Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday published its latest report on the human rights situation in Myanmar, detailing a range of serious violations that continue to underscore the deepening crisis and lack of rule of law throughout the country.
“Since the coup on 1 February 2021, at least 5,350 civilians have been killed, more than 3.3 million displaced, and over half the population are living below the poverty line, primarily due to military violence, according to the report,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Liz Throssell said.
“The report looks at the devastating impact of the violence, destruction and deprivation on people’s mental health, as well as the regression in economic and social rights, which is precipitating further economic decline. At the same time young people, who provide the key to Myanmar’s future, are fleeing abroad to escape being forced to serve in or fight for the military,” Throssell said.
“The report also documents shocking details about detentions by the military. Nearly 27,400 individuals have been arrested since the coup, with arrests on the rise since the military’s implementation of mandatory conscription in February 2024. Credible sources say at least 1,853 have died in custody, including 88 children and 125 women,” she said.
“In the light of the above findings, High Commissioner Volker Türk calls on the UN Security Council refer the full scope of the current situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. He reiterates his calls for an end to the violence and for the immediate and unconditional release of all those arbitrarily detained,” she stated.
James Rodehaver, the head of UN Human Rights Myanmar team, made the following comments on the findings of the report:
“There is a real deterioration due to violence and armed conflict in the country. The other side of that coin, however, is that there are massive regressions in human rights that have been provoked by a vacuum of rule of law. And that is something that the report tries to highlight, in great detail. It is how the Myanmar military has created the crisis by instrumentalizing the legal system criminalizing nearly all forms of dissent against its attempts to rule the country,” he said.
“But then, of course, you have what happens to those people once they are arrested? It is lengthy periods of pretrial detention in detention facilities that have horrific conditions. And then, of course, you have the pervasive use of torture and ill treatment. Detainees interviewed by our office described methods such as being suspended from the ceiling without food or water, being forced to kneel or crawl on hard or sharp objects,” Rodehaver stated.
“The introduction of animals such as snakes or insects or other. Wild animals in order to provoke fear and terror in individuals. Beating people with iron poles, bamboo sticks, batons, rifle butts, leather strips, electric wires, motorcycle chains, asphyxiation, mock executions, electrocution and burning with tasers, lighters, cigarettes and boiling water. Truly, some of the most depraved behavior utilized as methods of torture in these detention centres,” he said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
In Geneva
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Liz Throssell - + 41 22 917 9296 / elizabeth.throssell@un.org or
Seif Magango: +41 79 752 0488 / seif.magango@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Liz Throssell and James Rodehaver on latest report onMyanmar
TRT: 03:46
SOURCE: UNOG /OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 17 September 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.