Human Rights crises in Myanmar and UN

23-09-2022

Ashba Nawaz (Human Rights Researcher )

Team: Southeast Asia and Pacific

Global Human Rights Defence  (GHRD)

For the past five years, the human rights situation in Myanmar had been catastrophic. The illegal coup of 2021 plunged the country into a situation in which the entire population was held hostage by the military junta.

As the conflict is spreading across Myanmar, more and more Civilians are taking up weapons against the junta. With increased clashes between the Arakan Army and junta forces, newly formed People’s Defence Forces are now attacking the military throughout the country. The junta is deeply unpopular in every corner of Myanmar. The junta has been using aid as a weapon by obstructing deliveries to displaced populations and communities that they perceived to be aligned with pro-democracy forces. Untold numbers of innocent people had been left without access to food, medicine and the means to survive.

Amid this crises, on 21 September 2022, interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar took place where the Special Rapporteur, Thomas Andrews, told the Human Rights Council that conditions for untold numbers of innocent people in Myanmar had gone from bad to worse to horrific.

With around 1.3 million people already displaced the military had burned entire villages to ashes and destroyed more than 28,000 homes. There has been a significant rise in the number of innocent people who have fallen prey to the landmines. Children malnutrition is increased due to the looming food crisis; women has been losing economic and social gains; and 130,000 Rohingya remained confined in de facto internment camps.

Mr. Andrews also mentioned how the international response to this deepening crisis had failed. The people of Myanmar are enraged as this illegal and brutal military junta had been propped up with funding, trade, weapons, and a veneer of legitimacy by the member states. They were also disappointed by those nations that voiced support for them, but then failed to back up their words with action.  Member States needed to take stronger, more effective action to deprive the junta and its forces of revenue, weapons and legitimacy. A coalition of nations needed to be established that could build a coordinated strategy on the crisis to ensure safe and unimpeded humanitarian access for all persons in need. Safety of humanitarian personnel to create the necessary conditions for a voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons has become indispensable. The conflict also threatened peace and stability in the region, including India and in Bangladesh, where a durable solution had not been found to the Rohingya refugee crisis.

References:

UN OHCHR, (2022, Sep 22). Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar. OHCHR Media Center. Retrieved at 22-09-2022 from https://www.ohchr.org/en/news/2022/09/international-commission-human-rights-experts-ethiopia-finds-reasonable-grounds#:~:text=Interactive%20Dialogue%20with%20the%20Special%20Rapporteur%20on%20the%20Situation%20of%20Human%20Rights%20in%20Myanmar%C2%A0  

UN (2022, Sep 21). AFTERNOON - Conditions for Untold Numbers of Innocent People in Myanmar Have Gone from Bad to Worse to Horrific, Special Rapporteur Tells Human Rights Council. UN Geneva News & media. Retrieved at 22-09-2022 from https://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/meeting-summary/2022/09/afternoon-conditions-untold-numbers-innocent-people-myanmar-have