Senior United Nations officials on Monday expressed alarm at the continued escalation of conflict in Myanmar, amid reports of the direct targeting of civilians in aerial bombardments and the abduction and forced recruitment of children by the Myanmar Armed Forces (MAF) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs). Meanwhile, 18.6 million women, children and men in Myanmar are in need of humanitarian assistance - the fifth-largest number in the world.
In a written statement, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Mô Bleeker, urged the international community to make a concerted effort to reassess the crisis in Myanmar "in light of the significant developments that are unfolding, and launch a robust, coordinated effort".
According to the statement, consistent reports indicate that serious crimes under international human rights and humanitarian law are being committed, in particular the direct targeting of civilians by aerial and artillery bombardments, numerous violations of children's rights, including forced recruitment, maiming and abduction by the MAF.
In many different parts of Myanmar, EAOs and People's Defense Forces (PDFs) have been on the offensive against the junta since October 2023. According to the UN, this escalation is the largest and most geographically widespread since the military took power in 2021.
The ongoing intensification of conflict in the Southeast Asian nation - including the worst levels of violence since 2021 - is severely affecting people in almost every corner of the country. Armed conflict has spread to many parts of the national territory, particularly in Rakhine State, the northwest, Kachin, and the southeast.
The country is experiencing a critical period in its more than three-year post-coup conflict, with non-state armed groups (NSAGs) gaining significant territory and launching unprecedented attacks against the Myanmar military.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that the humanitarian crisis “has entered a dangerous new chapter, with entrenched conflict posing grave risks to civilians, stirring a worrying resurgence of intercommunal tension and driving record levels of displacement”.
As of July, more than 3.2 million people are internally displaced, with young people, boys and girls, reportedly leaving Myanmar to avoid conflict and forced military conscription. Many of the newly displaced are living without adequate shelter and enduring severe weather during the monsoon season.
“Since October 2023, civilians across the country are paying the brunt of renewed violence between the ethnic armed groups and the Myanmar military,” the Special Advisers said.
"Regardless of religion, ethnicity, origin, gender, political affiliation, the Myanmar military is primarily responsible to address and counter hate speech and prevent incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence against minorities, as well as to prevent and protect the entire civil population from and against the crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity."
Despite interim measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January 2020, Rohingya in Myanmar, including women and children, continue to suffer targeted killings and indiscriminate violence, including from airstrikes, shelling, burning, landmines, and unexploded ordnance.
Civilians are bearing the brunt of the ongoing fighting between the MAF and NSAGs, with deadly aerial bombardments and heavy shelling, including in residential areas. The humanitarian situation in Rakhine State is particularly alarming as fighting intensifies and intercommunal tensions simmer.
Nderitu and Bleeker echoed concerns raised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in a statement to the Human Rights Council in mid-June, which described the most serious allegations of targeted violence against Rohingya people in Rakhine by both the Arakan Army (AA) and the MAF, including beheadings, burning of villages as people slept, drone attacks, killing of unarmed people fleeing, evacuation orders with nowhere to go.
The AA is an ethnic armed group fighting in an alliance against the Myanmar military.
The UN officials said the situation has seriously deteriorated and there are disturbing reports that displaced civilians, many of them Rohingya, are being used as human shields. In this context, hate speech is also being used again since 2017 to fuel ethnic tensions between the Rohingya and the Arakanese community, with the aim of exacerbating inter-ethnic polarization. In addition, there are reports of forced recruitment of the Rohingya into the Armed Forces and the Arakan Army.
In August 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya fled to Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh to escape violence and persecution in Myanmar. They joined hundreds of thousands of other Rohingya who had previously sought refuge in the country.
More than one million Rohingya are now in Bangladesh, having fled previous waves of atrocities. More than 600,000 Rohingya currently live in Rakhine State. Although they have lived in Myanmar for generations, the government considers them illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denies them citizenship.
The Special Advisers emphasized that recent reports of escalating violence in Shan State and neighboring Mandalay Region, ending a six-month ceasefire under the Haigen Agreement, have led to a deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation, including in the north of the country.
They urged measures to prevent further hate speech and incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, as well as violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and to protect all vulnerable groups throughout the country, including from forced internal displacement and forced recruitment.
“In particular, the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in 2020 in relation to the members of the Rohingya group on the territory of Myanmar must be upheld,” they said.
In January 2020, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an order directing Myanmar to "take all measures within its power" to prevent the commission of acts defined in the Genocide Convention, including ensuring that its military and all irregular armed units refrain from committing such acts.
Recalling that all parties to the armed conflict must fully respect international law and humanitarian law, Nderitu and Bleeker urged them to return to dialogue, de-escalate violence and fully protect civilians.
The Special Advisers also urged the prompt implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2669 (2022) on the situation in Myanmar, which calls for an immediate end to all forms of violence throughout the country and for restraint and de-escalation of tensions.
A 2023 report by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) found that the humanitarian and human rights situation is being exacerbated by the military's strategy to prevent life-saving humanitarian aid from reaching those who desperately need it.
"The restrictions on humanitarian aid threatening civilians in conflict areas may be considered as violation of international humanitarian law," their statement said.
They encouraged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to renew urgent and appropriate efforts towards a political solution and full protection of civilians, taking into account the continuing serious deterioration of the situation.
Finally, the Special Advisers urge the international community to make a concerted effort to reassess the crisis in Myanmar in light of the significant developments that have taken place and to launch a robust, coordinated response.
Myanmar faces multiple, overlapping humanitarian needs caused by genocide, persecution, protracted armed conflict, intercommunal violence and natural disasters. Humanitarian needs in Myanmar have continued to increase due to ongoing armed violence and political unrest since the military coup in February 2021.
Hunger is on the rise across the country. In 2024, some 12.9 million people - nearly 25 percent of the population - are projected to be food insecure, with an increased risk of malnutrition, particularly among children and pregnant women.
The health system is in disarray and basic medicines are running out. An estimated 12 million people in Myanmar will need emergency health assistance this year alone.
People are fleeing their homes in record numbers amid widespread conflict across much of the country. Of the more than 3.2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), at least 2.9 million have fled as a result of conflict and insecurity since the military takeover. An estimated one-third of the current displaced population are children.
Access restrictions imposed by the government and funding constraints are severely hampering the ability of aid agencies to respond to humanitarian needs in Myanmar.
The 2024 Myanmar Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) targets 5.3 million of the most vulnerable people this year and requires US$994 million. However, the 2024 HNRP is only 20 percent funded as of July 2024.
Further information
Full text: Statement by Ms. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and Ms. Mô Bleeker, Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, on the escalation of violence in Myanmar, United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, press release, published July 29, 2024
https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/Special_Advisers_Genocide_Prevention_R2P_Myanmar_290724.pdf