ND Burma
ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.
Recent Posts
- Executive Director: Statement on UNOPS operations in Myanmar
- Support Myanmar’s displaced communities through border-based aid and legal protection – Stop the Myanmar military junta’s atrocities fueling mass displacement
- Myanmar flood submerges Ponngyun IDP camp, displacing over 1,000 and triggering urgent need for aid
- Airbus divests from Chinese arms company following global campaign
- Crimes Against Humanity
Documentation in Darkness: An Overview of the Human Rights Situation in Burma Releases
/in Press Releases and StatementsThe Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma Releases
Documentation in Darkness: An Overview of the Human Rights Situation in Burma January – December 2024
4th June 2025
For Immediate Release
The latest report by the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma), ‘Documentation in Darkness,’ presents an overview of the targeted assaults and attacks committed against innocent civilians between January and December 2024. ND-Burma member organizations recorded 1,032 violations across seven dates and six regions, including Yangon.
ND-Burma and its partners compiled case studies, interviews, partner reports, and eyewitness accounts to record the total number of human rights violations perpetrated by the Burmese Army, its junta-supported militias, and various Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROs), alongside the People’s Defence Forces (PDFs) in Burma. It is essential to emphasize, however, that the military junta is responsible for the vast majority of the crimes and violence documented and presented in this report.
ND-Burma members have observed a notable increase in the intensity and brutality of targeted assaults by the Burmese military against civilians. Our members collaborate closely with local communities in urban and rural settings to directly monitor the human rights situation on the ground. The victims of the systematic and widespread attacks by the junta serve as a poignant reminder that every number signifies a human life interrupted, permanently altered, or lost due to the Burma Army’s four-cuts campaign and the civil war. We pay tribute to each of these victims of human rights violations in acknowledgement of their pain and remain committed to ongoing advocacy for justice in Burma.
Furthermore, it is clear based on the evidence and cases presented in this report that the military and several armed resistance groups continue to disregard and undermine civilian security. The military junta continues to benefit from decades of impunity, resulting from over 75 years of civil war, and is emboldened by a lack of accountability for its crimes in any meaningful way. ND-Burma urges immediate and urgent international action on the crisis that continues to worsen as the lives of more civilians, including women and children, are increasingly at risk.
ND-Burma supports a United Nations Security Council resolution for a global arms embargo, calls for immediate UN-led humanitarian assistance to tackle the ongoing famine and crisis areas resulting from the junta’s actions, and an urgent referral of the human rights situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court. We urge diplomatic, political, and economic pressure on the military junta to be intensified, and all ties with the junta to end. The preservation of human life and the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms must be meaningfully enforced by holding the military regime accountable.
For more information:
Name: Nai Aue Mon
Signal: +66 86 1679 741
Name: San Htoi
Signal: +66 64 195 6721
________________________________________________________________________________
The Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) consists of 13 organisations representing a range of ethnic nationalities, women, and former political prisoners. Since 2004, ND-Burma member organisations have been documenting human rights abuses and fighting for justice for victims. The network has ten full members and three affiliate members.
Documentation in Darkness: An Overview of the Human Rights Situation in Burma January – December 2024
/in ND-Burma's Reports, Periodic ReportThis report covers human rights violations documented by ND-Burma members and affiliates between January and December 2024. The numbers presented in this report are the totals collected by our partners in each state and region. Our findings will be contextualized with desk research alongside cases documented by ND-Burma members. The injustices perpetrated by the junta are undeniable and demand a coordinated and effective international response.
ND-Burma and its partners use case studies, interviews, relevant partner reports, and eyewitness testimony to document the overall number of human rights abuses committed by the Burmese Army, its junta-backed militias, and all Ethnic Revolutionary Organizations (EROS) as well as People’s Defence Forces (PDFS) in Burma. However, it is critical to note that the military junta perpetrated the overwhelming majority of the crimes and violence documented in this report.
ND-Burma members have witnessed the Burmese military escalating their assaults on civilians with greater ferocity and brutality. The member organizations of ND-Burma work closely with local communities in urban and rural areas to closely monitor the human rights situation on the ground. Although ND-Burma is dedicated to scrutinizing the individual aspects of human rights, the broader conflict continues to escalate. The victims of the human rights violations reported by ND-Burma and its partners under the Controlled Category List are a stark reminder that each number represents a human life uprooted, irrevocably changed or extinguished under the Burma Army’s four-cuts campaign and civil war. We honour each one of these human rights victims.
ND-Burma regularly produces reports to bring attention to the human rights situation across the country, with a focus on the atrocities taking place across our members’ regions and states. Despite their immense threats, they remain committed to sharing evidence of the crimes committed.
The Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma Calls for ASEAN to Uphold and Protect Human Rights in New Briefing Paper Ahead of the 46th ASEAN Summit
/in Press Releases and StatementsThe Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma Calls for ASEAN to Uphold and Protect Human Rights in New Briefing Paper Ahead of the 46th ASEAN Summit
23 May 2025
For Immediate Release
Today, the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma releases a new briefing paper, “ASEAN Must Protect, Not Neglect Human Rights in Burma,” ahead of the upcoming 46th ASEAN Summit, scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from May 26 to 27, 2025. ND-Burma members call upon ASEAN to act with integrity and a commitment to protect and promote human rights in Burma, rather than risk legitimizing the terrorist junta through their ongoing engagements.
The upcoming Summit will bring together ASEAN members and dialogue partners. Discussions on Burma will focus on the humanitarian situation and trade. In response to the numerous challenges on the ground, ASEAN must be decisive and united by choosing to stand with the many people and stakeholders of the pro-democracy revolution. The actions and behaviour of the military junta have made it evident that they are not committed to peace, nor to any end of the ongoing hostilities that have killed and wounded thousands.
Since the attempted coup over four years ago, ASEAN has failed to hold the military accountable for its volatile actions and violations of human rights. They must make it clear that these acts of terror will not be tolerated. The Five-Point Consensus has not been effectively implemented, demonstrating the regime’s lack of adherence to international norms and principles. Meanwhile, across the country, particularly in ethnic areas, aerial and ground attacks are relentless, putting innocent civilians at increased risk of injury or death in a junta-fueled crisis that has plunged thousands into poverty and displaced millions.
Further, ND-Burma members urge ASEAN leaders to address the junta’s ongoing deliberate disregard of human life, denounce the sham election plans, provide humanitarian assistance through locally led organizations, prioritize the immediate protection oflocas by advocating for and supporting international accountability mechanisms, and recognize the exceptional bravery and commitment of the leaders of the People’s Movement in Burma by choosing to stand with them.
For more information:
Name: Nai Aue Mon
Signal: +66 86 1679 741
Name: San Htoi
Signal: +66 64 195 6721
________________________________________________________________________________
The Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) consists of 13 organisations representing a range of ethnic nationalities, women, and former political prisoners. Since 2004, ND-Burma member organisations have been documenting human rights abuses and fighting for justice for victims. The network has nine full members and four affiliate members.
ASEAN Must Protect, Not Neglect Human Rights in Burma
/in Briefing Papers, ND-Burma's ReportsAhead of the 46th ASEAN Summit to be held from 26-27 May 2025, members of the Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma) are concerned about the ongoing failure of regional leaders to hold the military junta accountable for its widespread and systematic crimes against civilians.
The upcoming gathering of ASEAN officials and dialogue partners presents an opportunity to heed the calls of civil society organizations, which have urged decisive and firm action to the worsening human rights, humanitarian, and political crisis in Burma following the February 2021 attempted military coup.
The failure of ASEAN thus far to adequately address the multiple challenges in Burma has undermined its credibility in promoting peace and democracy, with innocent civilians suffering the most as they are forced to bear the burden of war.
The situation in Burma has worsened, with over three million displaced and declining donor support placing additional strain on local people. Even after the earthquake at the end of March 2025, the junta has not adhered to its ceasefire and continues to attack communities from the air and ground.
Download full report
Open letter: Malaysia must lead ASEAN with principle, not hypocrisy, to address the Myanmar crisis
/in Member statements, Press Releases and StatementsTo:
H.E. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 2025
CC:
H.E. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Prime Minister of Brunei Darussalam
H.E. Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia
H.E. Prabowo Subianto, President of the Republic of Indonesia
H.E. Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
H.E. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines
H.E. Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore
H.E. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
H.E. Phạm Minh Chính, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
21 May 2025
Open letter: Malaysia must lead ASEAN with principle, not hypocrisy, to address the Myanmar crisis
Your Excellency,
We—the undersigned 285 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations—write to you at the most critical juncture for Myanmar and for the credibility and efficacy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the region. As Malaysia chairs ASEAN and is set to host the 46th Summit later this month, we urgently call for your decisive leadership to unify and steer ASEAN to adopt a stronger, more principled stance and take concerted efforts to address the intensifying multifaceted crisis in Myanmar.
This should begin with ASEAN cutting all ties with the Myanmar military junta and shifting official engagement to Myanmar’s legitimate stakeholders: the National Unity Government (NUG) and Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs).
We are compelled to express our condemnation of your recent meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, the architect of the ongoing terror campaign, and main perpetrator of genocide against the Rohingya and war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Myanmar. This meeting, far from being a diplomatic necessity, is a grave misstep that further harms the people. It offers the junta a dangerous façade of false legitimacy at a time when it is desperately seeking to escape international isolation and accountability. Such engagement does not serve the interests of peace or justice for the Myanmar people, for which ASEAN allegedly strives. Instead, it once again emboldens an illegitimate military junta responsible for the most heinous crimes in Southeast Asia’s recent history, and signals to the world that ASEAN is willing to compromise its credibility for the sake of hollow dialogue.
This is not an isolated error, but a symptom of ASEAN’s broader failure since the military’s illegal coup attempt in 2021. We note that this meeting—and in fact, each and every previous meeting—with junta representatives, has consistently empowered the military to continue its brutal attacks and airstrikes against civilians. For over four years, acting alone and within ASEAN, the region’s leaders have clung to an approach that prioritizes engagement with the perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes over the rule of law, justice and accountability, and solidarity with victims and survivors. The perfunctory Five-Point Consensus, repeatedly invoked but never effectively nor meaningfully implemented, has become a shield for the military to continue its campaign of terror with total impunity. The ongoing presence of junta representatives at ASEAN meetings at any level continues to undermine the bloc’s credibility and betrays its founding commitment to democracy, peace, security, and respect for human rights.
Since its illegal coup attempt in February 2021, the Myanmar military junta has perpetrated a multitude of grave human rights violations and mass atrocity crimes, including massacres, torching and pillaging entire towns, and lethal airstrikes against civilians and places where they take refuge. Since February 2021, the military has conducted more than 4,000 airstrikes, exponentially escalating such attacks over the past two years. The military’s widespread and systematic violence has so far internally displaced more than 3.5 million people—likely a gross underestimation of the true magnitude of displacement. Since your meeting with Min Aung Hlaing on 17 April, the junta has conducted at least 171 airstrikes, the vast majority on civilian areas with no intention other than to inflict harm and terrorize the people. The latest massacre in Depayin Township, Sagaing Region, on 12 May 2025, in which a junta airstrike on a school killed at least 22 children and two teachers, is yet another horrific testament to the military’s utter contempt for human life and international law.
In light of these grave realities, we urgently call on Your Excellency to exercise the courageous and principled leadership that this moment demands. Malaysia must immediately and unequivocally sever all ties with the junta, and use its position as ASEAN Chair to unify and lead the bloc with the same courageous and decisive action, in support of Myanmar people’s revolution to dismantle military tyranny and establish federal democracy. We expect that Malaysia recognizes the gravity of this call and will ensure no junta representatives are permitted to participate in any ASEAN meetings at any level—including the upcoming Summit.
ASEAN, under Malaysia’s leadership, must recognize and engage with the legitimate representatives of the Myanmar people, the NUG and EROs, as well as Myanmar civil society. These are the actors who have demonstrated genuine commitment to finding a long-term sustainable solution in the best interests and desires of Myanmar’s people: democracy, federalism, and human rights. ASEAN’s engagement must be formal, meaningful, and conducted at the highest levels—not relegated to unofficial channels in the name of quiet diplomacy or tokenistic side meetings. Engagement must be open and transparent to gain the confidence of the Myanmar people. Only then can the bloc move beyond the failed Five-Point Consensus and support a Myanmar-owned and -led solution, as it so often claims to do. ASEAN must stop clinging to empty rhetoric and prove its pledges with concrete, meaningful actions to stop the junta’s violence—most urgently the airstrikes. Anything less will only prolong ASEAN’s complicity in the cycle of military violence and impunity which has defined Myanmar over the past seven decades.
Furthermore, the humanitarian catastrophe intensifying in central Myanmar and its ethnic borderlands and regions demands an urgent and principled response, particularly following the devastating earthquake on 28 March 2025. The current approach—channeling aid through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre)—has failed to deliver aid meaningfully and effectively, and has further allowed the junta to weaponize aid for its own advantage. We urge Malaysia to lead ASEAN in steering Myanmar’s neighbors to collaborate with the NUG and EROs and directly support existing local civil society, networks, and community-based responders to do their important work without interference or bureaucratic obstacles.
Malaysia’s Madani values of sustainability, respect, trust, and compassion provide a strong foundation for Your Excellency to lead ASEAN to adopt a bold, inclusive, and principled approach with decisive and pragmatic action to help resolve the Myanmar crisis. Your leadership as ASEAN Chair can restore ASEAN’s regional relevance by responding to the threats posed by the Myanmar military and the multifaceted crisis it has caused and by demonstrating genuine commitment to democracy, peace, justice, human security, and development in the region.
Your Excellency, history will judge this most critical moment for the region by the choices you and your fellow ASEAN leaders make. We urge you to reject the path of hypocrisy and complicity, and instead chart a course grounded in humanity, solidarity, and respect for the rights and dignity of the Myanmar people.
We stand ready to support your efforts and urge you to seize this critical opportunity to lead ASEAN to support a Myanmar people-owned and -led political transformation process toward a just and lasting resolution in Myanmar.
For more information, please contact:
Signed by 285 civil society organizations, including 31 organizations that have chosen not to disclose their names:
Download PDF.
At Least 11 Schoolkids Massacred in Myanmar Junta Air Raid in Sagaing
/in NewsA junta airstrike on a school in a resistance stronghold in Sagaing Region’s Depayin Township on Monday killed at least 17 people, mostly students.
A fighter jet from Meiktila airbase dropped a 500 lb bomb on the school at O Htein Twin Village, where around 100 youngsters were studying, according to residents.
“The explosion was quite powerful,” a resident told The Irrawaddy. “By the time we heard the aircraft, the bomb had already dropped, so there was no time to escape, and many were killed and injured.”
A local education aid group said 17 people including several students were confirmed dead, and the death toll is expected to be higher. Around 30 others were injured, and some of them are in critical condition amid a lack of proper treatment in the area.
A photo released by local anti-regime activists shows the dead bodies of 11 students in school uniforms and a severed leg lying in the school grounds.
An official of the activist group Some Messages from Depayin told the Irrawaddy that the regime intentionally targeted the school as the township is under the administration of the parallel National Unity Government (NUG).
In September 2022, regime helicopter gunships also bombed the school of Let Yat Kone Village in Depayin, killing 13 people including seven children.
The junta declared a post-earthquake ceasefire until the end of May, but the NUG’s Human Rights Ministry on Monday said the regime conducted a total of 372 airstrikes across 13 states and regions between March 28 and May 9, killing 334 people and injuring 552 others.
Irrawaddy