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UN Special Envoy Julie Bishop reported to UN Office of Internal Oversight Services over conflicts of interest

May 9, 2025/in Member statements

9 May 2025 On 4 May 2025, four Myanmar civil society organizations (CSOs)—Blood Money Campaign, Defend Myanmar Democracy, Karen Peace Support Network, and Progressive Voice—submitted a report of wrongdoing to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) regarding the business activities of UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Julie Bishop. This wrongdoing […]

Sex-based violence against women and girls in Myanmar

May 7, 2025/in News

Mizzima NGO Human Rights Myanmar says Myanmar’s military systematically uses sex-based violence to subjugate women and girls, intensifying since the 2021 coup, according to a report released on 5 May. At least 380 women have been intentionally targeted and killed, some burned alive or executed in custody, while over 500 have faced sexual violence, including […]

UN Special Envoy Julie Bishop reported to UN Office of Internal Oversight Services over conflicts of interest

May 9, 2025/in Member statements

Sex-based violence against women and girls in Myanmar

May 7, 2025/in News

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UN Special Envoy Julie Bishop reported to UN Office of Internal Oversight Services over conflicts of interest

May 9, 2025/in Member statements

9 May 2025

On 4 May 2025, four Myanmar civil society organizations (CSOs)—Blood Money Campaign, Defend Myanmar Democracy, Karen Peace Support Network, and Progressive Voice—submitted a report of wrongdoing to the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) regarding the business activities of UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Julie Bishop.

This wrongdoing report to OIOS follows an open letter which 290 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations sent to the UN Secretary-General and UN General Assembly (UNGA) on 17 March 2025, calling for an investigation into Julie Bishop’s business activities and the revocation of the Special Envoy’s mandate. OIOS is the UN’s internal oversight body, and it has operational independence under the authority of the Secretary-General.

In the 17 March letter and subsequent wrongdoing report, CSOs urged the Secretary-General to urgently investigate the Special Envoy’s business activities and connections to the mining industry and Chinese state-owned companies with reported commercial interests in Myanmar, including Shenghe Resources and China Communications Construction Company.

The UN has not responded to the civil society open letter, and the Secretary-General’s Office continues to defend Julie Bishop’s conduct, ignoring the serious concerns raised by civil society. Multiple international anti-corruption experts have stated that civil society concerns about Julie Bishop’s conflicts of interest are credible and warrant action by the UN.

The UN’s failure to respond to civil society’s concerns is all the more egregious given the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar’s mandate to engage “with all relevant stakeholders, including civil society, and affected populations.” Yet, the Secretary-General and the Special Envoy herself continue to ignore the Myanmar people.

With no meaningful response from the UN, Julie Bishop’s business activities related to China continue to endanger the human rights of the Myanmar people, as China remains a top source of military support and false legitimacy for the illegal Myanmar military junta, aiding and abetting the junta’s ongoing crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Myanmar people. These concerns have only deepened following the 28 March earthquake that devastated central Myanmar: Following the earthquake, China has provided substantial support to the military junta, under the guise of humanitarian aid, despite the junta’s continued weaponization of such quake-related aid for its own material and political gain.

Blood Money Campaign, Defend Myanmar Democracy, Karen Peace Support Network, and Progressive Voice urge OIOS to conduct a prompt, thorough, and transparent investigation into Julie Bishop’s business activities and publish the findings.

Khin Ohmar of Progressive Voice said, “If the UN’s desire to ‘end the hostilities’ and support the Myanmar people is genuine, it would immediately investigate Julie Bishop’s conflicts of interest, remove her from the position, and abolish the Special Envoy on Myanmar mandate. Julie Bishop further taints the UN’s reputation in Myanmar and beyond. It’s time for the UN to respect its own rules and regulations. OIOS must initiate a thorough and transparent investigation into Julie Bishop’s business activities without further delay and share those findings publicly.”

Naw Aung of Defend Myanmar Democracy said, “Julie Bishop’s connections to the mining industry and Chinese state-owned companies show a complete lack of integrity and are wholly untenable for a UN Special Envoy. The UNGA must seize this moment to revoke the mandate, and revamp the UN’s address of Myanmar’s crisis to be based on human rights rather than political lobbying.”

Mulan of Blood Money Campaign said, “China is a major arms supplier of the military junta, providing the fighter jets and drones used to murder civilians across Myanmar even after the earthquake on 28 March. Julie Bishop’s commercial interests with this complicit actor in the junta’s crimes must be immediately investigated by the UN. It must also finally end the mandate of the Special Envoy on Myanmar, which has been a total failure in producing meaningful change for the people. The Secretary-General himself must take the lead to end the military junta’s international crimes. Refusing to do so will only embolden the junta to continue its terror campaign against the people and thus further damage the little credibility the UN has left.”

Cherry of Karen Peace Support Network said, “The UN must respect our voices as civil society and stop doing harm in Myanmar. For more than four years, the UN has failed to take meaningful action to stop the junta’s war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The UN and the international community must stand with the Myanmar people and robustly support our revolution to build sustainable peace and an inclusive federal democracy. This support must start with opening an investigation regarding Julie Bishop’s conflicts of interest and publishing the findings.”

For more information, please contact:

Mulan, Blood Money Campaign; bloodmoneycampaign21@protonmail.com
Naw Aung, Defend Myanmar Democracy; communication@defendmyanmardemocracy.org
Naw Cherry, Karen Peace Support Network; kpsn14@gmail.com
Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice; info@progressive-voice.org

Sex-based violence against women and girls in Myanmar

May 7, 2025/in News

Mizzima

NGO Human Rights Myanmar says Myanmar’s military systematically uses sex-based violence to subjugate women and girls, intensifying since the 2021 coup, according to a report released on 5 May.

At least 380 women have been intentionally targeted and killed, some burned alive or executed in custody, while over 500 have faced sexual violence, including rape. This deliberate strategy, rooted in patriarchy and militarisation, aims to silence dissent and erase women from public life.

The NGO’s report demands international accountability, survivor protection, and action against these potential crimes against humanity.

The following are the key points:

In Myanmar, violence against women and girls is deeply entrenched in patriarchal norms and has been exacerbated by the military coup. Since 2021, women and girls have faced extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, sexual violence, and torture. These acts are not incidental but represent a deliberate strategy to reinforce male dominance, silence dissent, and instill fear.

Targeted killings of women

In addition to the hundreds of women killed by indiscriminate artillery and airstrikes against civilian areas, at least 380 women and girls have been specifically targeted and unlawfully killed by the military.[1] Of these, at least 216 were shot, including 50 who were summarily executed. The targeting of women for execution constitutes a grave violation of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which enshrines the right to life.

At least 119 of the 380 women specifically killed were held in custody by the military at the time of their deaths, including 28 who were shot. The deprivation of liberty without due process, combined with summary executions of detainees, amounts to enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. These acts violate the prohibition against arbitrary deprivation of life under international law and reflect a broader pattern of targeted violence against women as a means of punishment and control. The military’s systematic impunity for these killings further entrenches structural discrimination against women and girls.

Sex-based factors in killings

Among the most egregious acts of violence, at least 71 women and girls were killed by being set on fire. This method of execution is particularly significant in the context of sex-based violence. Burning is not merely a form of execution; it is an act that seeks to dehumanise and obliterate women’s identity and is often used to conceal evidence of sexual violence. The mutilation and destruction of women’s bodies serve to erase evidence of sexual crimes and further terrorise affected communities.

Similarly, at least one woman has been killed by the military through beheading, a method of execution that carries profound symbolic significance. Historically, beheading has been associated with the suppression of female agency and the enforcement of patriarchal control. It represents an attempt to silence women physically and symbolically, reinforcing the idea that those who challenge traditional power structures or assume leadership roles must be eliminated in a demonstrative manner.

Sexual violence and rape

Beyond the methods of killing, some of the 380 women and girls were subjected to sexual violence, including rape, before their deaths. Sexual violence is one of the most direct and severe forms of sex-based violence, as it specifically targets women and girls based on their sex, reducing them to instruments of subjugation and humiliation. Rape has been systematically used in Myanmar as a weapon of war, an assertion of dominance, and a means of political and ethnic persecution. Sexual violence is often used not only as an attack on individual women but as a strategic tool to break communities and enforce patriarchal hierarchies.

While the full scale of sexual violence remains difficult to determine due to the lack of independent monitoring and the military’s deliberate obstruction of accountability mechanisms, credible information indicates that at least 500 women have been subjected to sexual violence and rape.[2] At least 16 women and girls were raped while in custody before being killed.[3] The true number is likely far higher. The military’s use of detention as a space for sexual violence before execution is a pattern documented in other conflicts and constitutes torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. The systematic nature of these violations, combined with their targeting of women and girls based on sex, could amount to crimes against humanity.

Structural aggravating factors

Certain factors exacerbate the nature, likelihood, and impact of sex-based violence against women and girls. Each factor is also increased by intersectional oppression, such as based on ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, and disability, shaping vulnerabilities to sex-based violence. In Myanmar, three major aggravating factors have intensified since the military takeover in February 2021.

Patriarchy

Deeply entrenched patriarchal norms and values permeate Myanmar’s social, political, economic, educational, cultural, and legal structures, reinforcing gender-based discrimination and worsening sex-based violence against women and girls. Women and girls experience additional layers of exclusion due to their lack of access to power and privilege, rigid sex roles, and systemic discriminatory policies and practices. Ethno-nationalists claim that women are “naturally” weaker. Their autonomy is restricted under the pretence of “protection” by families, communities, and the State. Those who challenge these limitations—through their thoughts, speech, or actions—are accused of threatening Myanmar’s “traditional values,” endorsing “Westernisation,” harbouring hostility toward men, or even suffering from mental instability. The military coup has further entrenched patriarchal control, particularly because the military itself remains an institution dominated by men, with very few women in leadership positions.

Militarisation

Myanmar’s long-standing militarisation has embedded military values, structures, and behaviour across society, governance, the economy, education, and the legal system. This has reinforced patriarchal dominance, prioritised State security over human rights, and normalised the use of force as a means of control. Militarisation increases the risks for women and girls who assert their rights. Any deviation from traditional sex-based roles or any form of expression that challenges male dominance is labelled as “undisciplined” or subversive. In extreme cases, women and girls who assert themselves are depicted as threats to public order, as agents of foreign influence, or as “traitors” to the state. Under this militarised framework, any perceived challenge to the status quo—regardless of its severity—is met with force, whether from State authorities, community actors, or even family members.

Extremism

Religious and ethno-nationalist extremism further exacerbates discrimination against women and girls by justifying their oppression under moral and ideological pretexts. Extreme elements exist within Myanmar’s religious communities, with some groups actively encouraged by the military since the 2021 coup as part of a divide-and-rule strategy aimed at fuelling communal tensions. Extremism serves as an aggravating factor because it provides an ethical and religious rationale for suppressing women’s rights. Women and girls who defy traditional sex-based roles are cast as being “against” religious values. They are portrayed as “bad” wives and mothers, “immoral” daughters and sisters, and as bringing “shame” upon their communities. By disguising sex-based oppression as religious doctrine, extremism legitimises the control, subjugation, and punishment of women and girls, further entrenching patriarchal dominance in Myanmar.

Other Human Rights Reports

Myanmar Mechanism investigations reveal deliberate attacks on civilians by the Myanmar military – Annual ReportAugust 12, 2026 - 9:49 am
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 […]

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

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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.

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