Blog Elements – Page 2

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low amid unrelenting violations and unregulated exploitation of natural resources – UN report

August 26, 2026/in News, Other Human Rights Reports

GENEVA – The human rights situation in Myanmar, in particular that of minority communities, has plummeted to a new low, from the ever-worsening brutal abuse of the Rohingya population to the devastating impact of illicit economies, notably illegal mining for rare earths, a new UN Human Rights report has found. The report details how unrelenting violence and a […]

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual Report

August 12, 2026/in Other Human Rights Reports

Geneva, 11 August 2026 – Investigations by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (Mechanism), as detailed in its Annual Report released today, show a pattern of deliberate aerial attacks on civilians, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence committed by the Myanmar military. The Myanmar military escalated its aerial attacks and other crimes against civilians in the lead-up to […]

Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low amid unrelenting violations and unregulated exploitation of natural resources – UN report

August 26, 2026/in News, Other Human Rights Reports

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual Report

August 12, 2026/in Other Human Rights Reports

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low amid unrelenting violations and unregulated exploitation of natural resources – UN report

August 26, 2026/in News, Other Human Rights Reports

GENEVA – The human rights situation in Myanmar, in particular that of minority communities, has plummeted to a new low, from the ever-worsening brutal abuse of the Rohingya population to the devastating impact of illicit economies, notably illegal mining for rare earths, a new UN Human Rights report has found.

The report details how unrelenting violence and a conflict economy work hand-in-hand to expose civilian populations to untold misery. It covers the period between 1 June 2025 and 31 May 2026.

“The military’s persistent quest for control and legitimacy has only deepened the suffering and the multiple life-threatening protection and humanitarian concerns civilians face,” the report states. “Military tactics aimed at imposing fear and control, facilitated by the use of new technologies to expand surveillance, permeate every aspect of life.”

Highlighting acts of military violence against the civilian population, the report notes the persistent use of airstrikes, arson attacks, displacement and denial of assistance. It also details the commission – by both the Myanmar military and the “Arakan Army” – of widespread and systematic violations and abuses against the Rohingya, nine years since the terrible violence of 2017 that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee.

“Across northern Rakhine, the Arakan Army has perpetrated arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, instances of enforced disappearance, forced labour and recruitment, unlawful confiscation of land and residential property, and the destruction of villages, religious and cultural sites, caused renewed Rohingya displacement,” it says.

“Children are systematically used for labour, with witnesses describing workers as young as six years old clearing jungle, constructing buildings and doing menial work for Rakhine families. In one case, a child was forced to clear bones and skulls of victims of a massacre.”

Interviewees reported the arrest and detention of Rohingya attempting to escape forced recruitment, with cases of Rohingya girls resorting to early marriage in the hope that married girls were less likely to be forcibly recruited. “Once detained, individuals reported being routinely subjected to ill-treatment with former detainees describing beatings with bamboo, rubber pipes, and belts; being burned with matches and cigarettes; being hung upside down with their bodies spun until they passed out; chili being applied to genitals; and removal of fingernails,” the report reads.

The absence of the rule of law across Myanmar has acted as an enabler for illicit economies in the country, helping to finance the conflict, worsen the crisis, and with impacts on the wider region, the report finds. Human rights crises continue to multiply from rising illegal mining, drug production, human trafficking, and scam centres.

Economic collapse and conflict-induced displacement have also generated a labour market that is easy for economic actors and criminal organizations to exploit, the report states, finding that civilians are lured into a system marred by endless human rights violations and abuses.

Unregulated exploitation of natural resources has destroyed the environment, livelihoods, and traditional community-based systems in a growing number of areas in the country, particularly minority areas.

Illicit economies and rare earth mining in Kachin and Shan have strengthened the expansion of transnational criminal networks, irresponsible business practices, and serious instances of transboundary environmental contamination, it finds. Satellite images confirmed that Kachin remained the primary mining area, with 302 new sites since 2021 – a 149 percent increase. In Shan, sites increased from 12 pre-coup to 85 post-coup.

Despite limited availability of official records, findings indicated a peak in trade flows in 2023 amounting to USD 1.4 billion, the report finds.

Financial investigations have highlighted a complex web of relationships among multiple actors and entities that fostered illicit gains with impunity, the report adds.

Massive volumes of hazardous chemical leaching agents and toxic mining runoff flow directly into local waterways, resulting in severe chemical and transboundary pollution. “Environmental contamination impacted maternal and reproductive health, with local documentation efforts confirming sharp surges in miscarriages,severe bleeding during pregnancy, childbirth, or after delivery, and pregnancy complications attributed to heavy metal and chemical exposure,” says the report.

Lack of economic opportunities, displacement and forced conscription have also triggered an influx of women into the mining sector. “This aggravated risks of sexual violence and harassment by supervisors, guards, and militia members who operated with absolute impunity,” it says.

The report also highlights the absence of occupational health and safety standards. “Without knowledge and equipment, interlocutors stated that workers developed symptoms like acute respiratory distress, severe headaches, chemical burns, and gastrointestinal illnesses,” it says. “Prolonged exposure caused the accumulation of toxic agents, leading to chronic pulmonary, kidney, and liver diseases.”

Toxic wastewater from leaching pools discharged directly into downstream agricultural land also made the soil barren or significantly affected yield and quality, reducing farmers’ incomes, it adds.

“This report depicts a picture of suffering, misery, and cruelty on multiple levels and across the country that is heartbreaking,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

“I call on all States, companies and investors to undertake serious soul-searching with respect to their actions – or inaction; to ask: is this fair and just for the people of Myanmar? Can the societal and environmental harm of their activities even be reversed? Their own reputations and their credibility are on the line.”

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual Report

August 12, 2026/in Other Human Rights Reports

Geneva, 11 August 2026 – Investigations by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (Mechanism), as detailed in its Annual Report released today, show a pattern of deliberate aerial attacks on civilians, arbitrary detentions, torture and sexual violence committed by the Myanmar military.

The Myanmar military escalated its aerial attacks and other crimes against civilians in the lead-up to the elections completed in January this year and these have continued unabated.

“Behind every piece of evidence we collect are people whose lives have been devastated by these crimes,” said Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Mechanism. “Communities across Myanmar are not only living under the constant threat of violence but are also coping with the profound and lasting impact of what they have endured. This underscores the urgent need to hold those responsible to account.”

Covering the period from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, the Report outlines the Mechanism’s investigations into aerial attacks targeting homes, schools, medical facilities, religious buildings and camps for internally displaced persons, causing deaths, injuries and destruction. The military’s increasing reliance on paramotors and drones has made attacks harder for civilians to detect, limiting their ability to flee or seek shelter. The Mechanism has identified some of the military units responsible for these attacks.

The Mechanism has also collected and analysed extensive evidence of arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence in military-run detention facilities, including cases linked to the 2025 law criminalizing criticism of the elections. Numerous individuals have been arrested under the law and face up to 20 years’ imprisonment and the death penalty for activities such as posting critical comments on social media.

While most of the evidence collected by the Mechanism concerns crimes committed by the Myanmar security forces and affiliated militias, it is also investigating alleged atrocities involving armed groups opposed to the military.

The Mechanism’s investigations draw on evidence from more than 1,600 sources, including over 750 accounts from witnesses, as well as photographs, videos, audio material, documents, maps, geospatial imagery, social media posts and forensic evidence.

The Mechanism continues to share evidence and analysis with authorities pursuing accountability for crimes committed against the Rohingya, including at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and in Argentina, and has also responded to requests from other authorities investigating crimes committed since the 2021 military takeover.

It has also provided extensive evidence and analysis to the parties in The Gambia v. Myanmar proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where the judges are deliberating whether Myanmar violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention during the 2016 and 2017 clearance operations against the Rohingya.

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 analysis that can be used by authorities to prosecute individuals in national, regional and international courts.

For more information, visit iimm.un.org or contact iimm@un.org.

Other Human Rights Reports

Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low amid unrelenting violations and unregulated exploitation of natural resources – UN reportAugust 26, 2026 - 8:34 am
GENEVA – The human rights situation in Myanmar, in particular that of minority communities, has plummeted to a new low, from the ever-worsening brutal abuse of the Rohingya population to the devastating impact of illicit economies, notably illegal mining for rare earths, a new UN Human Rights report has found. The report details how unrelenting violence and a […]

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]

Multimedia

GenocideSeptember 2, 2025 - 9:42 am
Crimes Against HumanityJune 16, 2025 - 7:55 am
International Humanitarian Law Cartoon AnimatonApril 29, 2025 - 8:37 am
အတိတ်မှ ဆိုးရွားသည့် အကြီးအကျယ် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများ ထပ်မံမဖြစ်ပွားစေရေးအ တွက် အာမခံခြင်း (Guarantees of non-recurrence)February 10, 2025 - 9:58 am

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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low amid unrelenting violations and unregulated exploitation of natural resources – UN report

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual Report

Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low amid unrelenting violations and unregulated exploitation of natural resources – UN report

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual Report

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Human rights situation in Myanmar plummets to new low amid unrelenting violations and unregulated exploitation of natural resources – UN report

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual Report

ND Burma

Contact

Office Hours