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
- Lives in the Absence of Safety
- Iranian shadow fleet fuels Myanmar junta’s expanding air campaign against civilians
- With international law at a ‘breaking point’, a tiny country goes after Myanmar’s junta on its own
- The Situation of Transitional Justice in Myanmar (2017–2025)
- Survivors of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Bring a Case Against the Myanmar Junta in Timor-Leste
No One Feels Safe
/in Briefing Papers, ND-Burma's Reports“No one Feels Safe”
Airstrikes Perpetrated in Burma from July to October 2025
This briefing paper by the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) examines the impact of airstrikes on innocent civilians from July to October 2025 in areas documented by ND-Burma members and through desk research. Since the attempted coup in 2021, the military junta has escalated its targeting of civilians through a violent and coordinated campaign of airstrikes. The increase in air attacks coincides with the Burmese Army’s growing loss of ground and territory to the armed opposition.
The military carries out airstrikes during hours when civilians are not expecting an attack, late at night and early morning, giving little warning or time to escape. The regime has fired upon communities far from the battlezones, including the assault on displaced people in shelters, displacement camps, homes, villages, schools, places of worship, and clinics. Survivors report feelings of anxiety, trauma, and suffering caused by the unpredictable and indiscriminate nature of these attacks.
Additionally, the junta has destroyed entire livelihoods, with villages being devastated from above. Grounded military forces frequently loot remaining goods and essentials. The suffering and hardship faced by civilians have worsened due to the international community’s lack of coordinated and urgent action. Despite overwhelming evidence of the junta’s war crimes, the military remains shielded and has not faced any accountability for its ongoing crimes. For decades, they have committed violence against ethnic minority groups, mainly living in Burma’s border regions. Over the last four and a half years, the circumstances on the ground have worsened, turning daily life for rural villagers into a struggle to survive.
The human rights situation in Burma is rapidly deteriorating. Since the attempted coup on 1 February 2021 until August 2025, the UN Human Rights Office announced that more than 7,000 people have been killed by the junta, of which a third are women and children.1 Nearly 30,000 have been arrested as due process continues to be routinely denied in the military-run courts. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a member of ND-Burma, reported that from the coup until September 30, 2025, there were 3,023 civilian deaths confirmed due to airstrikes and heavy weaponry attacks.2 AAPP noted that an additional 2,690 deaths were still awaiting confirmation. The victims included 1,370 women and 1,653 men, as well as 647 children under the age of 18
New Briefing Paper,‘No One Feels Safe,’
/in Press Releases and StatementsThe Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma Releases New Briefing Paper,
‘No One Feels Safe,’ on Human Rights Day
10 December 2025
On International Human Rights Day, the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) releases a new briefing paper, ‘No One Feels Safe,’ which details cases of airstrikes documented by members in Burma from July to October 2025. Aerial strikes continue to be a leading cause of death and injury for civilians who are routinely caught in the violent crossfire of the junta’s worsening attacks.
According to member data, our findings indicate that 272 airstrikes occurred in four States, including Chin State, Kachin State, Mon State, Shan State, and three regions, Mandalay, Magway and Tanintharyi, resulting in the deaths of 75 women, 72 men and 60 children, in addition to 31 of unknown identity killed. There were 88 wounded women, 158 wounded men and 80 injured children, as well as 117 of unknown identity. At least dozens of properties were damaged, including 554 houses, 13 schools, one hospital, four clinics, two churches, 35 monasteries, two private schools, and one nursery school.
Their ongoing documentation efforts are vital to gathering further evidence needed to hold the military junta accountable for their crimes.
“The junta is using airstrikes to spread fear among local people who are tired of the constant hardships in daily life in Burma. Those living in rural, conflict-affected areas face ongoing risks to their survival due to these airstrikes. Countries supplying weapons, including aviation fuel, are complicit in these attacks on innocent lives. Airstrikes are not only destroying homes and lives, but they are breaking the sense of safety that people are desperately trying to hold onto in their daily struggle to survive,” said Nai Aue Mon, Program Director at the Human Rights Foundation of Monland.
Reports from the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) and the UN Special Rapporteur reveal that Russia, China, Singapore, Thailand, and India are the leading suppliers of weapons, dual-use technology, and manufacturing materials to the military junta, totalling over $1 billion since February 2021. Bombs are falling on innocent civilians, causing widespread horror and trauma. Survivors face ongoing suffering, losing their sense of humanity and mourning the deaths of friends, family, and community. Among those killed and wounded in airstrikes are overwhelmingly women and children, as they comprise the majority of those displaced throughout the country.
Human Rights Day is a stark reminder of how much work remains to establish the foundations of a free and just society in Burma. The coup attempt on 1 February 2021 continues to cast a shadow over a nation eager for change and democratic reform. Yet, it also highlights the extraordinary adversity and resilience demonstrated by the people who refuse to remain silent in the face of injustice and who remain dedicated to a future free from military rule.
Media Contact
Name: Nai Aue Mon
Signal: +66 86 1679 741
Name: San Htoi
Signal: +66 649369070
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) comprises 13 organizations representing diverse ethnic nationalities, women, and former political prisoners. Since 2004, ND-Burma member organizations have documented human rights abuses and advocated for justice on behalf of victims. The network has ten full members and three affiliate members.
Press Release – Under Attack: Women’s Peace and Security in Burma
/in Press Releases and StatementsThe Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma Releases
Under Attack: Women’s Peace and Security in Burma
on the 16-Day Campaign to End Gender Based Violence
25 November 2025
For Immediate Release
Today, the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) publishes its latest briefing paper, Under Attack: Women’s Peace and Security in Burma. Despite substantial challenges, women continue to resist patriarchal systems that seek to silence their calls for equality and justice for abuses committed against them. Each year, the global initiative 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence underscores the ongoing effort towards a gender-equal future. In Burma, the drive for gender-informed policies arises from decades of oppression that require urgent reform and change. Our latest analysis reveals that women face significant risks in the years since the failed coup, and urgent attention is needed to end military impunity.
This briefing paper highlights the worsening crisis in women’s peace and security during the 16 Days Campaign Against Gender-Based Violence. Based on desk research and member data, our findings emphasize the urgent need for support for victims and survivors of various forms of violence.
Patriarchal norms in Burma have historically challenged women’s rights. Additionally, the severe humanitarian crisis following the 2021 military coup, along with ongoing gender-based violence—including arbitrary arrests, movement restrictions, limited resource access, and other violations—continues to undermine women’s safety. Current obstacles, such as the ongoing conflict, forced conscription, and the upcoming sham election, further threaten women. The militarization of Burma’s various States and Regions has created such hardship that no area is safe from the risk of indiscriminate attacks.
Civil society organizations have long played a key role in documenting human rights abuses and truth-telling efforts. Justice remains delayed for victims and survivors of the military junta’s brutal attacks on civilians. These attacks have persisted for decades, and following the failed coup, demands for accountability must translate into tangible actions to break the cycle of impunity.
Furthermore, our members demand an immediate end to all forms of violence against women and call for increased visibility and attention to the 16 Days Campaign. The international community must take coordinated action and heed the decades-long calls of women’s groups to ensure the protection and promotion of rights for all.
For more information:
Name: Nai Aue Mon
Signal: +66 86 1679 741
Name: San Htoi
Signal: +66 649369070
_____________________________________________________________________________
The Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) comprises 13 organizations representing diverse ethnic nationalities, women, and former political prisoners. Since 2004, ND-Burma member organizations have documented human rights abuses and advocated for justice on behalf of victims. The network has ten full members and three affiliate members.
Under Attack: Women’s Peace and Security in Burma
/in Briefing Papers, ND-Burma's ReportsOn 1 February 2021, the military deliberately sabotaged the prospects for democracy when they attempted a coup. Senior politicians and newly elected Members of Parliament were quickly detained and arbitrarily arrested. Those who escaped the junta’s grasp fled, and many remain in exile as their names circulate on military-sponsored wanted lists. Widespread opposition to the hijacking of the November 2020 national elections emerged, and it wasn’t long before protests flooded the country’s streets.
The gendered impacts of the junta’s violence over the last four and a half years have had alarming effects on the safety of young women and girls. Their rights and freedoms are being regularly undermined as aerial and ground strikes from the military junta escalate, especially in areas where the opposition holds significant bases and territory. More than four years after the attempted coup in Burma, women and girls are still facing immense risks to their safety. The military junta has openly ignored concerns for women’s rights, their protection, and their calls for reforms to laws that have discriminated against their potential and well-being.
Patriarchal norms have long challenged women’s rights. In addition, the severe humanitarian crisis following the 2021 military coup, and ongoing gender-based violence, which includes arbitrary arrests, movement restrictions, and limited access to resources, as well as other rights violations. Among the current barriers threatening women’s safety are the ongoing conflict, forced conscription and the sham election. Militarization across Burma’s various States and Regions has made it so difficult to survive that no place has been granted safe and secure from the threat of an indiscriminate attack.
HURFOM Releases New Report: “Voting Under the Barrel of a Gun – A Country at War, Not at the Polls”
/in ND-Burma Members' ReportsThe Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) has released a new report, “Voting Under the Barrel of a Gun: A Country at War, Not at the Polls.” The findings show that the junta’s planned election is not a democratic process but a violent campaign to manufacture legitimacy while communities face ongoing attacks and intimidation.
Launched ahead of the regime’s proposed polls, the report draws on interviews and case studies from conflict-affected areas across Mon State, Karen State, and Tanintharyi Region. HURFOM documents how the junta is using fear, coercion, and propaganda to force participation, even as airstrikes, shelling, and mass arrests continue to harm civilians.
HURFOM interviewed politicians, election observers, community members in our target areas, and actors connected to the armed context. One Mon State election observer told HURFOM on 7 October 2025 that the process is “unfair by design,” citing the manipulation of administrative boundaries, population data, and the rollout of a confusing proportional representation system across Mon State.
The report shows how life under siege has become unbearable for many communities. With violence and repression intensifying around the election period, HURFOM warns that another decade of military rule is likely if there is no decisive international response.
HURFOM calls on regional and global actors to reject the junta’s planned election and take meaningful action, including pursuing a referral of the human rights situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court.
The full report can be downloaded here:
👉 Download “Voting Under the Barrel of a Gun” (PDF)
The press release is available here:
👉 Press Release (PDF)
ASEAN Must Unequivocally Reject Myanmar Junta’s Sham Election during the Summit
/in Member statements, Press Releases and StatementsWe, the undersigned trade unions, civil society, and human rights organisations from across the ASEAN region and international community, issue this urgent and unequivocal call to our governments ahead of the upcoming ASEAN Summit: outrightly reject the Myanmar military junta’s planned sham election. Anything less would be a betrayal of the people of Myanmar and a stain on the conscience of our entire region.
The junta’s planned election on 28 December 2025 is an illegal, cynical ploy to manufacture a façade of legitimacy for its rule of terror. This is the same military that defied the people’s landslide verdict in 1990 and staged the fraudulent 2010 polls to disguise dictatorship as reform. To believe its promises now is to wilfully disregard history.
A genuine election cannot take place amid mass killings and repression. It is a charade held under the barrel of a gun. The junta has waged war on its own people, killing over 7,300 civilians, arbitrarily detaining more than 29,000, and displacing over 3.5 million. It has outlawed legitimate political parties, imprisoned and tortured democratic leaders, and enacted draconian electoral laws that impose the death penalty for dissent. As the UN Special Rapporteur stated, this is not an election, but a “fraud.” In fact, this process has nothing to do with the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus; it is a unilateral act of a murderous junta that will only exacerbate the conflict.
The international democratic community has taken a firm stand. The European Union has refused to send observers, calling the poll a “regime-sponsored” exercise with only one possible outcome. In Bangkok, parliamentarians from Ireland, the United States, Norway, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and New Zealand reaffirmed their unified rejection of the junta’s so-called election and called for global solidarity with Myanmar’s democracy movement. Respected electoral monitoring bodies, including International IDEA and ANFREL, have unequivocally rejected the junta’s planned election and called it falling short of democratic legitimacy. ASEAN cannot afford to isolate itself by becoming an enabler of this farce.
To grant any form of recognition to this process is to give the junta a green light for more atrocities. This is a regime that bombs villages on holy days and launches airstrikes in the aftermath of earthquakes. Endorsing its electoral charade will only prolong the suffering of millions and add legitimacy to the weapons and aviation fuel it uses to terrorise civilians.
ASEAN member states have a profound moral and international obligation to act. The historic ILO Resolution under Article 33, adopted in June 2025, explicitly calls on all governments to “review… the relations they may have with Myanmar military authorities” to ensure they do not “enable, facilitate or prolong” these gross violations. Likewise, UN Security Council Resolution 2669 and ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus demand an immediate end to violence. Failure to reject this election would render ASEAN complicit in the junta’s crimes against humanity.
The world is watching. ASEAN’s credibility—and its future as a community founded on peace, democracy, and human rights—is at stake. We therefore demand that our leaders issue a clear, firm, and unified statement rejecting the junta’s sham election and refusing to recognise its outcome. There must be no room for vague diplomatic language that the junta can manipulate for its propaganda.
We call specifically on Malaysia, as the 2025 ASEAN Chair, and on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, to demonstrate moral leadership. As a lifelong champion of free and fair elections who has personally endured political persecution, his voice must be the loudest and consistent in upholding democratic values, not just in Malaysia, but across our region.
This is a call for moral clarity, a call to stand on the right side of history.
We urge all governments, institutions, and organisations of conscience to: