United Nations in Myanmar

The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in Myanmar:

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Press Release

24 June 2022

UNICEF statement on the death of two boys by a grenade round explosion in Magwe Region, Myanmar

The incident occurred on 19 June, when the two boys were playing with an unexploded grenade round they found in a jungle. Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to kill and maim many children in Myanmar. At least 115 children have been killed or injured by landmines and UXO since February 2021, including 47 casualties that occurred between January and April 2022 alone. In times of conflict, children are the most vulnerable, including from landmines and UXO. Since children are smaller than adults, they are more likely to take the full impact of the blast and are therefore more likely to suffer death or serious injury. In Myanmar, more than one third of the reported casualties from landmines and UXO are children. The safety and rights of children must be the primary consideration in all contexts. During the first five months of 2022, UNICEF and partners have reached 20,000 children across Myanmar with Explosive Ordnance Risk Education. UNICEF calls on all parties to facilitate access for assistance to victims; to stop laying mines and to clear existing mines and UXO.

Story

04 October 2022

Civil society group hailed for supporting displaced people in remote parts of Myanmar

Big smiles greet Naw Bway Khu, 54, as she arrives at the Metta May May Shelter for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Lashio, the largest town in Myanmar’s northern Shan State. Women and children here know her as “Naw Snow” (Snow being the English translation of Bway and Naw an honourific used by people of Karen ethnicity in Myanmar), the leader and founder of the organization that runs this peaceful refuge. A trained nurse with a friendly demeanour, she acquired the nickname nearly two decades ago when she set up Meikswe Myanmar – meaning “Friends of Myanmar” – with the initial aim of providing antiretroviral therapy and places of refuge for women and children living with HIV/AIDS. After enduring years of domestic violence during her marriage, Naw Bway Khu wanted to support women in similar situations. Following her husband’s death in 2002, she spent two years working for an international NGO that cared for people living with HIV/AIDS before starting Meikswe Myanmar. Initially she accommodated women in her own home before establishing the centre in Lashio, and later an orphanage. “I was freed from my previous life [with my husband] and wanted to help women who were [HIV] positive,” she recalls, adding that she felt fortunate to have escaped contracting HIV from her husband. “I often brought them into my home, accepted them and shared with them what I ate. I wanted them to live a long life and fulfil their dreams.” As the organization started to care for a growing number of patients in rural and isolated communities, Naw Bway Khu noticed that many villages lacked access to basic services such as education and health care. She gradually expanded Meikswe’s programming to offer psychosocial support, education and income-generating activities. “Meikswe’s work is all about addressing gaps,” she explains. “Depending on the needs we come across, we expand our activities and geographical reach step-by-step.” In 2015, decades of armed conflict in northern Shan State sharply escalated, displacing tens of thousands. While humanitarian aid reached those who made it to camps for internally displaced people, Naw Bway Khu noted that those who sought safety in villages received little to no assistance. “Those in host communities were forgotten,” she says. As the strain intensified, Meikswe used funds pooled from staff, their families, friends and relatives to mount an emergency response, distributing food and basic household items to displaced people sheltering in villages. Naw Bway Khu also advocated for more international aid to be allocated to host communities supporting the displaced. Today, Meikswe implements a range of activities to support internally displaced people, their host communities and other vulnerable groups in some 300 locations across six regions and states – from Rakhine State in the west of the country to Shan State in the north, as well as Kayin State in the south-east. For its dedication to supporting internally displaced people, even in the most hard-to-reach areas, Meikswe has been named the Asia-Pacific Regional Winner of the 2022 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award, a prize awarded annually by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to honour those who have gone to extraordinary lengths to help forcibly displaced or stateless people. With a team of 77 staff members drawn from a variety of backgrounds and ethnic groups, Meikswe’s activities directly benefited some 25,000 people in 2021. This was despite the many logistical, financial and security challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the military takeover that took place in February of that year. “All of our staff have to follow four values: to provide services for marginalized people, respect all races and religions, treat all fairly, and prioritize the needs of children and women,” Naw Bway Khu says. She attributes Meikswe’s success in delivering aid to communities cut off from other assistance to her staff. “We do things from the heart,” she says. “No matter how difficult or challenging it is, we are able to work because we have already received the love and trust of the community.” Besides its dedicated staff, Meikswe’s achievements stem from Naw Bway Khu’s determination to empower displaced and conflict-affected communities so they are eventually able to help themselves. “We cannot support them forever,” she says. “That is why we also provide technical support, so they can be strong enough on their own.” At the Namma Bawda village in Shan State’s Lashio Township, a group of 10 displaced women and 11 villagers are part of a Meikswe-supported sewing project that generates an income for their families. The women eagerly show Naw Bway Khu the fabrics they work with. “I think it is very good of Meikswe to support us like this,” says Noe Lar Sheh, a displaced woman living in the village. “We've never experienced anything like it before.” Meikswe’s empowerment initiatives also extend to its support to local community-based and civil society organizations that are often the first responders during times of crisis. Recognizing the need for communities to be able to quickly respond to arrivals of displaced people, the organization trains them on how to carry out a basic humanitarian response. It also acts as a bridge between them and the international organizations that can provide much-needed resources. For the Otamaung Association, a civil society organization operating in Shan State’s Kyaukme Township, Meikswe’s trainings have been invaluable. First set up to provide health support to people from highland areas, the association has now expanded to provide emergency assistance to those displaced by conflict. “There is a Myanmar proverb that says one sturdy tree can support 10,000 birds. Meikswe is like a big shady tree, supporting organizations like us to have the confidence and capacity to carry out our work,” says Mai Ye Win Aung, the General Secretary of the Otamaung Association. Naw Bway Khu is determined to keep expanding Meikswe’s reach so they can assist more communities. “We will continue to work to achieve the rights that every human being should have,” she says. “Meikswe’s logo shows a small boat with a dove on it. I intend to help those on our boat as much as we can. We will help them find peace.” For more Nansen stories, including photos and video, please visit unhcr.org/media-nansen-refugee-award-2022.

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09 September 2022

Stateless Rohingya continue to struggle for survival in Myanmar

Over the course of her life, Zaw Bedah, a 27-year-old Rohingya woman living in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State, has had to adapt to increasing restrictions on her rights and freedoms. In 2012, intercommunal clashes rocked Rakhine State. Zaw Bedah was 17 at the time and had just started her own family. Together with tens of thousands of others, they were forced to flee. A decade later, over 153,000 Rohingya like her remain displaced, the majority of them confined to camps. An additional 447,000 live in villages where they have little freedom of movement, affecting their ability to obtain healthcare, attend school or make a living. Another 700,000 Rohingya fled a further round of violence in 2017 and now live as refugees in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the region. Restrictions on the amount of land the camps can occupy have meant that many are unable to expand to accommodate growing populations. Living in a crowded camp with limited sanitation facilitates and a growing family has brought hardships for Zaw Bedah. “I have difficulties sleeping because there is not enough space for the eight of us in our shelter. I often go to my neighbour’s house to sleep,” she says. Access to healthcare is an additional challenge. Now enduring a difficult pregnancy with her third child, Zaw Bedah is unwilling to seek medical care due to a cumbersome and costly administrative process involving the need for approval from local administrators, male escorts, and navigating security checkpoints where extortion is common. “I get upset when complications occur during childbirth,” says Hassinah Begom, a midwife who attends to the needs of Zaw Bedah and other pregnant women in the camp. Despite not having had any formal training, she has successfully delivered over 500 children during her two-decade career and is often the first person mothers call on when they need assistance. “In serious cases, I have to quickly accompany them to the hospital. We cannot leave if it is past 6pm because of the curfew. When we do go, only one person is allowed to accompany the patient, and we are not allowed to bring our phones. We also pay higher prices for medication,” says Begom. “Thankfully, no mother has died under my care.” To improve living conditions and heal historical wounds, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners have supported the Rohingya, Rakhine and other displaced communities in Rakhine State through distributions of household items, shelter reconstruction, livelihoods support and services. Such assistance is aimed at reducing vulnerabilities such as gender-based violence while promoting dialogue between different communities. But policies such as denying equal access to citizenship and essential services, as well as movement restrictions, have kept the Rohingya marginalized and highly dependent on humanitarian aid. “No amount of aid is enough to solve the crisis,” says Federico Sersale, UNHCR’s head of office in Sittwe, the Rakhine state capital. “While it is imperative to assist, access to rights and freedoms, social cohesion between communities, the closure of camps, and allowing the Rohingya to return to their homes or places of choice are crucial to lasting solutions.” Even after giving birth with little or no medical care, women living in the camps continue to worry for their children. Birth certificates are rarely issued to Rohingya children, a key document that provides them with a legal identity. “It saddens me that none of the children born here have birth certificates.” Zaw Bedah’s second child, who was born in the camp, never received a birth certificate. Her eldest child had one, but it was lost during the chaos of their displacement in 2012. “I’ve tried many ways to obtain a new one for him, but it has been impossible,” she says. “It saddens me that none of the children born here have birth certificates. No one can grow up to be successful without one,” says Begom. Determined to help as best she can, she has diligently recorded the date of birth for every child she has delivered. “My wish is for these records to help children obtain identity documents one day,” she says. Restricting the Rohingya’s access to civil documents like birth certificates has long term consequences. As children grow up, they are unable to acquire other important identity documents such as national registration cards, leaving them legally and administratively invisible. This in turn jeopardizes their future prospects, limits their freedom of movement and traps them in a cycle of poverty and marginalization. “The longer this situation persists, the more vulnerable and marginalized the Rohingya communities become. This will further diminish the prospects for those in Bangladesh who wish to return safely,” says UNHCR’s Federico Sersale. Ajam Bibi, a 16-year-old living in the camp who Begom helped deliver as a baby, had to drop out of school at the age of 14 because her mother could not afford the fees. “I love to learn. If I have a chance to complete my studies, I will apply for a job with a humanitarian agency … Right now, I do chores and help my younger siblings with their studies,” she says. While primary education is often provided by humanitarian agencies for free inside camps, state-run high schools are often located far from camps and segregated from other communities. School fees and transportation costs add to the financial strain faced by cash-strapped families, a situation exacerbated by the lack of employment opportunities. Reflecting on the difficulties faced in her own life and those of her children, Zaw Bedah worries about the future. “I feel sad and unhappy with the situation … I cannot imagine what life will be like when the children grow up,” she says.

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12 September 2022

Ensuring sexual and reproductive health and rights for youth and adolescents in Myanmar through innovation amid COVID-19 pandemic and political crisis

YANGON, Myanmar— “There is social stigma existing in our community to speak about sexual and reproductive health especially concerning adolescents and youth. People are too shy to talk about it. Since we have grown up under this shadow, we don’t even know that young people have the right to access sexual and reproductive health information,” said Thura, 15, a local youth from Yangon. Young people in Myanmar face different social and cultural barriers to get right information about sexual and reproductive health and rights. Without having access to sexual and reproductive health information including family planning, young people tend to experience consequences such as unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion, leading to other life-threatening complications. According to 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census, the fertility rate of females aged 15-19 was 33 births per 1,000 women. Comparing to urban areas, the teenage fertility is higher in rural areas of states and regions. The data highlights the needs to enhance protection and promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and young people in remote places and in areas undergoing humanitarian crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic and political crisis has exacerbated the situation. “Movement restrictions and security concerns hinder young peoples’ access to information and services. How can our rights be fulfilled under these situations? We young people feel like we are lost,” said Thura. UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, works closely with partner organizations in Myanmar to enhance protection and promote sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and young people. In delivering its mandate of sexual and reproductive health and rights, overarching framework of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action and its follow-up convention of ICPD+25, addressing adolescent sexual and reproductive health issues, including unwanted pregnancy, unsafe abortion and sexually transmitted diseases, through the promotion of responsible and healthy reproductive and sexual behavior and reducing adolescent pregnancies are also core areas of UNFPA’s work. UNFPA, in collaboration with partner organizations and civil society organizations CSOs, facilitates access to sexual and reproductive health for adolescents and young people through innovative approaches. Aung Pike Tun, Programme Coordinator of Marie Stope Myanmar said, “Previously, we provided sexual and reproductive health awareness (in-person) sessions for young people at our youth corner. Due to COVID-19 pandemic and security concern, we adapted the situation and transformed these in-person awareness sessions into comprehensive online learning space. With the support of local youth networks and initiatives, we are able to connect virtually with many young people from different states and regions and provide SRHR awareness and information that they need. It is a huge step-up. For some young people, they feel comfortable and safe via this virtual platform and raise their issues openly for our support. We are so happy to see their interest and active participation going forward.” With the support from Global Affairs Canada, UNFPA Myanmar has launched Baykin 2 mobile application, partnering with 360ed team. Integrating with Augmented Reality (AR), Baykin 2 app is designed to introduce adolescent and young people in Myanmar to key topics on sexual and reproductive health & right, gender equality, gender-based violence and other youth related contents. This application integrates learning and gaming to increase the engagement of young users and provide better visuals for learning about their bodies and rights. It additionally seeks to equip adolescents and young people with knowledge and tools to be aware of and thus less vulnerable to gender-based violence. Dr. Peter Kivunike Mukasa, SRHR Programme Specialist of UNFPA Myanmar said, “UNFPA as a Sexual and Reproductive Health Lead Agency, is working with its implementing partner organizations not only to deliver life-saving SRHR and gender-based violence services for women and girls in Myanmar, but also to promote essential SRHR information and GBV awareness for adolescents and young people. To ensure their rights even during this challenging context, we have adapted to the situation quickly and acted innovatively to support them.” Mya Kalyar Kyaw, 23, a local youth from Kayin said, “Sexual and reproductive health information does save the lives and future of young people. This is not a luxury that we want. This is our fundamental right to access SRHR information without any exception”.

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05 September 2022

Clean delivery kit ensures safe delivery of emergency affected pregnant women in Myanmar

It also takes community support and access to information and supplies to safely birth that child including during times of crisis. According to the 2022 Myanmar Humanitarian Response plan, there are an estimated 14.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Among them, UNFPA Myanmar estimates that among them, there are about 3.7 million women in reproductive age (15-49). Of those women and girls, 250,000 are expected to be pregnant or giving birth in 2022. Due to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar, pregnant women are facing increased barriers to access sexual and reproductive health services, including skilled child delivery assistance, across Myanmar. Even before the current emergency, the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in Myanmar was the highest in Southeast Asia and infection or sepsis is one of the leading causes of maternal death both in Myanmar and globally. As a response to the security, access, financial and other challenges for emergency-affected women in Myanmar to deliver at health facilities, UNFPA has significantly ramped up the distribution of individual clean delivery kits in 2022. The clean delivery kit, or CDK, can help to mitigate the risks of infection by providing supplies to create a safe and clean setting for delivery. UNFPA provides guidance for the distribution of CDK to ensure that distribution is accompanied by information related to the importance of seeking health services, including antenatal care, and encourages families and communities to consider birth planning so that they are prepared when it’s time for birth. It should be noted that while a CDK can help to prevent infection, women should always be encouraged and supported to deliver at health facilities and in fact, women are encouraged to take their CDKs to the facilities at the time of delivery. "This (CDK) will be very helpful and supportive for my delivery. I am displaced from my home and don’t know where I will be able to give birth, " 31 year old pregnant IDP from Kayah State displaced in Hsihseng Township, Southern Shan said. UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, is coordinating closely with partners and with UNICEF to ensure wide distribution of CDK to pregnant women from communities affected by the prevailing humanitarian situation in Myanmar. The provision of CDK is made possible by donors to the Women and Girls First Programme along with bilateral support from Australia, Canada, Japan and the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). With support from UNFPA, CSOs and local humanitarian actors are working as first responders to ease suffering of affected population and particularly to ensure continuity of sexual and reproductive health services for the most vulnerable women and girls in humanitarian affected areas. "I have no idea where I will be at the time of delivery due to this very unstable current situation and issues to access services. I feel happy and safe when I think about my delivery. I will keep this CDK safely until my due date," 27-year-old pregnant woman displaced from Kayah State said.

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01 September 2022

Rural Karen community enjoys new access to water in dry season

Travel fourteen miles out of Hlaing Bwe town and a further four miles along a narrow dirt road that connects village to village, and you arrive at the tiny settlement of Upper Me Pa Ra. Set alongside a lively, bubbling stream and surrounded by paddy fields and mountains, its 219 dwellings house a population of 1200, most of whom belong to the Karen ethnic group. The community’s primary source of income is rice production. Upper Me Pa Ra village is administered by the Karen National Union (KNU). The village tries to maintain a peaceful way of life, despite frequent clashes between the KNU and the Myanmar military over the years. The community meets each eruption of armed conflict with resilience. In addition to armed conflict, the community faces a second challenge – the dry season from April to June leaves them dramatically short of clean drinking water. In the past, the villagers relied on shallow tube and hand-dug wells that inevitably dry up at the height of summer. The only alternative is water from the stream. But as U Ba Aye, leader of the community water committee, explains, it is polluted by run-off from the paddy fields that includes animal waste and insecticides used by farmers. As a solution, villagers in Upper Me Pa Ra created a gravity-flow water supply system and water storage tanks for households to collect water. However, these interventions weren’t enough to deliver sufficient water for the entire community. In early 2022, teams from UNICEF and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA Myanmar) assessed the water, sanitation and hygiene needs in the area. And upper Me Pa Ra village was selected for an upgrade of its water supply system. “Now the families in our village can get water any time,” said U Ba Aye. “Both pregnant women and children no longer need to fetch water. If they need water, they just open the tap. The pipeline provided by UNICEF and ADRA Myanmar can give a lot of water, so we have sufficient water throughout the year.” Local families are delighted with the new and upgraded water supply system. “We used to get water from the stream on our way home from work. But that is a thing of the past. We now have running water from a pipeline that is connected to our house,” said 67-year-old Dar Mu Bu. UNICEF and local partners have established reliable water systems for eight villages in Hlaing Bwe, providing clean drinking water to approximately 6,100 people, including 2500 children. Naw Pe Naw enjoys the fact that she can now bathe her son close to their home without having to walk long distances to fetch water. “In the past, it took so much time to carry water from the community wells. Now, we no longer need to fetch water as the running water reaches our house. This gives me more time to take care of my child and family.”

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Press Release

04 October 2022

Civil society organization in Myanmar wins the regional Nansen Refugee Award

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is pleased to share that Meikswe Myanmar has been selected by an independent selection committee as this year’s regional winner of the Nansen Refugee Award in the Asia region. Meikswe Myanmar is a civil society organization operating in several states and regions in Myanmar. It serves a diverse range of vulnerable groups from people living with HIV to internally displaced people and their host communities. Meikswe Myanmar has been named a regional winner of the Nansen Refugee Award in recognition of their longstanding commitment to aiding and empowering communities uprooted by conflict. It also acknowledges their contributions in supporting and building the capacity of local organizations to effectively respond to the needs of displaced populations and host communities. Founded in 2004, Meikswe Myanmar – meaning Friends of Myanmar - implements a range of activities to support internally displaced people, their host communities and other vulnerable groups in close to 300 locations across six states and regions, namely Kayin, Rakhine and Shan States as well as Magway, Mandalay and Yangon Regions. “Our value is the focus on fragile and forgotten communities that are often in hard-to-access areas, as well as minority groups,” said Naw Bway Khu, Meikswe Myanmar’s founder. The award highlights the crucial role of local organizations in responding to growing humanitarian needs in Myanmar. “First responders are often local communities and grassroots organizations. Rapid humanitarian action would not be possible without them”, said Hai Kyung Jun, UNHCR’s Representative in Myanmar. “Humanitarian assistance undertaken by the international aid agencies like UNHCR complements what resourceful local organizations like Meikswe Myanmar are already doing on the ground to help those in need.” Meikswe Myanmar’s programming is centered on long-term, bottom-up philosophies of empowerment and resilience, grounded in community needs. Emphasis is placed on supporting women and girls in particular. “Communities are a fundamental building block of society. If they have strength, knowledge, and systems that enable them to progress, our country can also develop,” said Naw Bway Khu. Keeping to its grassroots spirit, Meikswe also maintains close partnerships with a growing network of over 80 local organizations across Myanmar, acting a bridge between them and international organizations as well as donors that can provide resources. Additionally, trainings are provided by Meikswe, so that local organizations are capacitated to mount effective emergencies responses in times of crisis. Established in 1954, the award is named for the late Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian diplomat, scientist, polar explorer and humanitarian who went on to serve as the first High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations and won the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize. 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of his award. The Nansen Refugee Award is an annual award that honours individuals, groups and organizations who go above and beyond the call of duty to protect and assist forcibly displaced and stateless people. It is sponsored by the governments of Norway and Switzerland. This year, the global winner is Angela Merkel. There are also four regional winners, including Meikswe Myanmar in Asia, as well as winners in the Africa, the Americas and the Middle East.

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Press Release

03 October 2022

Oral update on the human rights situation in Myanmar to the Human Rights Council

Distinguished President,
Excellencies, I welcome the opportunity to provide you with this oral update on the human rights situation in Myanmar, further to Human Rights Council resolution 49/23. Since the last update to this Council in June, the people of Myanmar have been caught in a rapid downward spiral, with growing suffering, fear, and insecurity. Urgent action is needed to reverse this catastrophic situation and to restore peace, democracy, and sustainable development. The Myanmar military’s offensives throughout the country are designed not only to target its opponents but also to punish any communities it deems to be supporting them. Military tactics increasingly involve indiscriminateattacks andweaponry. The growing use of air power and artillery during the monsoon season is significantly impacting civilians and residential areas. In Magway and Sagaing regions as well as Kachin, Shan, Kayah, and Kayin states, residential buildings – as many as 30,000 - schools and other civilian infrastructure have been burnt to the ground during military ground operations. In an emblematic incident documented by OHCHR, on 11 August military forces attacked an armed group presence in Yin Paung Taing village in Sagaing region with jets and helicopters, and then raided the village. Over 100 villagers were arrested, alleged to have been used as human shields and porters by the military. After three days of intense fighting, villagers, including women and children, were found dead, and 20 of those arrested are still missing. In another airstrike in Let Yet Kone village in Sagaing on 16 September the military targeted a school and a nearby monastery killing at least six children and injuring many others, including teachers. Eyewitnesses reported that 11 wounded people, including nine children and two teachers, were taken away and remain missing. Since February 2021, at least 2.316 people (including at least 188 children) have been killed. Widespread fear and insecurity among the civilian population has forced over 1 million individuals (of whom, 45,500 into neighboring countries) to leave their homes and now live in precarious conditions without access to food, medical assistance, and other basic services. The humanitarian crisis now brings fears of starvation, with the military largely denying humanitarian access, including recent orders to halt humanitarian operations in northern and central Rakhine State. Over 15,607 people have been arrested with some 12,464 remaining in detention. The death toll of people in custody is steadily rising. At least 273 persons have died in formal detention settings, such as prisons, detention and interrogation centers, and police stations as well as at least 266 reported deaths following raids and arrests in villages, at least 40 of whom were reportedly killed with headshots. Family members reported seeing signs of physical abuse, ill-treatment, or suspected torture, despite being informed that the death was a result of natural causes. There are 111 reported cases of people being burned, either alive or after being executed, in what appears to be a tactic of summary executions and attempts to destroy evidence of crimes. Myanmar’s military-controlled judicial system has also been weaponized to execute opponents. The military executed four individuals, including a former member of Parliament and a democracy activist, following a secretive military court trial, in violation of fair trial standards and rule of law principles. These executions, which are the first in about thirty years, represent an important indicator of the regression of human rights in Myanmar and the military’s complete disregard for international law. OHCHR has also documented that the military has arrested and charged at least 10 lawyers who were defending people charged with spurious, politically motivated offences. Since February 2021, civic space has been decimated. The military’s announced plans to create a register and impose a new tax on mobile phones will increase the risk of surveillance, further imperilling human rights defenders, journalists and members of the pro-democracy movement. It will also increase the cost of accessing the internet for ordinary people and further restrict freedom of expression and access to information. Just days ago, the military also announced that expressions of solidarity on social media to the National Unity Government and Peoples’ Defense Force, including by posting a “like” or an emoji, risked up to 10 years’ imprisonment. Excellencies, The relative stability experienced in Rakhine State since the start of the coup has proved very short lived. My office has received reports of killings, injuries, arbitrary detention and mass displacement of civilians resulting from clashes between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army in several townships of Rakhine and Chin State and along the border, with reported cases of shelling into Bangladesh. Minority communities especially Rohingya and Kaman Muslims are particularly vulnerable, with the military imposing new restrictions on delivery of humanitarian aid and essential goods in large areas of Rakhine. Last month marked the fifth anniversary of the military’s 2017 campaign of violence against the Rohingya, involving the killing of thousands and pushing over 740,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh. During the former High Commissioner’s visit to the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar last month, Rohingya refugees shared their hopes of being able to return home when the conditions permit. However, conditions for safe, dignified and sustainable returns are not yet evident. The international community should support Bangladesh in providing protection, education and livelihood opportunities for the refugees, while continuing to pursue international accountability efforts. Despite widespread international condemnation, Myanmar is yet to address the root causes of Rohingya persecution. Rohingya are deprived of citizenship rights and civil documentation, limiting their freedom of movement, and access to health and education services. They face daily extortion by camp authorities, village administrators, police, and military. Most Rohingya in Rakhine live in desperate poverty, driving them, at high risk, to flee Myanmar, often paying large sums of money to human traffickers. United Nations figures indicate that informal attempts to leave and arrests for travelling without authorization doubled in 2022 compared to the previous year. Rohingya are often deprived of adequate legal representation and coerced into accepting guilt in order to avoid longer sentences. Mr. President, The cycle of violations must end. Unfortunately, diplomatic efforts have so far yielded limited results. I hope the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Myanmar’s recent visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh can build momentum. ASEAN must also reinvigorate its efforts to bring humanitarian support and promote a resolution to the crisis, in consultation with the people’s representatives, and with support from regional powers. I reiterate calls to the military to cease violence, including by imposing a moratorium on executions, to free all political prisoners, to ensure access to humanitarian aid and return Myanmar to democracy based on respect for human rights and the rule of law. I also urge this Council to consider strengthening OHCHR’s existing documentation mandate in order to enhance monitoring of the situation and support accountability efforts, including the work of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. Thank you.

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Press Release

03 October 2022

UN report calls for urgent action to halt access to revenue and arms supplies by Myanmar military

The report was requested by the Human Rights Council to follow up on earlier recommendations made by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (‘FFM’) on economic interests of the Myanmar military (the Tatmadaw). Today’s report reiterates the FFM’s recommendations to impose targeted financial sanctions on the Tatmadaw and its economic interests as well as arms embargos, while at the same time highlighting that such measures must respect human rights and that efforts must be made to mitigate foreseeable socio-economic impacts. Several States continue to supply weaponry and engage in military cooperation, it states. Since seizing control of State organs, the so-called State Administration Council has “failed to govern in meaningful and sustainable ways, instead continuing to repress and terrorize the Myanmar people,” the report says. While some progress has been made on the FFM’s recommendations to economically isolate the Tatmadaw, there remain significant gaps, which are ever more important following the coup. Targeted measures should particularly focus on the military’s foreign currency access, said the report. It urges the international community to step up efforts to support the people of Myanmar and to ensure the military’s financial isolation in a coordinated fashion. Appropriate sanctions should be implemented in consultation with civil society and the democratic movement, including trade unions and the National Unity Government, to calibrate their impact. Myanmar’s military authorities are clearly prioritizing its military campaigns over the welfare of the population and economic recovery, the report said. In comparison with the previous annual Government budget, the military authorities’ 2022/23 budget increased defence spending, while reducing allocations to education, health, and social welfare. Poverty in Myanmar has increased at least two-fold and the public health system has effectively broken down since the coup, and more than half of all school-age children have not had access to education for two academic years, the report said. It also reported that some States and companies continue business relationships with military-owned enterprises in a number of sectors. All businesses active in Myanmar or sourcing from the country should take steps to ensure they do not economically benefit the military, including by conducting ongoing and transparent heightened human rights due diligence, the report says.

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