"Human Rights Council Fifty-fourth session 11 September–6 October 2023 Agenda item 4 Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention Summary The present document is the fifth report submitted by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 39/2 of 27 September 2018. It covers the activities carried out by the Mechanism between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. Four years after it began operations, the Mechanism continues to actively monitor and investigate the deteriorating situation in Myanmar. Armed conflicts substantially intensified during the reporting period. The Mechanism reiterates its previous assessment that there is strong evidence indicating that serious international crimes are being inflicted against the people in Myanmar. With no foreseeable end to the violence, the work of the Mechanism to facilitate justice and accountability is more relevant and necessary than ever. The Mechanism has made consistent and notable progress in fulfilling its mandate. It significantly increased the amount of first-hand testimonial evidence collected, by conducting several investigative missions to refugee camps and other locations and by carrying out screenings and in-person interviews with witnesses, survivors and defectors. The Mechanism also continued to collect additional evidence, such as photographs, videos, audio material, documents, maps, geospatial imagery, social media posts and forensic evidence. By the end of the reporting period, the Mechanism had collected millions of information items, and engaged with over 700 sources and information providers. The evidence collected will enable the Mechanism to continue building case files and analytical products to prove individual criminal responsibility for serious international crimes in Myanmar. The Mechanism is sharing evidence it has collected and its analysis for use in ongoing judicial processes. During the reporting period, the Mechanism completed three major analytical reports to be shared with national and international courts or tribunals, focusing on the structure and reporting lines within the Myanmar military; the failure of Myanmar authorities to investigate or punish sexual and gender-based crimes; and the organized spread of hate speech content on Facebook by the Myanmar military before, during and after the 2017 “clearance operations”. The Mechanism made significant strides in expanding and diversifying its collaboration with civil society organizations, which make critical contributions to its work owing to their access to on-the-ground information and contacts with potential witnesses. In the second quarter of 2023, the Mechanism held its first civil society dialogue, bringing together representatives from relevant civil society organizations to deepen partnerships and strengthen processes for ongoing cooperation and information-sharing. The civil society dialogues will be a regular and important component of the Mechanism’s increased engagement and collaboration with civil society organizations..."