hallmarks of the process.
“Why do we have to apply for NVCs when we’re born there and have proof of being from Myanmar,” a Rohingya refugee on the visit said. “Rohingya who have NVCs are still not granted freedoms like the other ethnicities. They are linking every right like freedom of movement, access to livelihoods, education, health care, with accepting the NVC. But that would make us aliens in our own land. They should grant us full citizenship and accept us as Rohingya.”
Rohingya are effectively denied citizenship under Myanmar’s 1982 Citizenship Law, leaving them stateless.
In March, a delegation of Myanmar junta officials visited the Cox’s Bazar camps in Bangladesh, which house about one million Rohingya refugees, to interview Rohingya for “verification” for the “pilot repatriation” process. Rohingya told Human Rights Watch that they were deceived or coerced by Bangladesh administrators into meeting with the delegation. Another visit by junta officials reportedly scheduled for mid-May was postponed due to Cyclone Mocha.
In April, China held tripartite talks in Kunming with Bangladesh government and Myanmar junta officials on restarting repatriation ahead of the monsoon season.
Some refugees said Bangladesh authorities coerced them to join the go-and-see visit and told them to speak positively to the media about the conditions in Rakhine State. Bangladesh intelligence officers have harassed at least two refugees who publicly criticized the Maungdaw camps. Security forces have increased surveillance of Rohingya on the pilot repatriation list, with officers informing them to prepare for returns.
Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Bangladesh’s refugee relief and repatriation commissioner in Cox’s Bazar, told BenarNews that they plan to start repatriations in May, but will not force any refugees to return.
Junta officials have also been visiting Rakhine State in preparation for their submission to the International Court of Justice in the Genocide Convention case brought by Gambia, initially due April 24. In March, the junta requested a 10-month extension, claiming, among other reasons, that it “needed more time in order to take statements from witnesses who were presently living in camps in Bangladesh or would soon be repatriated to Myanmar.” The court extended the deadline only one month, to May 24. The timing of the pilot repatriation project appears to be part of the junta’s broader efforts to feign progress in its treatment of the Rohingya to the court, Human Rights Watch said.
Since 2017, the Bangladesh government has respected the international principle of nonrefoulement, the right of refugees not to be returned to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. But Bangladesh authorities have also been intensifying restrictions on livelihoods, movement, and education, creating a coercive environment designed to force people to consider premature returns.
“Bangladesh should continue to uphold its policy of not forcing Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar under current conditions,” Bauchner said. “Donor governments should help ease this difficult situation by supporting Bangladesh to create opportunities for Rohingya to learn and work so that they’re better prepared to go home when that day comes.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2023-05-18
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity
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Description:
"11 May 2023: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Leaders must identify the military junta as the primary source of violence in Myanmar and actively support international justice efforts if they are genuine about wanting to end the crisis and see perpetrators of alleged violations of international law in Myanmar held to account, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).
In a statement issued on 10 May 2023, ASEAN Leaders condemned an attack on a humanitarian and diplomatic convoy in Myanmar and underlined that the perpetrators must be held accountable.
The Leaders were referring to an attack on a convoy of vehicles transporting officials from the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and ASEAN Monitoring Team, including diplomats from Indonesia and Singapore. The team came under fire while under military escort on 7 May 2023 in Taunggyi District, Shan State, eastern Myanmar.
Accountability and an end to impunity are essential to resolving the crisis in Myanmar. The military is alleged to have committed the most serious crimes under international law in Myanmar over many decades, including possible genocide against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017, and crimes against humanity and war crimes following its attempted coup of February 2021, including the Pazigyi massacre of 11 April 2023. All signs indicate that the military junta itself is responsible for the attack on the ASEAN convoy this week.
The ASEAN Leaders’ words are no more than empty rhetoric if they fail to identify the junta as the cause of violence and suffering in Myanmar and are not backed-up by action from ASEAN Member States to pursue justice through international mechanisms, as accountability in Myanmar is not possible under the current conditions.
Myanmar’s courts are under the control of the military and as such are not independent, and justice and the rule of law are non-existent. Courts in areas of Myanmar controlled by the National Unity Government (NUG), Ethnic Resistance Organisations and other resistance authorities are under-resourced and face capacity and other constraints due to the military’s constant attacks against the population.
ASEAN Member States should provide diplomatic support to the NUG and its efforts to advance international justice including through the International Criminal Court (ICC). They should urge the United Nations (UN) Security Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the ICC, or, if the Security Council fails to act, then pursue the establishment of a special court for Myanmar.
The military junta’s atrocities against the people of Myanmar escalated throughout 2022 and have escalated further still in the first half of 2023. International leaders are failing in their responsibilities to the Myanmar people if they continue to hide behind meaningless words. It is long past time they act against the military junta to end its violence and protect the Myanmar people..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2023-05-11
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, ASEAN-Burma relations, International Criminal Court (Myanmar), Crimes Against Humanity
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Description:
"While the defence strategic review shows Australia is focused on building capability through AUKUS, its declassified version fails to note a significant threat to regional security—Myanmar.
Myanmar’s junta is a threat to regional stability that could cause problems for Australia for years to come.
Australia has enjoyed relative stability across its northern outlook for decades, partly due to the peace and economic prosperity offered by ASEAN. While many commentators speculate about threats to ASEAN, such as China’s illegal behaviour in the South China Sea, ASEAN’s failure of unity in responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and even the impact of AUKUS, none of these are as serious as its response to the situation in Myanmar.
The international community has relied on ASEAN leadership to address the crisis in Myanmar, yet the bloc has failed to generate meaningful progress.
Non-interference in the affairs of fellow member states is a thread running through ASEAN’s six fundamental principles, but the list is silent on what it should do in cases of genocide or other serious human rights violations. Attempts to influence Myanmar via soft diplomacy have so far failed to end the junta’s rule or its war crimes. ASEAN’s five-point consensus has been utterly ignored by the junta.
In February 2023, it was reported that a Japanese businessman negotiated a ceasefire between Myanmar’s military and an ethnic group in Rakhine state. The Myanmar military has waged war against many ethnic armed organisations like this since independence in 1948, arguably creating the world’s longest civil war.
Since the February 2021 coup in which the military ceased its power-sharing arrangement with Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, state-initiated violence has massively increased, with an estimated 3,400 political prisoners killed and many more imprisoned.
ASEAN’s non-interference principle has left the bloc dithering on what to do about its wayward member, even as its chair, Indonesia, asserts the need to resolve the crisis. Yet it was a Japanese businessman, not ASEAN, who held sufficient influence to broker a ceasefire.
Investment by China has muted the effect of divestment from Myanmar, meaning the junta hasn’t suffered much in terms of drawbacks. There is even talk of China’s using Myanmar to bypass the ‘Malacca dilemma’ of transporting its goods through Southeast Asia to and from the Middle East and Europe. China’s opportunism in Myanmar is at the direct expense of ASEAN and Australian interests.
The lack of consequences for the Myanmar military only serves to encourage other disgruntled actors in the region to act out—consider, for example, Thailand’s various military coups and Cambodia’s crackdown on independent media—and could be a hint of things to come.
ASEAN needs to draw a line in the sand. If a brutal civil war in which the army murders civilians and arrests Australian economic advisers for doing their jobs isn’t enough for ASEAN to take more drastic action, what is? As the situation forces foreign investors into expensive divestment from a once-burgeoning democracy, can they trust that other regional investments won’t go the same way?
Serious sanctions must be on the table. If other member states see the junta as getting away with murder for the sake of maintaining power, it may degrade norms across the region.
If ASEAN’s centrality wanes to the point of regional instability, China will step in, and Australia will be in for a panic much worse than it experienced over Solomon Islands. Decaying norms within ASEAN display a weakness of values at a time when values-based investments are as important to its stability as ever.
ASEAN must choose whether to let this decay continue or to find ways to side with the civilian population of Myanmar and create enduring peace in the region. This decision must occur before Myanmar is scheduled to become ASEAN chair in 2026.
Thirty years from now, we may find that ASEAN’s management of Myanmar over these next few years had a greater influence on Australia’s strategic interests than we appreciated at the time..."
Source/publisher:
Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Date of publication:
2023-05-11
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity
Language:
more
Description:
"A recent and damning report from Human Rights Watch has highlighted the Myanmar military's use of a "thermobaric" munition in an attack on a Sagaing Region opposition building on April 11, 2023, which resulted in the death of over 160 individuals, including children.
The advanced "enhanced-blast" munition utilised in the assault on the village of Pa Zi Gyi in upper Myanmar has been implicated in the severe and indiscriminate civilian casualties -- a clear breach of international humanitarian law. This reprehensible act appears to be a war crime, demonstrating the Myanmar military's continued and unchecked serious abuses.
The military's employment of a weapon devised for maximum devastation in an area teeming with civilians is a blatant display of their disregard for human life. This has prompted urgent calls for international governments to sever the junta's financial, arms, and aviation fuel supply to discourage further atrocities.
In the build-up to the Buddhist new year on April 11, around 300 residents from Kantbalu township convened to inaugurate an opposition-led administrative office in Pa Zi Gyi. Eyewitness accounts relay a chilling narrative of a military jet that dropped at least one munition, which detonated amidst the crowd, followed shortly after by a helicopter gunship that unleashed a barrage of cannons, grenades, and rockets on the fleeing civilians.
The office was designed for civilian activities such as tax filing, township meetings, and judicial processes, although it was also used to store goods, funds, medicines, and some ammunition by the People's Defense Forces (PDF), an anti-junta militia.
Human Rights Watch's investigation into photos of the victims and the aftermath of the attacks suggest that the initial assault was carried out with a potent, air-dropped "enhanced-blast" munition. This type of weapon, known as "thermobaric" or a "vapor-cloud explosive," can cause extensive damage over a wide area and is particularly devastating when used in populated regions.
The Myanmar military, through state media, admitted to the airstrikes on the evening of April 11, claiming that they were targeting PDF members and that the casualties were a result of the strikes hitting PDF explosive and landmine storage units, which subsequently exploded.
Nonetheless, the National Unity Government reports that those who perished were primarily civilian residents of Pa Zi Gyi, including 40 children, with the youngest victim being just 6 months old and the eldest 76. They reported that the total death toll from the attack was 168, although Human Rights Watch has not been able to confirm these figures.
International humanitarian law compels all parties in non-international armed conflicts, such as those in Myanmar, to differentiate between combatants and civilians, to ensure that targets are military objectives rather than civilians or civilian objects, and to avoid and minimise civilian loss of life and property.
Since the military coup in February 2021, AOAV has recorded 2,091 civilian casualties in Myanmar, 793 of whom were killed and 1,298 injured. Among the civilian casualties, AOAV has recorded at least 328 children, 249 women, and 365 men.
80% (1,674) of civilian casualties were reportedly killed and injured by the military government, who carried out 85% (323) of their attacks in areas reported as populated.
Overall, AOAV has recorded 577 incidents of explosive weapon use in populated areas in Myanmar, or 55% of all 1,042 recorded incidents. 60% (1,974) of casualties in populated areas were reported as civilians.
Villages are by far the worst affected locations, accouting for both the majority of incidents, 32% (332), and the majority of civilian casualties, 55% (1,153). 263 civilians have been killed and injured at public gatherings, and 109 in places of worship.
Dr Iain Overton, Executive Director of AOAV, strongly condemned the April 11 air strike. "The utilization of such devastating weapons in areas heavily populated by civilians is not only a flagrant violation of international law but a profound betrayal of our shared human values. The loss of innocent lives, including children, is utterly tragic and unacceptable. It's a stark reminder that the international community must take robust measures to prevent further atrocities," he said. "We stand with Human Rights Watch in calling for a global halt to funding, arms, and fuel supplies to Myanmar's military, and for a strong international response to these grave abuses."..."
Source/publisher:
Action on Armed Violence (London)
Date of publication:
2023-05-10
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations, Human Rights Defenders, Military History
Language:
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Sub-title:
‘Thermobaric’ Strike in Sagaing Region Killed More than 160
Description:
"(Sydney) – The Myanmar military used a “thermobaric” munition for an attack on an opposition building in Sagaing Region on April 11, 2023, that killed more than 160 people, including children, Human Rights Watch said today.
The airstrike using an “enhanced-blast” type munition on the village of Pa Zi Gyi in upper Myanmar caused indiscriminate and disproportionate civilian casualties in violation of international humanitarian law, and was an apparent war crime. Foreign governments should prevent funding, arms, and aviation fuel from going to Myanmar’s military, which continues to commit serous abuses with impunity.
“The Myanmar military’s use of a weapon designed to cause maximum deaths on an area crowded with civilians shows flagrant disregard for human life,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Foreign governments need to cut off the junta’s funding, arms and jet fuel to deter further atrocities.”
About 300 residents from Kantbalu township gathered on April 11, ahead of the Buddhist new year to open an opposition-controlled administrative office in Pa Zi Gyi. Two witnesses told Human Rights Watch that at about 7:30 a.m., a military jet flew overhead and dropped at least one munition, which exploded amid the crowd gathering around the building. Within minutes, a witness said, a helicopter gunship followed and fired cannons, grenades, and rockets into the crowd as people tried to flee.
A resident of Pa Zi Gyi said that members of the People’s Defense Forces (PDF), an anti-junta militia, were at the opening. The office was intended for civilian uses such as filing taxes, township meetings, and judicial processes. The witness said the PDF stored goods, funds, and medicines in the office, but also some ammunition.
“The event agenda had meetings, entertainment, and awards ceremonies,” the witness said. “There were many scouts and guards for security, but they were mainly concerned about possible junta military convoys on the road and not so much about airstrikes, so were taken by surprise.” He said some of his family members including a child were killed in the attack.
A second witness said, “I got there early, and I was standing outside the building when the attack started so I had a chance to run for cover.” He said he jumped into a trench just as a munition detonated near the building. “The first strike was by [a jet plane] that killed everyone inside and destroyed the building. But the subsequent strafing by [a helicopter] that came afterward … attack[ed] and kill[ed] the survivors who were running for their lives into the nearby forest.”
Human Rights Watch reviewed 59 photos of the victims’ bodies and a video of the site following the attacks, and concluded that the initial strike was conducted with a large, air-dropped “enhanced-blast” type munition. This type of weapon is often called “thermobaric” or a “vapor-cloud explosive.” Although enhanced-blast weapons can be used in several ways, they generally function on the same principle: an explosive material is dispersed as a vapor cloud that uses atmospheric oxygen as a fuel when it is detonated. The scale of the blast and thermal damage to the building, as well as the profound nature of the burns and evident soft-tissue and crushing injuries suffered by the victims, are distinctive.
Enhanced-blast weapons are more powerful than conventional high-explosive munitions of comparable size and inflict extensive damage over a wide area, and thus are prone to indiscriminate use when used in populated areas, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch also reviewed eight photographs and two videos of the remnants of the weapons posted online and that the opposition National Unity Government (NUG) presented during a news conference on April 14. Human Rights Watch could not positively identify all of the remnants. However, some were consistent with the types of weapons and munitions used by the type of helicopter gunship, an Mi-35, deployed by Myanmar’s military.
On state media on the evening of April 11, the Myanmar military claimed responsibility for the airstrikes. A military spokesman, Zaw Min Tun, said that they targeted People’s Defense Force members and that the casualties were a result of the strikes hitting PDF storage units for explosives and landmines, which then exploded.
The National Unity Government said those killed were mainly civilian residents of Pa Zi Gyi, including 40 children. The youngest victim was 6 months old and the oldest was 76. As of May 5, the NUG said a total 168 people had been killed in the attack. Human Rights Watch was not able to confirm those figures.
International humanitarian law applicable to the non-international armed conflicts in Myanmar obligates all warring forces to distinguish between combatants and civilians and to ensure that the targets of attacks are military objectives and not civilians or civilian objects. Both sides are required to take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian loss of life and property, and, where circumstance permit, provide effective advance warnings of attacks.
The laws of war prohibit indiscriminate attacks, which include using methods or means of combat that cannot be limited in ways that minimize incidental loss of civilian life and damage to civilian objects. Attacks that can be expected to cause disproportionate civilian harm in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated in the attack are also prohibited.
The presence of opposition combatants and ammunition would make the building a legitimate military objective subject to attack. Even so, the use of an enhanced-blast weapon for the attack was unlawfully indiscriminate because its use in a crowded civilian area could not minimize the loss of civilian life. In addition, the initial strike and ensuing attacks on hundreds of fleeing civilians was almost certainly an unlawfully disproportionate attack, and possibly a deliberate attack on civilians.
Serious violations of international humanitarian law that are committed with criminal intent – that is, deliberately or recklessly – are war crimes. War crimes include deliberate, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attacks against civilians, and a wide array of other crimes. Individuals also may be held criminally liable for attempting to commit a war crime, as well as assisting in, facilitating, aiding, or abetting a war crime. Commanders who knew or should have known about abuses by their forces and failed to take appropriate action may be held liable as a matter of command responsibility.
Recent attacks in which Myanmar’s military may be responsible for laws-of-war violations include airstrikes on April 10 in Chin State that killed nine civilians and in Bago Region on May 2 that killed three civilians. An air and ground assault in Magway Region on April 21 burned a Japan-funded hospital. And in March, after the military captured a town in Shan State, 22 people were summarily executed, with many of the victims bearing marks of torture.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should at its next meeting in Indonesia from May 9-11 signal its support for stronger measures to cut off the military’s cash flow and press the junta for reform.
The United Nations Security Council should follow up on its December resolution on Myanmar and its March follow-up briefing by urgently considering a new resolution to deter the military from committing further abuses, including adopting an arms embargo, referring Myanmar to the International Criminal Court, and imposing targeted sanctions on junta leadership and military-owned companies.
“The Myanmar junta’s abusive military operations depend on its ability to purchase weapons and materiel,” Pearson said. “ASEAN and the UN Security Council both need to reconsider their toothless approaches to Myanmar’s junta and take stronger measures.”..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2023-05-09
Date of entry/update:
2023-05-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity, Various rights: reports of violations against several ethnic groups, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
160.33 KB
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Description:
"Canal+ and its satellite partner, Thaicom, are broadcasting Myanmar military junta propaganda against their responsibilities under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the OECD Guidelines, and international law and norms.
The illegal Myanmar military junta uses television for psychological warfare as part of its campaign of terror against the people, in breach of international law, and this content is broadcast by Canal+ and Thaicom.
Canal+ operates a subscription television business in Myanmar in partnership with the crony company Forever Group, launched in 2018. Forever Group is a longstanding broadcast partner of the military and was formerly sanctioned by the EU.
Canal+ is a subsidiary of the French corporation, Vivendi SA, which also owns Gameloft, Dailymotion and Havas Group.
In 2019, Canal+ signed a capacity agreement with the Thai publicly listed satellite corporation Thaicom to broadcast content through the satellite, Thaicom 6.
Thaicom has deep links to the Myanmar military. It formerly broadcast the army’s Myawaddy TV (MWD) channels and Thaicom has its own service agreement with Myanmar Radio and Television (MRTV), which was renewed in 2021.
MWD is run by the Directorate of Public Relations and Psychological Warfare of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army), Soe Win, who is sanctioned by the EU. MRTV is run by the Ministry of Information, illegally controlled by the military. The junta’s information minister, Maung Maung Ohn, has also been sanctioned by the EU.
By broadcasting MWD, MRTV and the junta’s international propaganda channel, MITV, Canal+ and Thaicom regularly distribute images of individuals that the junta has captured as claimed members of the People’s Defence Forces, and are routinely subject to torture, arbitrary imprisonment and death in junta custody.
The broadcast of these images are against the spirit of Article 13(2) of the Third Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (1949): “prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity.”
Article 13(2) can be interpreted as applicable to “any materials that enable individual prisoners to be identified must normally be regarded as subjecting them to public curiosity and, therefore, may not be transmitted, published or broadcast.”
While Article 13(2) originally applied to international armed conflict, Protocol II extends the application of the Geneva Conventions to non-international armed conflicts.
France and Thailand have both ratified Protocol II, and as such have a responsibility to prevent companies in their territory from violating the Geneva Conventions.
Images of prisoners shown on MRTV and broadcast by Canal+ and Thaicom include close-ups of individuals detained by the junta with signs of torture, such as swollen faces and with their names identified.
Canal+ and Thaicom also broadcast content that refers to Rohingya as “Bengali”, a term associated with the military's genocidal intent because it is intended to Other and dehumanise Rohingya.
By doing so, the junta, which unlawfully claims to be the government of Myanmar, is disregarding the Provisional Measures imposed by the International Court of Justice in The Gambia v. Myanmar case under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide prohibiting, among other actions, incitement to genocide.
Recent content include footage of Rohingya arbitrarily detained when trying to flee the conditions imposed on them by the genocidal military, which include confinement in camps that amounts to the crime of apartheid.
Canal+ has enhanced corporate human rights responsibilities because of its status as a multinational enterprise. It should follow the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises that obligates multinational enterprises to "consider additional standards" and to pay particular attention to situations of armed conflict and the applicability of international humanitarian law.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says: "The genocidal Myanmar military is waging a campaign of terror against the people of Myanmar, in which it uses media for psychological warfare, spreading fear, disinformation and hate.
“By broadcasting MWD, MRTV and MITV, major weapons of the junta’s propaganda arsenal, Canal+ and Thaicom are blatantly disregarding their human rights responsibilities and obligations under international law.
“Through the broadcast of the junta’s images of captured PDFs, Canal+ and Thaicom are making a commodified spectacle of prisoners of war, against the spirit of the Geneva Conventions, which their home countries, France and Thailand, are signatory to.
“The fact that Canal+ and Thaicom also transmit content that refers to Rohingya as 'Bengali', disregards the Provisional Measures imposed by the ICJ that prohibit the direct and public incitement of genocide.
“Canal+ and Thaicom are broadcasting MWD and MRTV's use of the term ‘Bengali’, knowing it is a genocidal slur.
“We call on Canal+ and Thaicom to immediately stop broadcasting junta propaganda and to abide by their responsibilities under the OECD Guidelines and international law.
“France and Thailand, who are responsible for the conduct of companies in their territories, should take urgent steps to ensure that their companies are upholding international law and norms in their business in Myanmar.”
Canal+ and Thaicom did not respond to questions from Justice For Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
Justice For Myanmar
Date of publication:
2023-04-28
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military
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Sub-title:
Japan Should Suspend Non-Humanitarian Aid to Junta
Description:
"On April 26, after months awaiting a response, Japan’s Foreign Ministry announced it had received confirmation from Myanmar’s military junta that it misused two Japan-funded civilian vessels to transport soldiers and weapons in Rakhine State in September 2022.
A Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Japan protested the misuse and the junta “expressed regret over the situation,” saying it will do its “utmost to prevent recurrence.”
Human Rights Watch first revealed the incident in October 2022 after analyzing letters from Myanmar officials that stated that two of three vessels delivered by Japan between 2017 and 2019 had been used to transport more than 100 soldiers and materiel to the town of Buthidaung in Rakhine State, where the military is fighting the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group. The Japanese government had been requesting information from the junta following that reporting.
Since Myanmar’s military staged a coup on February 1, 2021, security forces have killed more than 3,400 people and arrested over 21,000, with more than 17,000 currently detained, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. In recent weeks, the military has been implicated in airstrikes in Sagaing State that killed dozens of civilians, and a ground assault in Magway Region that burned a Japan-funded hospital. In March, 22 people were massacred after the military captured a town in Shan State, with many of the victims bearing marks of torture, according to the coroner.
Prior to the coup, Myanmar’s security forces committed crimes against humanity and genocidal acts against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine State, forcing them to flee to Bangladesh, where nearly a million Rohingya are currently living in overcrowded refugee camps. An estimated 600,000 Rohingya remain in Rakhine State, where they are subject to persecution and violence, denied proper freedom of movement, and cut off from access to adequate food, health care, education, and livelihoods.
The Myanmar military’s egregious and ongoing rights violations should be reason enough for the Japanese government to reject the junta’s hollow promise to abide by international law.
A lukewarm response will only embolden the junta at the expense of Japan’s reputation, including with the people of Myanmar whom the Japanese government seeks to assist. Japan should instead suspend non-humanitarian aid to Myanmar and impose targeted sanctions on military leaders and military-owned conglomerates..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2023-04-27
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Description:
"Today marks the second anniversary since ASEAN agreed on the Five Point Consensus in response
to the military coup in Myanmar. The Myanmar military has ignored calls from the international
community to stop the violence. Moreover, since the coup, the Myanmar military has committed war
crimes and possible crimes against humanity. ASEAN leaders must step up and address the situation
in Myanmar without further delay. Amnesty International has assessed ASEAN’s five points
consensus using concrete evidence as examples where relevant, and highlights its failures:
1) First, there shall be immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and all parties shall exercise
utmost restraint.
The Myanmar military authorities executed at least four people, sentenced at least 123 people to
death, and arrested 21,334 people – with 17,446 people still detained, according to the Assistance
Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP). The security forces tortured detainees, killed at least 3,239
people, including unlawful attacks killing and injuring civilians through the use of deadly air strikes,
extrajudicial executions, artillery shelling, banned landmines, and cluster munitions. According to the
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), since the coup, the
fighting has displaced 1.4 million people inside the country, burned or destroyed 60,000 civilian
properties and pushed 75,400 people to seek refuge in neighboring countries. The military authorities
also detained and imprisoned at least 2,000 Rohingyas since the coup for ‘unauthorized travel’
outside of Rakhine State. These numbers illustrate the fact that the Myanmar military does not plan to
cease violence or exercise restraint against civilians.
2) Second, constructive dialogue among all parties concerned shall commence to seek a
peaceful solution in the interests of the people.
In July 2022, the Myanmar military executed four people, including an activist and one member of
the National League for Democracy (NLD). As of December 2022, the Myanmar military sentenced
Aung San Suu Kyi to 33 years in prison in grossly unfair trials, in completely untransparent
procedures. In October, Magway District Court sentenced ex-NLD parliamentarian Win Myint Hlaing
to 148 years in prison on terror-related charges. Around the same time, activists Aung Khant, Kyaw
Thet and Hnin Maung were sentenced to prison terms of between 95 and 225 years under the Counter-Terrorism Law. Likewise, the Myanmar military continues to target and imprison politicians
from the opposition groups. The Myanmar military authorities are using the justice system as an
oppressive tool to silence and collectively punish any voice of dissent. On 7 April 2023, Reverend
Samson, Kachin religious and community leader, was sentenced to six years in prison on charges of
unlawful association, defamation and terrorism. These charges are used as a tool by the Myanmar
military to silence and punish people for exercising their freedom of speech. A constructive dialogue
is not possible if people are unfairly imprisoned and arbitrarily detained. The Myanmar military must
release all those detained and imprisoned for their peaceful opposition to the coup and to the
military’s human rights violations.
3) Third, a special envoy of the ASEAN Chair shall facilitate mediation of the dialogue process,
with the assistance of the Secretary General of ASEAN.
In March 2022, the ASEAN Special Envoy for Myanmar visited Myanmar for the first time. The
Special Envoy met with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, but the military reportedly denied him to
meet with any civil society groups, or members of the NLD, which had won the most seats in the
2020 election. The Myanmar military also rejected the Special Envoy’s request to meet with Aung San
Suu Kyi. This failure to meet with anyone other than the Myanmar military leadership shows that
ASEAN has not been able to facilitate mediation.
4) Fourth, ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance through the AHA Centre.
In October 2022, the Myanmar military enacted the Organization Registration Law, severely restricting
the right to freedom of association by imposing criminal penalties on national and international
humanitarian organizations if they do not register with the authorities. The enactment severely
impedes desperately needed humanitarian aid. Amnesty International has documented the military
authorities obstructing lifesaving humanitarian aid through cumbersome administrative restrictions
and attacking camps for internally displaced people. Massive aerial bombing, indiscriminate shelling,
and massacres by the military are causing large numbers of casualties and displacements – further
increasing the need for humanitarian assistance. UNOCHA estimates that a total of 17.6 million
people, including more than nine million women and girls, would require humanitarian assistance in
2023. In December 2021, two humanitarian workers were among those killed in a massacre by the
military in Kayah State. UNOCHA’s end year report also indicates that “Myanmar recorded the
second highest number of aid workers killed globally in 2022, and the fourth highest number of aid
workers injured”. The AHA Centre has also failed to provide anywhere close to adequate
humanitarian assistance to the population in need.
5) Fifth, the special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned.
See point 2 and 3 above.
In response to ASEAN’s failure to implement the five-point consensus, Amnesty International urges
ASEAN and ASEAN member states to make the following recommendations to the Myanmar military:
1) Immediately stop dropping aerial bombs on civilians and carrying out indiscriminate attacks by
ground and air in violation of international humanitarian law.
2) Lift internet blackouts, administrative and other arbitrary restrictions on humanitarian aid, stop
attacks on humanitarian workers, and allow unimpeded access to national and international
humanitarian organizations, so that they can reach all civilians in need.
3) Release all detainees arbitrarily detained or unjustly imprisoned through grossly unfair trials
since the coup.
4) Immediately halt acts of intimidation, arrests, or torture and other ill-treatment of media
workers, healthcare workers and others who peacefully joined the Civil Disobedience
Movement.
5) Release all Rohingyas arbitrarily detained for exercising their right to freedom of movement
and halt the military’s role in any plans to forcibly return Rohingyas from Cox’s Bazar and
Bashan Char camps..."
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (UK)
Date of publication:
2023-04-24
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Crimes Against Humanity
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Description:
"MOHR's report on kantbalu massacre sent to the UNSC members and other States calling for punitive measures under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, including a global ban on the sale and transfer of arms, munitions, dual-use items and aviation fuel to the junta, the targeting of junta financial interests, and a referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. The UN Secretary-General, acting under Article 99 of the Charter, must give full support to this effort.....လူ့အခွင့်အရေးဆိုင်ရာဝန်ကြီးဌာနသည် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်က ကျုးလွန်ခဲ့သည့် ကန့်ပလူမြို့နယ်၊ ပဇီကြီးကျေးရွာအစုလိုက်အပြုံလိုက်သတ်ဖြတ်ခံခဲ့ရမှု ဖြစ်စဉ်နှင့် ပတ်သက်သည့် တိကျသေချာသော သတင်းအချက်အလက်များပါဝင်သည့် အောက်ဖော်ပြပါ အစီရင်ခံစာတစောင်အား ကုလသမဂ္ဂလုံခြုံရေးကောင်စီနှင့် ၎င်း၏ အဖွဲ့ဝင်များထံ ပေးပို့ခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်ပါသည်။
ကန့်ပလူ၊ပဇီကြီးကျေးရွာ ဖြစ်စဉ်တင်မကဘဲ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်ကျုးလွန်ခဲ့သော ပြစ်မှုများကိုပါ အထောက်အထားခိုင်လုံစွာ တင်သွင်းထားပြီး လုံခြုံရေးကောင်စီအနေဖြင့်
ကုလသမဂ္ဂ ပဋိညာဉ်စာတမ်း အခန်း ၇ ပါ ပြစ်ဒဏ်ချမှတ်မှု ဖော်ပြချက်အရ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်အား လက်နက်၊ ခဲယမ်းမီးကျောက်များ၊စစ်ရေးတွင်ပြောင်းလဲအသုံးပြုနိုင်သောပစ္စည်းများ နှင့် လေကြောင်းလောင်စာဆီများ ရောင်းချခြင်းနှင့် လွှဲပြောင်းခြင်းတို့အပေါ် တကမ္ဘာလုံးက တားမြစ်ပိတ်ပင်ခြင်း၊ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်တပ်၏ ဘဏ္ဍာရေး အကျိုးစီးပွားများကို ပစ်မှတ်ထားပြီးပိတ်ဆို့ခြင်းနှင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ရာဇဝတ်မှုများကို နိုင်ငံတကာ ရာဇ၀တ်ခုံရုံးသို့ လွှဲပြောင်းပေးခြင်းလုပ်ဆောင်ရန် တောင်းဆိုထားပါသည်။
ထို့ပြင်ပဋိညာဉ်စာတမ်း၏ အပိုဒ် ၉၉ အရ ကုလသမဂ္ဂ အထွေထွေအတွင်းရေးမှူးချုပ်သည် ထိုတောင်းဆိုချက်များအတွက် ကြိုးပမ်းအားထုတ်မှုကို အပြည့်အဝ ထောက်ခံရမည်ဖြစ်သည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Human Rights
Date of publication:
2023-04-14
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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114.97 KB
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Sub-title:
Statement condemning the illegal military junta’s horrific aerial attack on Kanbalu Township of Sagaing Region
Description:
"This Sagaing attack comes just a day after junta air strikes in Va and Waibula villages of Palan Township in Chin State that killed nine civilians and destroyed homes and school buildings. These combined aerial attacks showcase the junta’s escalating terror campaign against the Myanmar people, despite the repeated condemnation of ASEAN Leaders and the UN Security Council. Only last week, on 4 April, the UN’s Human Rights Council passed a consensus resolution that condemned the junta’s deliberate, widespread, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force against civilians and called on the junta to immediately cease all air strikes. The junta has answered in the only way it know how – through intensified atrocities and bloodshed..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Human Rights
Date of publication:
2023-04-11
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
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40.68 KB
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Sub-title:
စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်း၊ ကန့်ဘလူမြို့နယ်ကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုမှ ဆိုးရွားစွာ လေကြောင်းမှ တိုက်ခိုက်မှုအပေါ် ရှုတ်ချကြောင်း ထုတ်ပြန်ချက်
Description:
""အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုအနေဖြင့် အာဆီယံခေါင်းဆောင်များနှင့် ကုလသမဂ္ဂလုံခြုံရေးကောင်စီ ၏ စဉ်ဆက်မပြတ် ရှုတ်ချမှုများကို မျက်ကွယ်ပြုလျက် မြန်မာပြည်သူများအပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်မှု ပိုမိုဆိုးရွားစွာ ကျူးလွန်နေလျက်ရှိကြောင်း လေကြောင်းမှ ယခုကဲ့သို့ ပူးတွဲတိုက်ခိုက်မှုများက ဖော်ပြလျက်ရှိသည်။
ယခင်တစ်ပတ် ဧပြီလ (၄ )ရက် နေ့ကပင် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ အရပ်သားများအပေါ် ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ရှိရှိ၊ ကျယ်ကျယ်ပြန့်ပြန့်၊ အရပ်ဘက် စစ်ဘက် ပစ်မှတ်ခွဲခြားမှုမရှိ၊ မတန်တဆအင်အားသုံး တိုက်ခိုက်မှုများအပေါ် ရှုတ်ချကြောင်း ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်တရပ်ကို ကုလသမဂ္ဂ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးကောင်စီအနေဖြင့် ဘုံသဘောတူညီချက်ဖြင့် ချမှတ်ခဲ့ပြီး၊ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု၏ လေကြောင်းတိုက်ခိုက်မှုများအားလုံးကို ရပ်တန့်ရန် တောင်းဆိုခဲ့ပြီးဖြစ်သည်။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စုသည် ထိုသို့သော ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်ကိုပင်လျှင် ပိုမိုဆိုးရွားပြင်းထန်သော သတ်ဖြတ်မှု၊ သွေးချောင်းစီးမှုဖြင့် တုံ့ပြန်ခဲ့ပြီဖြစ်သည်။”..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Human Rights
Date of publication:
2023-04-11
Date of entry/update:
2023-04-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council
Description:
"More than two years since the military coup in Myanmar, the junta’s atrocities continue to escalate, driving the country ever deeper into a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe.
Meanwhile, the international response to the situation has had no noticeable impact on the military’s crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The junta is unbowed by “statements of condemnation.” Targeted sanctions are critical but they have not been coordinated closely or enforced rigorously enough.
The UN Security Council’s resolution in December was regrettably watered down to contain almost no actionable language. In the three months since it was adopted, the junta’s security forces have arrested over 530 people, sentenced over 420, and killed more than 275 in airstrikes, arson attacks, and summary executions. Just last week about 20 civilians who had taken shelter in a monastery were massacred.
The junta likewise continues to flagrantly disregard ASEAN’s five-point consensus adopted in 2021, which the regional bloc lacks effective tools to enforce.
A new, bolder approach is needed. Myanmar’s generals are not going to change their conduct until the cumulative cost of their atrocities grows too great to bear.
States need to harmonize their efforts to impose real consequences: coordinating and enforcing tougher targeted sanctions to cut off the junta’s access to the extractive revenue, weapons, and aviation fuel enabling its abuses. As ASEAN chair, Indonesia should lead the bloc in supporting these measures as well as accountability efforts to bring justice to the junta’s victims.
The facts on the ground are clear. What are governments waiting for?..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2023-03-20
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity, Ethnic Cleansing, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Description:
"Aviation fuel shipments to Myanmar have continued despite the military’s ongoing war crimes, Amnesty International and Global Witness said today, after they identified more companies involved in the supply chain.
“We have traced new shipments of aviation fuel that have likely ended up in the hands of Myanmar’s military, which has consistently conducted unlawful air strikes. These attacks regularly kill civilians, including children, yet planes can only take off if they have fuel,” said Montse Ferrer, Amnesty International’s Researcher and Advisor on Business and Human Rights.
“Since the military’s coup in 2021, it has brutally suppressed its critics and attacked civilians from the ground and the air. Supplies of aviation fuel reaching the military enable these war crimes. These shipments must stop now.”
Hanna Hindstrom, Senior Investigator at Global Witness, which helped conduct the research, said: “We urge anyone involved in this trade to put people before profits and to cease supplying the fuel that facilitates these atrocities. We call on more states to enact or reinforce controls to prevent these supplies.”
Montse Ferrer said: “It is troubling that the Swiss-registered multinational fuel company Puma Energy, which committed to withdraw from Myanmar in October 2022, decided to sell its aviation fuel assets to a Myanmar business group which has imported fuel for the military.”
Deadly Cargo – Companies fuelling Myanmar’s military
On 3 November 2022, Amnesty International published Deadly Cargo, a report on the country’s aviation fuel supply chain that links national, regional and global companies to the Myanmar military.
Amnesty International, Global Witness and Burma Campaign UK have now identified other companies involved in aviation fuel transactions, which are likely to have reached the military in recent months.
One shipment involved the oil tanker Prime V, which sailed from Sikka in India on 28 November 2022. On or about 10 December, Prime V offloaded Jet A-1 grade aviation fuel at the former Puma Energy Aviation Sun Co. Ltd. (PEAS) terminal in the port of Thilawa in Myanmar.
One of the companies involved in this transaction is Reliance Industries Ltd of India, which owns the terminal from which Prime V departed. Sea Trade Marine, a Greek company, is the beneficial owner of Prime V, while Japan’s P&I Club provided the protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance. Amnesty International contacted the companies, yet only Japan P&I Club responded, saying that it complied with applicable sanctions at the time, and that its insurance cover may be terminated if a vessel is involved in illegal activity. There is no suggestion that the Prime V broke applicable laws in this delivery.
Details of an October shipment have also been obtained recently, showing that the tanker Big Sea 104 left the Bangchak Oil Refinery in Bangkok Port in Thailand on or about 8 October 2022.It arrived at Thilawa about a week later and offloaded 12,592 tonnes of Jet A-1, according to data from Kpler, a commodities information company, at the former PEAS terminal.
The refinery from which the ship departed is owned by publicly listed Thai company Bangchak Corporation Plc. Prima Marine Plc, another Thai company, is the beneficial owner of Big Sea 104, while Luxembourg-based The Shipowners’ P&I Club provided the insurance. None of these companies responded to Amnesty International’s letters.
“Each of these companies played a role in ensuring the Myanmar military continues to have access to aviation fuel to conduct unlawful air strikes. This has to end. All companies should stop their involvement in the aviation fuel supply chain to Myanmar,” said Montse Ferrer.
Sale of Puma Energy assets in Myanmar raises human rights concerns
At the time these two shipments arrived, the port terminal was controlled by the Myanmar subsidiary of Swiss and Singapore-based Puma Energy. In October 2022, Puma Energy said it was withdrawing from Myanmar after selling its assets to what it called a “locally owned private company” from which it claimed to have obtained undertakings to comply with “Human Rights laws” and not use assets to commit human rights violations.
Amnesty International has established that this buyer is Shoon Energy, formerly called Asia Sun Aviation, and that the sale was completed in December 2022.
Shoon Energy is part of a Myanmar business conglomerate, called Asia Sun, which imported aviation fuel on behalf of the military and distributed it to air bases. Following Puma Energy’s departure, this conglomerate now manages the main aviation fuel terminal in Thilawa port, Yangon, and, jointly with military-controlled Myanmar Petroleum Products Enterprise, the import and distribution of aviation fuel across the country.
Last month the UK and EU imposed sanctions on individuals and companies behind the Asia Sun group for their ties to the provision of aviation fuel to the Myanmar air force. Ahead of these sanctions, however, the Asia Sun conglomerate changed several of its companies’ names to Shoon Energy.
Montse Ferrer said: “Puma Energy has stated that the buyer of its Myanmar assets has undertaken to ‘comply with Human Rights law’. However, given the close relationship between Shoon Energy and the Myanmar military we are concerned this assurance is essentially meaningless.”
International community must act
Since companies continue to export aviation fuel to Myanmar, even while knowing the role that it plays in enabling war crimes being committed by the military, the international community must act.
Amnesty International and Global Witness have previously laid out a path forward: countries should suspend the export and transport of aviation fuel to Myanmar. Importantly, they should also suspend the provision of third-party services such as insurance, shipping or financial services to vessels involved in the shipment of aviation fuel to Myanmar.
Hanna Hindstrom said: “The international community has the tools in place to enact these restrictions. We should do what is in our power to reduce the Myanmar military’s capacity for terrorizing civilians.”
Background
According to the Myanmar Institute for Peace and Security, the military conducted 104 air strikes in 2021, and 243 in 2022.
On 1 February 2023, the second anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar, Canada and the UK announced measures to prevent aviation fuel from reaching the military, including targeted sanctions on Myanmar companies and individuals. On 20 February 2023 the EU sanctioned Asia Sun group and associated entities Asia Sun Trading and Asia Sun Energy.
In response to Amnesty International’s investigations for Deadly Cargo, the global shipping company Wilhelmsen said it would cease providing shipping services to any vessel transporting aviation fuel to Myanmar.
Korean Pan Ocean has also stated it would no longer allow its vessels to transport aviation fuel to Myanmar, and Thai Oil said it would put on hold any shipments of aviation fuel to Myanmar..."
Source/publisher:
"Amnesty International" (UK)
Date of publication:
2023-03-01
Date of entry/update:
2023-03-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Crimes Against Humanity, Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
Foreign Governments Should Target Military Junta’s Main Revenue Sources
Description:
"(Bangkok) – Myanmar’s junta, in the two years since the military coup, has expanded its use of deadly force and repressive measures to squelch all dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. Foreign governments should coordinate increased pressure on the junta to establish fundamental freedoms and democratic civilian rule.
On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military detained the country’s elected civilian officials, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, the junta has brutally cracked down on any opposition and severely restricted freedoms of speech, association, and assembly. At least 17,000 protesters and activists have been arrested and 2,900 killed, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a nongovernmental group. The security forces have carried out arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, mass killings, and other abuses that amount to crimes against humanity.
“Myanmar’s military junta has spent the two years since the coup engaged in a worsening spiral of atrocities against the people of Myanmar that amount to crimes against humanity and war crimes,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “Instead of proceeding with inevitably bogus ‘elections’ in August, Myanmar’s generals should be facing international consequences for their crimes.”
During expanded military operations, junta forces have been responsible for attacks on civilians that amount to war crimes against ethnic minority populations in Kachin, Karen, Karenni, and Shan States. The military has used “scorched earth” tactics, burning villages in Magway and Sagaing Regions.
The junta has blocked humanitarian aid from reaching millions of displaced people and others at risk in conflict areas. In Rakhine State – where Rohingya have long faced systematic abuse and discrimination that amount to crimes against humanity, including persecution and apartheid – security forces have imposed new restrictions on movement and aid. The restrictions have worsened food and water shortages and increased the risk of preventable diseases and severe malnutrition.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that at least 17.6 million people in Myanmar are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Fighting since the coup has displaced over 1 million people internally, while another 70,000 refugees have fled to neighbouring countries.
On December 21, 2022, a landmark UN Security Council resolution on Myanmar denounced the military’s rights violations since the coup but fell short of imposing a global arms embargo or referring the country situation to the International Criminal Court. Russia and China abstained from the vote, signalling the junta’s growing international isolation. Council members should pursue follow-up action by imposing an arms embargo as well as targeted sanctions on junta leadership and military-owned companies.
Concerned governments should more effectively target the military’s main revenue sources, particularly foreign currency revenues that the military obtains from exports like natural gas, metals, gemstones, and timber and uses to purchase weapons, military equipment, and fuel, Human Rights Watch said.
Targeted economic sanctions imposed by Canada, the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States have been limited in effectiveness because of poor enforcement. Other key governments such as Australia, Japan, and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have failed to enact any targeted sanctions since the coup.
ASEAN leaders have barred Myanmar military leaders from attending high-level ASEAN meetings. In 2022, some ASEAN leaders began to criticize the junta publicly, noting the junta’s failure to implement the Five-Point Consensus plan that the junta and ASEAN agreed upon in April 2021.
In 2023, Indonesia’s chairmanship of ASEAN will be in part measured by its ability to press the junta on its ongoing human rights violations, Human Rights Watch said. At the February 3-4 meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers in Jakarta, Indonesia should propose an April 2023 deadline for the junta’s progress in meeting the commitments of the Five-Point Consensus. If the junta leaders maintain their inaction on the consensus, ASEAN member countries should commit to concrete engagement with other governments and the UN to hold the junta accountable for its grave abuses.
The junta has slated fraudulent “elections” for August, passing the Parties Registration Law on January 27. The law provides for restrictions on any party that refuses to “cooperate” with the junta. Any individual or party that the junta deems to be an “insurgent,” “terrorist,” or “unlawful” association is prohibited from participating, effectively barring the shadow civilian National Unity Government and many ethnic minority parties. Foreign governments should not treat the proposed elections as legitimate, such as by sending election monitors or providing technical assistance.
“Myanmar’s junta is trying to establish a veneer of credibility by going through the motions of holding ‘elections,’ but the international community shouldn’t be fooled or browbeaten into recognizing this sham,” Pearson said. “You can’t hold a free and fair election when you deny every basic right to your people and lock up or disqualify political opponents.”
EU member states, the US, and UK should improve coordination to strengthen sanctions against senior officials and military-owned companies. Tougher actions could help stem the flow of foreign funding, curb the military’s ability to buy weapons and materials, and help ASEAN and other intermediaries press the junta to end rampant rights violations and establish civilian democratic rule.
“Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore in particular should signal to the US and EU that they will support strengthening and enforcing existing sanctions against the junta,” Pearson said. “Without stronger targeted sanctions, the Myanmar military will only tighten its brutal grip on the population.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2023-01-31
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Fortify Rights and 16 individual complainants seek accountability for Rohingya genocide and coup-related atrocities
Description:
"Fortify Rights and 16 individual complainants from Myanmar filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Public Prosecutor General of Germany under the principle of universal jurisdiction against senior Myanmar military generals and others for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, Fortify Rights announced today.
The 215-page complaint and more than 1,000 pages of annexes provide evidence to assist the Office of the Federal Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the Rohingya genocide as well as atrocity crimes related to the military junta’s coup d’état launched on February 1, 2021.
February 1, 2023 marks the second anniversary of the deadly coup and crackdown in Myanmar, and August 2022 marked five years since the Myanmar military’s most egregious attacks on the Rohingya people. However, the individuals responsible for crimes related to both have yet to be held accountable.
“An ethnically diverse and united front of survivors from throughout Myanmar are bringing this case to seek justice and accountability,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder at Fortify Rights. “Despite international attention and several ongoing accountability initiatives, the Myanmar military still enjoys complete impunity, and that must end. These crimes cannot go unpunished. Germany’s universal jurisdiction law is a global model for combatting impunity for the worst crimes and providing access to justice for survivors of atrocities no matter where the crimes occur or where the survivors are located.”
Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle enabling a state to prosecute individuals responsible for mass atrocity crimes—genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes—regardless of where the crimes occurred or the nationality of the perpetrator or victims. Universal jurisdiction is typically reserved for “international crimes,” which are so severe that they represent offenses against the entire international community.
The criminal complaint was filed on January 20, 2023. Fortify Rights is represented by Covington & Burling LLP, which has offices in Germany.
Approximately half of the 16 individual complainants survived the Rohingya genocide and Myanmar military-led “clearance operations” in Rakhine State in 2016 and 2017, and approximately half survived post-coup atrocities in states and regions throughout the country in 2021 and 2022.
The complainants include six women and ten men who represent several ethnicities in Myanmar, including Arakanese (Rakhine), Burman, Chin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, and Rohingya. They include students, scholars, farmers, human rights defenders, businesspersons, former village heads, and homemakers. All the complainants survived or witnessed crimes in Myanmar, and many have since fled the country. At the time of writing, the complainants are located in several countries, including Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Germany, and the U.S.
Two of the complainants—“M.K.” (not their real initials) and Nickey Diamond—are presently situated in Germany and have retained German legal counsel for matters related to the complaint announced today. They both experienced and witnessed crimes in Myanmar in 2017 and 2021, respectively.
“We trust in Germany to open an investigation and seek justice for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed by the military and its leaders in Myanmar,” said Nickey Diamond, who is also a member of the Board of Directors at Fortify Rights. “This is the time to end impunity and ensure the military perpetrators and others no longer get away with their crimes.”
“F.K.” (not her real initials) is a 51-year-old Rohingya woman complainant who survived genocidal attacks in Rakhine State in 2017. In August 2017, soldiers and non-Rohingya residents of Rakhine State entered her village in northern Rakhine State, burned houses, and prevented residents of the village from fleeing. Individuals under the military’s control raped F.K.’s daughter-in-law while F.K. was in earshot and as soldiers beat her in an adjacent room. The Myanmar military killed seven members of her family in the attack on her village and, in a separate incident, cut her with a knife, leaving permanent scars. F.K. witnessed piles of dead bodies of Rohingya civilians in her village and military soldiers stabbing, beating, and killing numerous Rohingya men and children. Soldiers killed one child as he begged them for drinking water.
F.K. told Fortify Rights: “The Myanmar government and military have been trying to vanish our Rohingya community for 50 years. . . As a Rohingya woman, I want justice for the genocide so that it does not happen again. As a Rohingya complainant, I am ready to file the UJ [universal jurisdiction] case.”
The complaint announced today alleges that the Myanmar military systematically killed, raped, tortured, imprisoned, disappeared, persecuted, and committed other acts that amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in violation of the German Code of Crimes Against International Law. The complaint includes substantial evidence showing that senior military junta officials exercised superior responsibility over subordinates who committed crimes, knew about their subordinates’ crimes, and failed to take any action to prevent the crimes from happening and to punish the perpetrators.
The complaint is on file with the German authorities and is not publicly available.
In the complaint, Fortify Rights and the complainants request that the German Prosecutor open an investigation into specific military officials and others who, according to evidence, are liable for mass atrocity crimes. The complaint also requests that the German authorities open a “structural investigation” into the situation in Myanmar, which would uncover numerous other crimes in various locations and affecting other ethnic groups not otherwise covered by the complaint.
Thi Da, one of the complainants, is a 35-year-old ethnic-Chin woman and mother of three. In September 2021, the Myanmar military arbitrarily arrested and tortured her husband, Ngai Kung, 35. Following his arrest, Thi Da received no official information about her husband’s whereabouts and well-being, rendering it an enforced disappearance. Myanmar junta soldiers reportedly informed a group of pastors that her husband was killed. At the time of writing, Thi Da does not know what happened to him.
“I’m still angry with the [Myanmar junta] soldiers,” said Thi Da to Fortify Rights. “They don’t think of us as people and treat us like animals or objects.”
In addition to the complainants’ testimonies to the Prosecutor General, the complaint draws on more than 1,000 interviews with survivors of international crimes in Myanmar conducted by Fortify Rights since 2013 as well as leaked documents and information provided by Myanmar military and police deserters and others that shed light on the military’s operations, crimes, and command structures.
More than 1,000 pages of annexes accompany the complaint and include additional documentation of atrocity crimes in Myanmar that may be of service to the German authorities, including revelatory reports by Fortify Rights, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews, the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, and others.
An investigation and subsequent prosecution of these crimes under German law would serve to punish those who have committed the gravest of crimes, prevent future crimes by perpetrators in Myanmar, and signal to other would-be perpetrators in Myanmar and elsewhere that accountability for atrocity crimes cannot be avoided, said Fortify Rights.
As part of this complaint, several Myanmar civil society organizations agreed to cooperate with the German authorities, including the Chin Human Rights Organization, the Karen Human Rights Group, the Karenni Human Rights Group, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, the Burmese Rohingya Organization U.K, and an organized network of Myanmar lawyers working throughout the country.
Similarly, as part of this complaint, prominent human rights defenders from Myanmar and several senior U.N. officials, diplomats, and others have agreed to be resource persons for the German prosecutor in this case. They include U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews; former U.N. special rapporteurs Tomas Quintana and Yanghee Lee; former Dutch Ambassador Laetitia van den Assum; former Thai Ambassador Kobsak Chutikul; members of the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission Marzuki Darusman and Chris Sidoti; President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Kerry Kennedy; and others.
An investigation and subsequent prosecutions in Germany of the atrocity crimes detailed in the complaint would not duplicate other international accountability efforts underway but would only add to the mounting evidence about the Myanmar military’s crimes, said Fortify Rights. Other efforts include an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and a universal jurisdiction case in Argentina for crimes related to the Rohingya genocide.
Specifically, in 2019, the ICC authorized an investigation into crimes perpetrated by Myanmar authorities against Rohingya where at least part of the crime was committed on the territory of Bangladesh or another State under ICC jurisdiction. At present, the ICC cannot investigate and prosecute any international crime completed entirely in Myanmar, and thus the investigation would not encompass the vast majority of the crimes against Rohingya alleged in the complaint. The ICC is also not investigating crimes against humanity or war crimes that occurred in the aftermath of the February 2021 coup d’état.
In 2019, the Republic of The Gambia brought a case against Myanmar at the ICJ in The Hague, alleging Myanmar is responsible for genocide against the Rohingya people. While it is a critically important case, the ICJ proceeding concerns only State responsibility for Myanmar’s violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention. The ICJ does not hold individuals criminally accountable, and no individuals will face repercussions through that court for crimes uncovered in that proceeding.
Also in 2019, Rohingya human rights defender Maung Tun Khin of the Burmese Rohingya Organization U.K. (BROUK) and six Rohingya women survivors filed a petition urging an Argentinian court to investigate, under universal jurisdiction, crimes committed with impunity against Rohingya in Myanmar. That judicial investigation is ongoing; however, while critically important, the case in the Argentinian courts currently focuses only on a specific region and does not address war crimes or the conduct surrounding the attacks against Rohingya in 2016 and 2017 or crimes against humanity in connection with the coup d’état. Moreover, unlike German law, Argentine law does not prescribe a punishment for the crime of genocide, so there is no applicable penalty for the offense. Rather, a perpetrator can be convicted in Argentina in the context of genocide but would be punished for “ordinary” crimes committed, such as homicide, rape, or unlawful detention. Maung Tun Khin and BROUK have agreed to cooperate with German authorities on the complaint submitted by Fortify Rights and others.
The German authorities are well-placed to fill present gaps left by the currently pending accountability mechanisms, said Fortify Rights.
In 2019, Fortify Rights began exploring international legal options for survivors in Myanmar to pursue criminal prosecutions under universal jurisdiction. The organization researched and analyzed the feasibility of 16 jurisdictions in Europe, Africa, and South America that provide access to justice for atrocity crimes committed outside their national borders, ultimately deciding to file the complaint in Germany.
Under German law, the Prosecutor has the ultimate discretion to bring a case under universal jurisdiction. The Prosecutor should do so in particular when important witnesses to atrocities are present in Germany, which is the case regarding the complaint announced today.
German prosecutors are currently conducting more than 100 investigations into international crimes related to other countries and contexts. The Prosecutor General has also undertaken numerous structural investigations into atrocity crimes, which have led to several trials. German courts have heard cases dealing with torture in Syrian prisons as well as crimes by members of Da’esh, including against the Yazidi community.
In March 2022, the German Prosecutor opened a structural investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
In a statement to the United Nations on October 22, 2022, the Permanent Mission of Germany to the U.N. stated:
While we would prefer to have the most serious crimes under international law tried by international tribunals, in particular the ICC if the applicable complementarity criteria are met, the Code of Crimes against International Law allows us to work towards accountability for these crimes on a national level . . . The message is clear: those who commit atrocities cannot feel safe. They will eventually be held accountable. There is no safe haven for perpetrators of international crimes against criminal prosecution in Germany. Justice will be served for the victims and survivors.
Investigations by German authorities into international crimes can also potentially be used in prosecutions in venues and jurisdictions outside Germany.
“Germany is in a unique position to help thwart impunity in Myanmar,” said Matthew Smith. “Fortify Rights and the individual complainants are poised and ready to assist German prosecutors. An investigation now will help ensure that those responsible for these heinous crimes are held to account and punished, whether in Germany or elsewhere.”
Excerpts from select complainants’ statements to the German authorities:
[T]he military found where we were hiding and started firing at us. My mother told me to run away to save my life, so I jumped into the river . . . I saw bullets coming like drops of rain . . . When I realized I lost my family, I felt totally broken inside. My village was burned before my eyes. There is not a single home left. I lost everything.
—Statement of Rohingya Complainant “J.H.” (not actual initials)
[The military] surrounded the village . . . [and] began tying people up. At one point, I recall that the military entered the downstairs of the house [where we were hiding] and shot a seven- or eight-year-old boy in the kitchen. His brain spread across the floor . . . The soldiers then tried grabbing me . . . I fell and became unconscious. After I became unconscious, I did not know where my baby had been taken . . . I kept screaming for my baby child.
—Statement of Rohingya Complainant “S.B.” (not actual initials)
After the coup occurred, . . . I was told [by my contacts in the Ministry of Home Affairs] that if I was captured, I would most likely be tortured and/or killed. Around March 10, 2021, I and my family escaped . . . We often were forced to dig our own bomb shelters to avoid the threat of airstrikes of our entirely civilian encampments, as other such civilian areas were constantly being targeted by the Tatmadaw.
—Statement of Myanmar coup Complainant Nickey Diamond
In the days following the military coup, the police arrested people who helped the protestors. My friend was arrested for giving water to the protesters. Because I gave them [the protestors] shelter, I knew that I would be arrested. When Muslims are arrested, they are often killed or disappeared. I am a huge target for the military because of my human rights work, identity as a Rohingya Muslim, and my political views. I believed that I would be killed if I was arrested . . . I have feared for my life since the coup..."
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights"
Date of publication:
2023-01-24
Date of entry/update:
2023-01-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, Ethnic Cleansing
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Size:
290.8 KB 179.1 KB
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Sub-title:
Region’s Leaders Should Commit to Protecting Asylum Seekers
Description:
"Southeast Asian foreign ministers are meeting today in Jakarta, Indonesia, to discuss the most pressing crisis facing the region: Myanmar.
Last April, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) adopted a “five-point consensus” in response to the February 2021 military coup in Myanmar, an ASEAN member. Since then, Myanmar junta chief Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing has defied each point while overseeing crimes against humanity and war crimes by security forces. Just this week, a junta airstrike unlawfully killed at least 60 people at a music concert in Kachin State.
Today’s discussion, taking place ahead of the ASEAN summit in November, should address how the bloc can revamp its approach to support international efforts to restrict the junta’s access to foreign revenue and arms.
In August, the ASEAN ministers noted they were “deeply disappointed by the limited progress in and lack of commitment” of junta authorities and committed to assessing next steps “consistent with Article 20 of the ASEAN Charter,” which covers serious breaches of the charter or noncompliance.
But the foreign ministers should also look beyond influencing the crisis within Myanmar’s borders. As military atrocities continue, growing numbers of Myanmar refugees are seeking asylum throughout the region. An estimated 70,000 have fled to neighboring countries since the coup. Yet rather than protecting asylum seekers from the junta’s violence and persecution, regional actors are forcing Myanmar refugees and other nationals back into harm’s way.
Malaysian authorities have accelerated deportations to Myanmar, returning over 2,000 people since April without allowing the United Nations refugee agency to assess their asylum claims. Thai authorities have similarly pushed asylum seekers back across the Myanmar border without verifying their protection needs. And last week at the 90th General Assembly of Interpol, the international criminal police organization, the junta’s police chief requested that Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand hand over any “terrorists” – its label for all opponents of military rule.
The ASEAN chair noted in a statement yesterday that “ASEAN is gravely concerned over the recent escalation of violence in Myanmar” and “deeply saddened by the … immense suffering that ordinary people in Myanmar have endured.”
Recognizing the grave abuses the junta has unleashed on Myanmar’s people is only step one. Southeast Asian leaders also need to ensure their own governments don’t force people back to suffer under the brutality they managed to flee..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-10-26
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, ASEAN-Burma relations, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
more
Description:
"There is mounting evidence that crimes against humanity and war crimes in Myanmar
are intensifying. The people of Myanmar continue to suffer because of the lack of
accountability for those who believe they answer to no law. In this context of impunity,
the work of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar has never been
more important. Every person in my team is committed to the Mechanism’s vision of
collecting the evidence needed to ensure that perpetrators of the most serious
international crimes in Myanmar face justice.
The preliminary findings outlined in our fourth Annual Report released in August indicate that there are
widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population of Myanmar. We are regularly receiving
reports of indiscriminate attacks and heinous crimes perpetuated by members of the security forces and
armed groups against civilians, including children. These crimes include torture, rape and other forms of
sexual violence against both men and women.
While the Mechanism is very actively collecting evidence of crimes committed in the post-coup period, we
continue to focus on crimes against the Rohingya, particularly related to the 2017 clearance operations.
August marked five years since the wave of violence that resulted in around three-quarters of a million
Rohingya fleeing their homes to neighboring Bangladesh. On my recent visit to Cox’s Bazar where most of
those displaced now live, Rohingya I met consistently asked how the Mechanism could help them return to
their homes in Myanmar. As I explained to them, the Mechanism hopes that by helping to bring those
responsible for the crimes that led to their forced displacement to justice, we will contribute to creating
conditions that will allow their safe and voluntary return to their homes. We are committed to collecting
evidence of the individuals responsible and supporting legal proceedings, including ensuring close
cooperation and timely sharing of evidence with the ongoing investigations by the International Criminal
Court and The Gambia v. Myanmar proceedings before the International Court of Justice.
I am grateful to the many brave individuals who have provided us with vital first-hand information about the
crimes that have been committed in Myanmar, and to the Member States who have supported us to conduct
in-person screenings and interviews on their territories. Conducting voluntary face-to-face interviews with
witnesses is essential for our efforts to build files that will effectively facilitate criminal prosecutions. The
Mechanism prioritizes the safety and security of witnesses and endeavors to refer witnesses to partners who
can provide psychological and/or medical assistance to those who seek it. We call on all Member States who
support accountability efforts to each do their part to ensure that witnesses are safe and have access to
psychological and medical support.
For decades perpetrators of serious international crimes in Myanmar have believed that they could act with
impunity. At the Mechanism, we are committed to breaking this cycle and we are focusing all our efforts to
ensure that those responsible for serious international crimes in the country will one day face justice..."
Source/publisher:
Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-10-25
Date of entry/update:
2022-10-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, UN human rights documents on Myanmar, Crimes Against Humanity, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
Format :
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Size:
4.21 MB 4.28 MB
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Sub-title:
Six Cases Highlight Alleged Torture, Junta’s Failure to Investigate
Description:
"(Sydney) – Myanmar’s military and police are responsible for scores of deaths in custody since the February 1, 2021 military coup, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch documented the deaths of six detained activists that involved apparent torture or the denial of adequate medical care. The junta authorities have not seriously investigated these deaths or taken action against those responsible.
“The six deaths Human Rights Watch documented are just the tip of the iceberg of suffering and torture of those detained by Myanmar’s military and police,” said Manny Maung, Myanmar researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Given the junta’s cruelty in all aspects of its rule, there’s little surprise that no evident action has been taken to investigate deaths in custody and bring those responsible to justice.”
The junta should immediately end its abuses against those opposed to military rule, including arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and other ill-treatment, and unfair trials. Deaths in custody should be immediately reported with proper documentation to the person’s family, the body should be returned, and those responsible for abuses held to account.
The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimates that at least 73 people have died in police or military custody in police stations, military interrogation centers, and prisons since the coup, which effectively ended the democratic transition under Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). These deaths are only a small percentage of the at least 690 people that have been killed shortly after being apprehended by the security forces, often during military operations in ethnic minority areas. The military junta has only acknowledged a few custodial deaths but attributes them to illness or heart failure. However, human rights activists, witnesses, and sources close to the victims said that the physical evidence available indicates that many died from torture or other mistreatment, including poor detention conditions and a lack of access to adequate medical care.
Human Rights Watch documented the six deaths between May and July, remotely interviewing 10 witnesses and others familiar with the cases, reviewing 40 photographs and 5 videos posted to social media platforms, and obtaining independent medical analysis of the visual evidence by an emergency physician with expertise in torture.
The six men were all political activists or vocal opponents of the military junta in Yangon, Mandalay, and Sagaing Regions. Khin Maung Latt, 58, Zaw Myat Lynn, 46, and Than Tun Oo, 48, were NLD members apparently arrested for their political affiliation. Khet Thi, 43, Tin Maung Myint, 52, and Kyaw Swe Nyein, 55, joined or led protest movements after the coup. Five died within 24 hours of being arrested and interrogated, while Kyaw Swe Nyein, died two months after his arrest.
Myanmar police and soldiers arrested five of the six victims during night raids; they arrested the sixth, Than Tun Oo, in Mandalay during the day. In all but one of the cases, the arrests were carried out during joint military-police operations. A law enacted in March formally brought the police under junta control, requiring police officers to comply with all military orders, including taking part in military operations.
Photographs of five of the victims show physical marks on their bodies or heads that indicate torture. There are no photographs of Than Tun Oo’s body since junta authorities said he was cremated soon after he died.
Dr. Rohini Haar, an emergency physician whom Human Rights Watch consulted, analyzed images of the bodies: “Having reviewed photographs and videos of the five victims after their deaths, it is clear from the physical marks on the bodies and faces that these men suffered immensely, and that torture occurred.… There are so many signs of abuse and torture that it is hard to pinpoint exactly what killed these individuals.”
None of the men’s families received official medical certificates, cause of death, or autopsy reports, despite evidence that autopsies were conducted on four of the six bodies. The junta should issue medical certificates for all death-in-custody cases and provide autopsy reports to families if autopsies were performed.
Four of the victims’ families said they felt pressured by officials to have the bodies cremated immediately, presumably to hide evidence of wrongdoing. Two families said they buried their loved ones quickly out of fear the authorities would confiscate the body.
The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar said in October 2021 that he had received credible reports of “over 8,000 arbitrarily detained with many tortured, including dozens who were tortured to death.” At the UN Human Rights Council in March, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said she had received credible reports that at least 21 percent of deaths by the security forces had occurred while victims were in custody.
Human Rights Watch has found that the junta’s widespread and systematic abuses since the coup amount to crimes against humanity, which include murder, torture, and wrongful imprisonment.
The UN Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016) sets out that all death-in-custody cases should be subjected to “prompt, impartial, and effective investigations into the circumstances and causes” of the death. In addition, “family members should be informed immediately and thereafter a notification of death posted in an easily accessible way. To the extent possible, family members should also be consulted prior to an autopsy. They should be entitled to have a representative present during the autopsy … [H]uman remains should be returned to family members, allowing them to dispose of the deceased according to their beliefs.”
The UN, regional bodies, and governments – including the European Union, United States, United Kingdom, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – should specifically raise concerns about deaths in custody and press the junta to end them, Human Rights Watch said. They should strengthen targeted sanctions against military-owned businesses, the military and the State Administration Council (SAC) junta leadership under Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.
The UN Security Council should urgently take measures against the junta, including by referring the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court and passing a resolution to impose a global arms embargo.
“The deaths of people in custody are among the hidden atrocities that junta security forces are committing every day,” Maung said. “Concerned governments should be ensuring global condemnation of these horrific abuses.”
For detailed accounts of the deaths in custody, please see below.
Deaths in Custody
The following case histories are based on remote interviews with family members of the victims and witnesses and other sources of information. In all but one of the cases, witnesses said they were afraid to be named due to fear of reprisals from the Myanmar military or police.
Kyaw Swe Nyein, Nyaung-U town, Mandalay Region
Plainclothes policemen and a military intelligence unit arrested Kyaw Swe Nyein, 55, at his home in Mandalay Region on January 30, 2022, after he joined protests in Nyaung-U, Mandalay Region.
The authorities accused Kyaw Swe Nyein of spreading “fake news” and sharing a Facebook post supporting anti-coup protests. A closed court in March sentenced him to six months in prison for incitement under section 505A of the penal code. This section, amended by the junta shortly after the coup, makes it a criminal offense to make comments that “cause fear” and spread “false news,” and is punishable by up to three years in prison.
On March 9, Kyaw Swe Nyein sounded well when he spoke to his family on a mobile phone borrowed from one of the prison guards at Nyaung-U prison. However, he told a family member that he had been badly beaten at the Myingyan interrogation center, where he was held for the first 10 days. He told his family that he had experienced some dizziness as a result. On March 11, prison authorities informed Kyaw Swe Nyein’s wife that he had died that evening after complaining of dizziness. Doctors at Nyaung-U hospital, where his body was taken, told relatives that he had died of heart failure.
The family did not receive a death certificate or an autopsy report, even though authorities conducted an autopsy. A family member said a police official told the family to sign a blank document acknowledging they were informed of Kyaw Swe Nyein’s death.
A family member said:
I was so distressed. I just signed the document, but I don’t know what it was, and I don’t have a copy.… If he died from natural causes, then I could forgive myself [that he died in prison] but now, it’s the unknown that is unsettling. Of course, it’s very difficult for us to accept his death with so few answers but we can’t do anything about it now.
After reviewing images of Kyaw Swe Nyein at his funeral, Dr. Haar said a photograph showed evidence of trauma to the head from bruising around the eyes and ears.
Than Tun Oo, Mandalay town, Mandalay Region
On September 26, 2021, at about 3:30 p.m., soldiers and police arrested Than Tun Oo, 48, a former political prisoner and activist, at his home in Mandalay and took him to the No. 7 Area Police Station. Neighbors and family members watched as security forces beat him with his hands tied behind his back and then shot him in the legs, supposedly for being slow to respond to orders. A witness said:
There were around 50 to 100 soldiers and police with army trucks and private cars. Some soldiers were from the LID [Light Infantry Division] 33 command and there were police from the local station here in Mandalay.… They told [Than Tun Oo] to kneel but he weighed 400 pounds, so they shot him in his leg to make him kneel.
The witness said the next day, September 27, police and military officials told Than Tun Oo’s family that he had died in the police station from heart failure. The authorities did not give the family a medical certificate, a witness said, but security forces made family members sign a document acknowledging they had been informed of Than Tun Oo’s death.
The family said Than Tun Oo was in good health prior to his arrest. When the family demanded his body, junta authorities said they had cremated the body immediately because Than Tun Oo had tested positive for Covid-19 while in custody.
A family member said:
Everyone has dreams, so did [Than Tun Oo]. He was interested in art and loved writing. Many people liked him. I could endure the pain of loss if he died while fighting against the [junta]. But he died during interrogation where they have the power to do whatever they wanted. It is painful to accept that he died in this way.
Khet Thi, Shwebo city, Sagaing Region
Khet Thi, 43, a popular poet known for his sharp political wit, took on a leadership role opposing the military coup. He organized protests and spoke at rallies to encourage dissent against the military. His poetry became part of his resistance to military rule. “They shoot in the head, but they don't know that revolution is in the heart,” he wrote.
On May 8, 2021, about 40 soldiers and police arrested Khet Thi at his home in the city of Shwebo, Sagaing Region, and accused him of leading a plan to lay landmines targeting the security forces. Junta authorities also arrested Khet Thi’s wife, Chaw Suu, and her brother-in-law, Aye Pyo, for allegedly helping to plan the attack.
A witness said that police handcuffed all three, then took them in a police vehicle to Myo Ma, the main police station in Shwebo, where they were separated into male and female cellblocks for interrogation.
After hours of interrogation overnight, Chaw Suu and her brother-in-law were released on the morning of May 9. A police officer informed Chaw Suu that her husband had been taken to Monywa General Hospital, almost 90 kilometers from Myo Ma police station. Sources familiar with the case said that Chaw Suu thought her husband was ill and asked the head of the police station to take her to the hospital so she could care for him. The officer in charge then told her that Khet Thi was dead.
On May 9, at about 2 p.m., junta officials at Monywa hospital told Khet Thi’s family that he had died of a heart attack. However, family members deny that he had any heart problems, and say he was in good health apart from poor eyesight. A source said hospital staff pressured the family to have the body cremated at the hospital the same day. Fearing junta officials would force them to immediately cremate Khet Thi, the family took his body to prepare for burial the next day.
Junta officials failed to provide the family a medical certificate or autopsy report, and there was no investigation into his death.
A family member said:
We rushed back to another township with his body because we were afraid that they would take the body back.… When we went to prepare the body, his head moved slightly and that’s when blood came out of his head. They had performed an autopsy on his head and there was a wound but there were also two bruises on the right side of his face and black marks on his nose. He had square shaped burn marks on his thighs. We didn’t check his back because we were afraid the sutures from the autopsy might burst open.
Khet Thi was buried on May 10, 2021, less than 48 hours after his arrest.
Dr. Haar, the emergency physician, said that images of Khet Thi taken after his death showed likely head trauma.
Zaw Myat Lynn, Shwe Pyi Thar township, Yangon
Zaw Myat Lynn, 46, was a former NLD member who ran a vocational education school named after Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon’s Shwe Pyi Thar township. He and his family lived with the students.
On March 9, 2021, at about 1 p.m., police and soldiers arrived at the school, appearing to target Zaw Myat Lynn for arrest due to pro-democracy posts on his Facebook account. He ran and jumped over a fence but was surrounded by police and soldiers who took him into a military vehicle.
A teacher said:
I heard from students around 2 a.m. on March 9, 2021. [They told me] about 40 police and soldiers were at the Suu Vocational School. Some students were arrested first when military forces came in from the front door. Zaw Myat Lynn jumped over the fence and cleared it, but the building was surrounded, and he was arrested. Neighbors from next door also told me they heard Zaw Myat Lynn say, “Don’t shoot, I’ll surrender and come with you.” He didn’t get any injury from jumping over that fence.
Zaw Myat Lynn’s family was told the next day to come and identify his corpse.
Dr. Haar, who reviewed 12 photographs and 2 videos of Zaw Myat Lynn’s body, said visible injuries suggested scalding liquid was poured onto his face.
After examining similar photographs, The Guardian newspaper concluded that the nature of Zaw Myat Lynn’s injuries were consistent with torture: “It appears that boiling water or a chemical solution had been poured into his mouth. The tongue was melted, his teeth missing. Facial skin was peeling off. The body had been wrapped up to conceal further traumatic injuries.”
A source close to the family said that junta officials told Zaw Myat Lynn’s family that he had died from heart failure. The officials failed to provide the family with a medical certificate or autopsy report.
Tin Maung Myint, Yin Mar Bin township, Sagaing Region
On April 4, 2021, soldiers arrested Tin Maung Myint, 52, during a raid on his village in Yin Mar Bin township, Sagaing Region. He was a farmer and village leader who had joined the opposition to the junta. Witnesses said that soldiers arrested Tin Maung Myint around 4 a.m. along with seven others who were keeping watch on the military column that was preparing to raid their village.
Tin Maung Myint’s body, along with that of another villager who was arrested with him, turned up the next day about 2 p.m. at the Monywa General Hospital, bearing marks of torture. A witness who viewed the body said:
I saw bruises and swollen marks all over his and the other victim’s face. They were in pretty bad shape. We only checked their faces, not their whole bodies. It was unsettling to get close to their bodies. I didn’t want to look that closely, so I don’t know about marks on their bodies, but their faces were so black and blue.
One photograph posted on social media of Tin Maung Myint’s body shows numerous wounds. Dr. Haar, who reviewed the photograph, said she observed massive trauma consistent with skin tears and avulsions – or forcible tearing – on his shoulders that looked like burns. Bruises are visible on the face, as is a deep gash on the forehead. She said it was unclear which injury was the cause of death.
Junta authorities failed to provide a death certificate to the family or explain how Tin Maung Myint had died. Hospital staff who found the bodies told the families the men were already dead when they were discovered dumped at the hospital.
Khin Maung Latt, Pabedan township, Yangon
On March 6, 2021, soldiers and police arrived at the home of Khin Maung Latt, 58, a ward chairman and NLD member, in Pabedan township, Yangon. Witnesses said that after forcibly entering his home, security forces beat and kicked Khin Maung Latt in front of his family, then took him away at gunpoint. His family was notified the next morning that he had died of heart failure, and they retrieved his body at 8 a.m.
A friend of Khin Maung Latt’s who attended his funeral on March 7 said that his legs looked broken, his white funeral shroud was covered in blood, and that his face appeared blue and swollen. The friend said:
When I arrived at Ye Way cemetery, Khin Maung Latt’s body was already being prepared in the morgue, in the Muslim tradition. But we’d instructed our contacts who washed the body to take photos as soon as they’d stripped him. The water ran with blood and his body was marked as if he was badly beaten.… There was blood coming out of his ears and bruises all over his body; his legs looked damaged, broken. The person washing the body had put gauze in the ear and up his nose, but it was still dripping.… The white cloth was no longer white, it was stained red and rust-colored.
He said that the authorities appeared to have carried out an autopsy:
They said he died from a heart attack, but they had performed an autopsy on his body and on his head. The head was cut open, as if they’d taken one side and pulled it back like a flap. But why did they do this? There was no explanation given.… You could see the stitches on his head and on his body and the stitches were still oozing. No matter how we washed the stitches, they kept oozing and his blood was still warm. There were blue and brown marks around his eyes and his body, marks everywhere.
A member of the Muslim community who helped to prepare Khin Maung Latt’s body for a Muslim burial said there were deep wounds on his back and hands consistent with torture.
Dr. Haar, who reviewed nine photographs and one video of Khin Maung Latt’s body, observed unskilled, haphazard suturing of the autopsy wounds on the head and chest: “The sutures are very unusual and not in line with medical best practice. By even conducting the autopsy under such unusual circumstances, may also suggest medical complicity to the acts of torture that clearly occurred to the individual.”
Khin Maung Latt’s body was cremated at the Ye Way cemetery on March 7, less than 24 hours after his arrest. The friend said officials failed to provide the family with a medical certificate or autopsy report..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-09-13
Date of entry/update:
2022-09-13
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2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Freedom of Movement, violations of in Burma/Myanmar, Crimes Against Humanity
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"စစ်ကိုင်းတိုင်း၊ ယင်းမာပင်လူသတ်မှုကိစ္စ အရေးယူဆောင်ရွက်မှု အစီရင်ခံစာ ထုတ်ပြန်ခြင်း
၁၃၈၄ ခုနှစ်၊ တော်သလင်းလဆုတ် ၃ ရက်
(၂၀၂၂ ခုနှစ်၊ စက်တင်ဘာလ ၁၂ ရက်)
ကာကွယ်ရေးဝန်ကြီးဌာန
အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Defence - National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-09-12
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2022-09-12
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"ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရသည် ၂၀၁၇ ခုနှစ်တွင် စစ်တပ်မှ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများအား ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်စွာ ပြုမူခဲ့သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများ၏ ပဉ္စမနှစ်ပတ် လည်နေ့ ကို ဝမ်းနည်းမှုများစွာဖြင့် အထိမ်းအမှတ်ပြုပါသည်။
၂၀၁၇ ခုနှစ်တွင် မြန်မာစစ်တပ်မှ သတ်ဖြတ်ခဲ့သဖြင့် ထောင်နှင့်ချီသော ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ သေဆုံး ပျောက်ကွယ်ခဲ့သည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ ပျောက်ပျက်သွားရန် အကြမ်းဖက် နည်းဗျူဟာတစ်ခု ဖြစ်သော အစုလိုက်အပြုံလိုက် မုဒိမ်းကျင့်မှုအပါအဝင် လိင်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာ အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများလည်း ကျုးလွန်ခဲ့ကြ ပါသည်။ ရွာပေါင်းများစွာ ဖျက်ဆီးခံခဲ့ရပြီး မရေမတွက်နိုင်သော အိမ်ခြေများ ပျက်စီးသွားခဲ့ရသည် ။ ယခု ငါးနှစ်ကြာသည်အထိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူ တစ်သန်းကျော်မှာ ၎င်းတို့နေရပ်များမှ အတင်းအကျပ် ရွှေ့ပြောင်း ခံရပြီး အိုးမဲ့အိမ်မဲ့ဖြစ်ခဲ့ရသည်။ စစ်တပ်သည် ဤအလားတူ လုပ်ရပ်များအား ရိုဟင်ဂျာ ပြည်သူများ ကိုသာမက ကချင်နှင့် ရှမ်းပြည်နယ်များတွင် နေထိုင်သော လူမျိုးနွယ်စု အသီးသီး အပေါ် တွင်လည်း ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့ကြောင်း မြန်မာနိုင်ငံဆိုင်ရာ ကုလသမဂ္ဂ အချက်အလက်ရှာဖွေရေး မစ်ရှင်၏ တွေ့ရှိချက်များ အရ သိရှိခဲ့ရပါသည်။
ထိုကဲ့သို့ သမိုင်းတလျှောက် ကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများအတွက် ပြစ်ဒဏ်စီရင်ခြင်းမခံခဲ့ရခြင်း က မြန်မာ စစ်တပ်ကို တရားမဝင်စစ်တပ် တစ်ခုအဖြစ် နိုင်ငံအနှံ့ ရာဇဝတ်မှုများကို ဆက်လက် ဦးဆောင် ကျူးလွန် စေခဲ့ပါသည်။ ယခင်က ပစ်မှတ်ထားခံရသူလူနည်းစုမှ ယခုဆိုလျှင် နိုင်ငံတဝှန်းရှိ လူအများစုသို့ ဦးတည် ကျူးလွန်ဆောင်ရွက်လာပြီ ဖြစ်သည်။ စစ်တပ်၏ မအောင်မြင်သော အာဏာသိမ်းမှု စတင်ခဲ့သည့် နေ့ မှ ယနေ့အထိ နောက်ထပ် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသား တစ်သန်းကျော် အိုးမဲ့အိမ်မဲ့ ဖြစ်ခဲ့ရသည်။ ကျေးရွာများစွာကို ဗုံးကြဲ၊ လက်နက်ကြီးများ ဖြင့်ပစ်ခတ်ခဲ့ပြီး အိမ်များစွာ မီးရှို့ခံခဲ့ရသကဲ့သို့ အစုလိုက် အပြုံလိုက် သတ်ဖြတ်မှုများ ကိုလည်း ပေါ်ပေါ်ထင်ထင် ကျူးလွန်လျက် ရှိပါသည်။
ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများနှင့် အခြား လူမျိုးစုများကို နှစ်ပေါင်းများစွာ ဖယ်ကျဉ် ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံခဲ့စေသော မူဝါဒများ ၊ အလေ့အကျင့်များ နှင့် ပြုမှုပြောဆိုမှုများ၊ လုပ်ရပ်များ တည်ရှိခဲ့ခြင်းကြောင့် ယခုကဲ့သို့ ပိုမို ဆိုးရွားသော ရက်စက် ကြမ်းကြုတ်မှုများနှင့် ရင်ဆိုင်လာရခြင်းဖြစ်ကြောင်း ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရမှ အလွန်ရှက်ရွှံ့စွာဖြင့် အသိအမှတ် ပြုလိုပါသည်။
ထို့ကြောင့် အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရအနေဖြင့် အောက်ပါ အချက်၃ချက်အား တစ်ပြိုင်တည်း လုပ်ဆောင်လျက် ရှိပါသည်။ ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ ပြည်တော်ပြန်နိုင်ရေး အထောက်အကူပြုရန် အခြေအနေများ ဖန်တီးခြင်း၊ တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် တာဝန်ယူမှု တည်ဆောက်ခြင်း၊ ဥပဒေအရနှင့် လက်တွေ့အရ တန်းတူညီမျှမှု ပေးနိုင်ရန်ကြိုးပမ်းခြင်း တို့ဖြစ်ပါသည်။
မကြာသေးမီက သွားရောက်ခဲ့သော ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ် ခရီးစဉ် အပြီးတွင် ကုလသမဂ္ဂ လူ့အခွင့်အရေး ဆိုင်ရာ သံအမတ်ကြီး မစ်ချယ်လ် ဘချဲလက်က ရိုဟင်ဂျာဒုက္ခသည်များတွင် မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိ ၎င်းတို့ နေအိမ်များသို့ ပြန်သွားနိုင်မည်ဟု 'အခိုင်အမာမျှော်လင့်ချက်' ရှိနေဆဲဖြစ်ကြောင်း ပြောကြားခဲ့သည်။ သို့သော်လည်း မြေပြင် အခြေအနေများသည် မိမိသဘောဆန္ဒဖြင့်၊ ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာရှိရှိ၊ လုံခြုံမှုရှိရှိဖြင့် ရေရှည် တည်တံ့သော ပြည်တော်ပြန်နိုင်ရေး အတွက် မသင့်တော်သေးကြောင်း သံအမတ်ကြီး က ကောက်ချက် ချခဲ့သည်။ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရသည် ရိုဟင်ဂျာပြည်သူများ၊ တိုင်းရင်းသားလူမျိုးစု အဖွဲ့အစည်း များ၊ ဘင်္ဂလားဒေ့ရှ်အစိုးရ နှင့် ကုလသမဂ္ဂ တို့ နှင့်အတူ ရိုဟင်ဂျာ လူမျိုးများ အိမ်ပြန်နိုင်ရေး အတွက် ကောင်းမွန်သင့်တော်သော အခြေအနေများ ဖန်တီးရန် ကြိုးစားနေကြောင်း ထပ်မံ ကတိပြုပါသည်။
တာဝန်ယူမှု၊ တာဝန်ခံမှုနှင့် ပတ်သက်၍ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရသည် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ တရားရုံး ၊ အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ ပြစ်မှုဆိုင်ရာ တရားရုံး နှင့် အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာ တရားစီရင်မှုအခွင့်အာဏာ နှင့်အတူ ရိုဟင်ဂျာများ တရားမျှတမှု ရရှိနိုင်ရန် နှင့် ရက်စက်ကြမ်းကြုတ်သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများ ကျူးလွန် သူများကို ပြင်းပြင်းထန်ထန် အပြစ်ပေးနိုင်ရန် အစဉ်တစ်စိုက် ကြိုးပမ်း လုပ်ဆောင်လျက် ရှိပါသည်။
တန်းတူညီမျှမှုနှင့် ပတ်သတ်၍ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရသည် ရခိုင်ပြည်နယ်ရှိ ရိုဟင်ဂျာ ပြည်သူများအပေါ် မူဝါဒသဘောထား တွင် ဖေါ်ပြထားသော ကတိကဝတ်များ အတိုင်း လုပ်ဆောင်လျှက် ရှိပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ မှာ ၊ နိုင်ငံသား အခွင့်အရေးများ ၊ ခွဲခြားဆက်ဆံမှု မရှိခြင်း ၊ တန်းတူ ညီမျှမှုရရှိခြင်း၊ အမုန်းစကားများကို တိုက်ဖျက်ခြင်း စသည်တို့ကို ဦးစားပေးသည့် ကျယ်ပြန့်သော ဥပဒေ နှင့် မူဝါဒ ပြုပြင် ပြောင်းလဲမှုများကို ရိုဟင်ဂျာနှင့် အခြားလူနည်းစု အဖွဲ့အစည်းများ နှင့် တိုင်ပင်ဆွေးနွေးပြီး ဆောင်ရွက်လျှက်ရှိပါသည်။
ဤလုပ်ရပ်များ လုပ်ဆောင်ရာတွင် အတားအဆီးများစွာ ရင်ဆိုင်နေရပါသည်။ ၎င်းတို့ကို အောင်မြင်စွာ အကောင်အထည်ဖေါ်နိုင်ရန်မှာ ဒီမိုကရေစီစနစ် တည်တံ့ခိုင်မြဲမှု ၊ ရက်စက် ကြမ်းကြုတ်မှု များ အဆုံးသတ်နိုင်မှု နှင့် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်တပ်အား အနိုင်ယူနိုင်မှုတို့ အပေါ် မူတည်နေပါသည် ။
အဆုံးသပ်တွင် မိမိတို့ပြည်သူများသည် မလွဲမသွေ အောင်မြင်မည်မှာ သေချာပါသည်။ ဤကတိကဝတ်များသည် ငြိမ်းချမ်းရေး၊ တရားမျှတမှု၊ ညီမျှမှု၊ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးနှင့် လူနည်းစုများအား ကာကွယ်ရေးတို့အပေါ် အခြေခံတည်ဆောက်ထားသော ဖက်ဒရယ်ဒီမိုကရေစီ ပဋိညာဉ်စာတမ်း နှင့်အညီ ပေါ်ထွက်လာမည့် နိုင်ငံတော်သစ်၏အနာဂတ်အတွက် အဓိကအခြေခံ ဖြစ်သည်။
ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော် အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရမှ နိုင်ငံတကာ အဖွဲ့အစည်း များကို ရိုဟင်ဂျာ အသိုင်းအဝိုင်းအတွက် တရားမျှတမှုနှင့် ငြိမ်းချမ်းမှုတို့ ဆောင်ကြဉ်းပေးနိုင်ရန် မိမိတို့ ၏ ကြိုးပမ်းမှုများတွင် ပါဝင်ပြီး လက်တွေ့ကျသော ထောက်ပံ့မှုများ ပေးရန် နှင့် အတူတကွ ပူးပေါင်း ဆောင်ရွက်ရန် တိုက်တွန်းအပ်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
National Unity Government of Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-08-25
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Crimes Against Humanity, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.)
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656.53 KB
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Description:
"Crimes against humanity continue to be systematically committed in Myanmar, with ongoing conflicts severely impacting women and children, according to the evidence gathered to date by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (Mechanism) and outlined in its Annual Report released today.
The Mechanism has collected more than three million information items from almost 200 sources since starting operations three years ago, the Report notes. This includes interview statements, documentation, videos, photographs, geospatial imagery and social media material. The available information indicates that sexual and gender-based crimes, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, and crimes against children have been perpetrated by members of the security forces and armed groups. According to the Report, children in Myanmar have been tortured, conscripted and arbitrarily detained, including as proxies for their parents.
“Crimes against women and children are amongst the gravest international crimes, but they are also historically underreported and under-investigated,” said Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism. “Our team has dedicated expertise to ensure targeted outreach and investigations so that these crimes can ultimately be prosecuted. Perpetrators of these crimes need to know that they cannot continue to act with impunity. We are collecting and preserving the evidence so that they will one day be held to account.”
According to the Report, “there are ample indications that since the military takeover in February 2021, crimes have been committed in Myanmar on a scale and in a manner that constitutes a widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population” and the nature of potential criminality is also expanding. This includes the execution of four individuals by Myanmar’s military on 25 July 2022, which was carried out after the Report was prepared.
The Report is released just two weeks ahead of the five-year commemoration of clearance operations which resulted in the displacement of nearly one million Rohingya people. Most of the Rohingya who were deported or forcibly displaced at that time are still in camps for refugees or internally displaced persons.
“While the Rohingya consistently express their desire for a safe and dignified return to Myanmar, this will be very difficult to achieve unless there is accountability for the atrocities committed against them, including through prosecutions of the individuals most responsible for those crimes,” said Koumjian. “The continued plight of the Rohingya and the continuing violence in Myanmar illustrate the important role of the Mechanism to facilitate justice and accountability and help deter further atrocities.”
With the consent of its sources of information, the Mechanism is sharing relevant evidence to support international justice proceedings currently underway at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
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:
Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2022-08-09
Date of entry/update:
2022-08-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity, International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General
Language:
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Description:
"နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေ၏ အခြေခံနှုန်းစံများအားဖေါက်ဖျက်သည့်ရာဇဝတ်မှုများအတွက် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်အုပ်စုခေါင်းဆောင်များ၏ ပြစ်ဒဏ်မှ ကင်းလွတ်ခွင့်ရနေခြင်းကို တားဆီးရပ်တန့်ရန် ဤအစီရင်ခံစာက ရည်ရွယ်ပါသည်။ ပြည်သူလူထုကို တရားဝင်ကိုယ်စားပြုသော အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ (NUG) သည် လက်ရှိတွင် ပြည်တွင်းတရားရုံးများကို လွတ်လပ်စွာ လုပ်ငန်းလည်ပတ်စေနိုင်သည့် အခြေအနေ မရှိသေးရာ၊ ရောမစာချုပ်၏ ပုဒ်မ ၁၂(၃) အရ နိုင်ငံတကာရာဇဝတ်ခုံရုံး တရားခွင်တွင် ICC ၏ စီရင်ပိုင်ခွင့်ကို လက်ခံကြောင်း ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်၊ ဩဂုတ်လ ၂၀ ရက်တွင် ကြေညာချက် ထုတ်ပြန်ခဲ့ပြီး ဖြစ်သည့်အတွက်၊ ၂၀၀၂ ခုနှစ်မှ နောက်ပိုင်းကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သော ဖိနှိပ်ရက်စက်၊ သတ်ဖြတ် မှုများအတွက် ကျူးလွန်သူများအား တရားစွဲအပြစ်ပေးရန် ခုံရုံးက စီရင်ပိုင်ခွင့်ရှိမည် ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ရောမစာချုပ်အရ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်အုပ်စု ခေါင်းဆောင်များအနေဖြင့် ၎င်းတို့ကိုယ်တိုင်ဖြစ်စေ (ပုဒ်မ ၂၅)၊ အခြားသူများကြောင့်ဖြစ်စေ(ပုဒ်မ ၂၈) ဖြစ်ပေါ်စေခဲ့သော အဆိုပါဖြစ်စဉ်များ အားလုံးတွင် ၎င်းတို့၏ လက်အောက်ငယ်သားများကျူးလွန်ခဲ့သော ရာဇဝတ်မှုများအတွက် တာဝန်ခံကြရမည်ဟု အေအေပီပီက အခိုင် အမာယုံကြည်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Date of publication:
2022-07-08
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Format :
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Sub-title:
UN Member States Should Press for Arms Embargo, ICC Referral
Description:
"Shocking footage has recently emerged on social media of brutal killings allegedly in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region where a United Nations investigator has documented apparent war crimes by the Myanmar military.
The footage, recovered from a cell phone belonging to a Myanmar soldier and verified by media outlet Radio Free Asia (RFA), but not independently verified by Human Rights Watch, shows about 30 men captured after a Myanmar military raid in Mon Taing Pin village, Ayadaw township, on May 10, 2022. At least five of them later appear dead, their hands bound, shot from behind. RFA reported that a villager had found the phone after it had been dropped. In the footage, three soldiers discuss in Burmese the number of people they have killed. A sergeant, identified by the insignia on his uniform, brags about shooting and killing 26 people. Another soldier says he killed five people by slitting their throats.
The images are further damning evidence of the brutal military operation underway in Sagaing Region. They reinforce a pattern of killings that Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups have documented that bear the hallmarks of the military’s atrocities.
As international attention to Myanmar wanes, its soldiers appear to be more willing to record even the most horrific acts of violence against the civilian population. Military-linked Telegram accounts post images of brutality. There is no evidence whatsoever that military commanders are acting to stop such atrocities; they may be directly responsible for them. Since the February 2021 coup, Human Rights Watch and others have documented that the military and pro-military militias have summarily executed and forcibly disappeared civilians and razed villages during military operations.
International efforts to hold the military junta accountable are falling short. Concerned governments should persistently press the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo and refer the country situation to the International Criminal Court. If Russia and China choose to veto it, they will have to explain to UN member states why they have chosen to side with a military implicated in numerous atrocity crimes. In the meantime, governments should use national and regional mechanisms to expand efforts to financially isolate the junta.
Unified international efforts are needed or the post-coup reality for Myanmar’s people will remain one horror after another..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2022-07-04
Date of entry/update:
2022-07-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Crimes Against Humanity
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173.81 KB
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"The Myanmar government said that it would not cast aspersions on any race, religion or group, either directly or indirectly, as Myanmar defended the nation at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
"It is heartening to see that people from all walks of life, those in the union as well as those living abroad at present, are expressing their support for the State Counselor and her leadership in the endeavors to contest the case at the ICJ," the government said in a statement on Wednesday, warning that the issue before the ICJ is of high national concern and affects the interest of the nation.
The Myanmar government said last Thursday that State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, in her capacity as foreign minister, will lead a legal team to The Hague, Netherlands, to defend the country's national interest at the ICJ concerning the alleged violation of the provisions of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in Rakhine, filed by Gambia against Myanmar on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)..."
Source/publisher:
"Xinhua" (China)
Date of publication:
2019-11-28
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Crimes Against Humanity, Discrimination against the Rohingya
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Description:
Text of the Convention plus other documents, notes and commentaries
Source/publisher:
United Nations (Treaty Database)
Date of publication:
1973-11-30
Date of entry/update:
2017-11-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Crimes Against Humanity
Language:
English
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