According to a new United Nations report published Friday, Myanmar’s overall humanitarian and human rights situation has deteriorated to alarming levels, exacerbated by the military’s strategy to prevent life-saving humanitarian aid from reaching those who desperately need it, including in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Mocha in May. The report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says intentional obstruction or denial of humanitarian assistance may amount to gross violations of international human rights law, and international humanitarian law.
Since 1 February 2021, the UN Human Rights Office (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR) has documented how the military continues to prioritize its aims over all other considerations, including the urgent need of conflict-affected communities to receive life-saving assistance. OHCHR said even when humanitarian workers have been permitted access, their ability to deliver aid has been strictly limited and controlled.
"The military has operated as if those providing aid are helping those opposed to their rule, rather than respecting their need for protection and facilitating their access and assistance to the civilian population in a time of crisis", Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Friday.
According to the report, the already dire situation on the ground has been compounded by the military’s restrictions on aid imposed in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha in May, bringing further suffering and misery to wide swathes of the population in the west and northwest of the country.
The report makes clear, intentional obstruction or denial of humanitarian assistance may amount to gross violations of international human rights law, and serious violations of international humanitarian law.
Aiming in part at cutting off support for its opponents, the military has employed its "four-cuts strategy" to kill and injure thousands of civilians while destroying goods and infrastructure necessary for survival, including food, shelter, and medical centers, the UN report stressed.
“Notably, our report says the security situation has dramatically worsened for humanitarian workers since the coup. Aid providers are consistently exposed to risks of arrest, harassment or other mistreatment, or even death”, Shamdasani said.
“Under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, populations-in-need are entitled to receive assistance to ensure the respect of their rights to food, shelter, and health. All parties must allow and facilitate unimpeded passage of life-saving relief to all those in need.”
In the context of armed conflicts, intentional obstruction or denial of humanitarian assistance may further constitute war crimes such as willful killing, torture and other degrading treatment, starvation, and collective punishment.
Such intentional denial can also constitute crimes against humanity such as murder, extermination, torture and other inhumane acts, or persecution, when committed in the context of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population.
The UN human rights chief will present the report to the Human Rights Council next week.
Myanmar’s human rights and humanitarian crisis is massive. The country faces multiple overlapping humanitarian needs caused by genocide, persecution, protracted armed conflicts, intercommunal violence and natural disasters. Humanitarian needs in Myanmar have continued to grow due to ongoing armed violence and political unrest since the military coup in February 2021.
Between February 2021 and April 2023, credible sources verified that at least 3,452 people have died at the hands of the military and its affiliates, and 21,807 individuals have been arrested. Approximately 60,000 civilian structures, including homes, clinics, schools and places of worship, have been reportedly burned or destroyed over the past two years.
Myanmar is also one of the most vulnerable countries in South East Asia to natural disasters, facing numerous hazards such as floods, cyclones, and earthquakes. On May 14, 2023, Tropical Cyclone Mocha - one of the most powerful storms in decades - hit western and northern Myanmar and southeastern Bangladesh. The cyclone has caused widespread damage, affecting over 2.4 million people in both countries.
Fighting across Myanmar continues to endanger the lives, safety, and health of civilians. Heavy armed clashes, including airstrikes, artillery fire and ambushes are reported predominantly in the northwest and southeast of the country, as well as in Rakhine and southern Chin state.
As of June 2023, there were an estimated 1.8 million internally displaced people (IDP) across Myanmar, including some 1.5 million people who have been displaced within the country since the military takeover on February 1, 2021. 330,000 people are internally displaced due to conflict prior to February 2021, mainly in Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, and Shan state.
The United Nations estimated that before Tropical Cyclone Mocha hit 17.6 million people, or one-third of the overall population, in Myanmar were in need of humanitarian assistance. According to the World Food Program (WFP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 15.2 million people in the country were food insecure.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR) is the leading UN entity on human rights. The mission of the UN Human Rights Office is to work for the protection of all human rights for all people, to help empower people to realize their rights, and to assist those responsible for upholding such rights in ensuring that they are implemented.
The office was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 and is headed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who co-ordinates human rights activities throughout the United Nations System and acts as the secretariat of the UN Human Rights Council. OHCHR is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Further information
Full text: Situation of human rights in Myanmar since 1 February 2021, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Advance unedited version, published June 30, 2023
https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session53/advance-versions/A-HRC-53-52-AdvanceUneditedVersion.docx