Bi-weekly Update on the Current Situation in Myanmar
(15-03-2024 to 31-03-2024)
38 months ago, on 1 February, 2021, the Myanmar military attempted an illegal coup, toppled the civilian government, and unlawfully detained State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and other senior members of the civilian government, parliamentarians and activists. Since then, the Myanmar military has ignored the will of the people of Myanmar, placed the country in turmoil, and made people suffer as a result of its inhumane and disproportionate acts.
As of 31 March 2024, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the military has ruthlessly killed 4,810 people and arbitratily arrested 26,468 people. 20,296 people remain in detention and 166 people have been sentenced to death, including 119 post-coup death row prisoners and 43 in absentia since 1 February 2021, when the military unleashed systematic and targeted attacks and violence against innocent civilians. Four democracy activists who were sentenced to death were executed by the military junta in July 2022.
Crimes committed Across Myanmar by the Junta Troops and its affiliate militias
Crimes perpetrated by the junta troops and its affiliate militias across Myanmar include extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances targeting civilians, including children. These atrocities have led to widespread displacement, destruction of civilian properties, and a climate of fear and insecurity among the civilian population. The junta's brutal widespread and systematic tactics are aimed at suppressing dissent and maintaining its grip on power, regardless of the human cost and violations of international law.
Chaotic situation triggered by the junta’s forced conscription
The consequences of the junta’s forced conscription have been extraordinarily alarming in merely 2 months. The already deteriorating humanitarian crisis has been exacerbated by another heavy volume of refugees and mass displacement added by people, mainly youths, who begun to hide and flee the country to escape from the illegal military junta’s force conscription. Such a force conscription has been harmful to people across the country, including Rohingya men in Rakhine State, by the same level, or higher.
The lawless conscription have been driving many young people and families out of the country. While these groups of people are seeking refuge in the neighbouring countries, mainly Thailand, many among the groups are also stranded in the border areas without legally protected statuses. Despite such challenges, they are willing to take risks with the belief that escaping from the military’s forced conscription is the only mean to protect their lives.
Following the forced conscription announcement, the number of passport applicants have surged. Passport offices have become overtly crowded as people are finding ways to escape from the forced conscription. Irrawaddy News report the death of two women; one aged 52 and the other 39, in a pre-dawn stampede at the Myanmar passport office in Mandalay as several thousand people attempted to squeeze into lines to apply for passports. In Mandalay, nearly 5,000 people queue daily for passports, but only 200 applications are accepted, causing chaos and a deadly stampede. Passport application limits have since been imposed: 2,500 per day in Yangon and 200 per day in Mandalay, prompting people to queue from midnight to secure forms.
On the economic aspect, the conscription is critically affecting the domestic economy as waves of people leaving Myanmar are impacting businesses and factories in terms of losing large volume of workforces. On the social aspect, not only human rights are gravely violated but, people are losing their lives in many forms.
In Taikkyi Township, Yangon, Maung Ko Ko Latt (27) also called Amar Nut Lar, died at the 1,000-bed military hospital in Mingaladon Township days after being conscripted into the Myanmar military. He is a Muslim man who began his service on 28 March, according to one of his friends. The military took him and other new recruits to a battalion’s training base in Mingaladon Township, Yangon, after taking them for blood tests on the morning of 28 March, and “They brought him and other new recruits to a parade. There was music, dancing, and entertainment for the new recruits,” said Ko Ko Latt’s friend.
Two draftees commit suicide by drinking poison in Ayeyarwady Region
As reported by the Narinjara News in a series of heartbreaking events, 2 young men selected through military draft lotteries in Kangyidaunt and Pyapon Townships, Ayeyarwady Region, have committed suicide by drinking poison.
On 16 March 2024 in Yaydwinchaung Village, Myatlaychaung Village-tract, Kangyidaunt Township, a 20-year-old man, upon winning the draft lottery, tragically opted to end his life rather than serve in the junta’s army. On the same day, in Pyapon Township, another youth aged 18, ended his life by drinking poison after being selected in the draft lottery. A man from Asugyi village also took his own life upon the selection. It is now reported that men aged 24-35 were subjected to draft lotteries in Kyonetaingkalay village tract, Pantanaw Township.
In Ayeyarwady Region townships, the mental health and well-being of young individuals subjected to such pressures have heightened among local communities due to the mandatory military draft lotteries enforced in the region since the third week of March.
Deaths of grandparents on the realization of their grandsons selected for conscription
According to the Ayeyarwaddy Times, the grandmother of Myo Min Zaw, who resides in Yangon's Tan Tay Township, tragically passed away from cardiac arrest on 15th March, one day after learning her grandson’s selection to the military draft lottery.
According to CJ Platform news, a 55-year-old woman from Anaw Mar Ward, Daw Pone Township, Yangon, jumped off a bridge on 19 March after learning that her grandson had been selected for military service. Her body was discovered on the plinth under the Daw Pone bridge at approximately 8:00 a.m. on March 20th. Junta’s military personnels, together with ward heads, have been visiting wards after the announcement of lawless conscription.
Rohingya Forcibly Recruited into Myanmar Military
Recent video footage by VOA exposed Rohingya men from Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps being trained as soldiers in Rakhine state. The footage also showed young armed refugees undergoing military training which appeared to be forcible recruited by the junta. Experts and witnesses say these young men are likely to be used as human shields by the junta in their struggle to regain territory lost in recent battles with the Arakan Army in Rakhine.
Soon after the junta announced force conscription on 10 February 2024, rumours began circulating that Muslims in Rakhine have been arrested and forced to join the military through lures and deceptions. Despite the junta's denials, a video released on March 6 showed about 300 Rohingya youths from IDP camps near Sittwe, Rakhine’s junta-controlled capital, being forced to wear military uniforms and sitting in a large warehouse. The video also featured the Minister of Security and Border Affairs of Rakhine state, Colonel Kyaw Thura, supervising the operation.
Following the announcement, village administrators have been recruiting Rohingya living in Rakhine state’s capital of Sittwe for junta-led military training. Administrators have forced between 20 and 30 people per village and many more from internally placed persons camps to join the training. In further west of Rakhine State, the Rohingya victims of the 2017 genocide have faced harsher recruitment methods with the junta threatening to kill them if they refuse to serve.
Myanmar junta returns bodies of Rohingya conscripts to families
The bodies of 7 conscripts forced to join Myanmar’s junta army were returned to their families, residents told Radio Free Asia. While the military training is administered to the Rohingya recruits at the junta army’s Regional Command Headquarters based in Sittwe, the recruits were members of the Rohingya community. According to a resident, these dead bodies were returned by the police claiming their death as caused by stepping on landmines when running away during the training. Amongst the 7 deceased, 5 were from Thea Chaung Let Tha Mar Kone village, one from Thet Kay Pyin village and another from Thea Chaung village. “The bodies have no limbs, but I don’t know whether they have bullet wounds or not,” he said.
Since the announcement of force conscription, many of such similar incidents have been reported to RFA. However, the latter has not been able to verify the claims. Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson Hla Thein did not respond to any enquiries, but several media outlet have been reporting the nationwide troops attempt to press-gang large numbers into the dwindling military.
Village heads quit in anger over military recruitment in Rakhine State
More than 20 administrators of villages in Rakhine State have resigned after the junta ordered them to choose residents for military service and to form militias amid preparations for nationwide conscription. Following the junta’s directive to select two residents from each large village and one each small one for military service, with a focus on those who had failed the country’s matriculation exam, 21 administrators in Thandwe Township, Rakhine State, resigned from their posts. According to RFA, the junta had ordered administrators to forcibly recruit 20 residents from large villages and five from small ones to form a local militia.
Serious violations of International Law by the Junta Military
Indiscriminate Airstrike and artillery shelling on Civilian Properties
In the third week of March 2024, a junta naval vessel in the Jain River opened fire with heavy weaponry at Dhamma Tha Village, Kyaikmaraw Township, Mon State, without any clashes occurring, destroying and burning down homes. Consequently, locals had to flee for safety. The Southeast Command Headquarters of the junta blocked access to food and aid that was directed to the people affected by the fire, and internally displaced persons, in the surrounding area.
Moreover, in some townships in southern Rakhine State, despite no clashes occurring, locals had to flee for safety due to aerial attacks and the firing of heavy weaponry by junta forces.
Myanmar Air Force attacks civilian targets in four states
According to Myanmar Now, Junta warplanes killed at least a dozen civilians and damaged hospitals and schools over the past two weeks in a series of airstrikes in Chin, Rakhine, Mon and southern Shan States, according to local sources and human rights advocates.
At least two civilians were killed and three sustained injuries when the junta’s air force deployed 500-pound bombs in an attack on a hospital in La Ei village, located in southern Shan State’s Pekhon Township in March, the Karenni Human Rights Group said. According to the rights advocacy group, as there had been no recent fighting or resistance presence in the vicinity of the village, the airstrike appeared to be a deliberate, unprovoked attack on civilian targets.
Junta Bombardment in Rakhine: Deadly Toll on Rohingya Lives
Junta airstrikes and artillery bombardments in Rakhine State have resulted in the deadly toll of Rohingya people’s lives. An investigation by RFA counted at least 79 Rohingyas as killed and 127 injured due to the junta’s bombardment in Rakhine State as of early March. During the incident 27 died and 43 injured in Minbya township, 24 and 45 in Buthidaung, 17 and 17 in Kyauktaw, 4 and 17 in Mrauk-U, and 7 and 5 in Sittwe. At least two mass casualty incidents occurred over the same period. On March 18, an airstrike on Minbya’s Thar Dar Village killed 22 Rohingya and injured 29, according to residents.
Junta forces launched airstrikes on Kan Htaung Gyi Town destroying a school
According to a local resident reporting to the Narinjara News, the junta forces have conducted the second round of airstrikes using a jet fighter on 31 March on Kan Htaung Gyi Town in Myebon Township and in the latest attack the soldiers even targeted and destroyed a school. The bombs landed in Rakhine Kone ward, and caught fire on the basic education post primary school and turned at least four houses in the ward into ashes. As stated by the residents, the junta forces conducted airstrikes around Kan Htaung Gyi Town four times between 22 and 31 March.
5 Kyaukphyu residents including women and students arrested
According to the Narinjara news, the junta forces have arrested 5 residents including 4 women and a student from Kyaukphyu Township of Rakhine State on 30 March 2024. They were arrested from a nearby area to Ka Nyin Taw school by 11:30 pm on 30 March while trying to leave the town.
A resident from Kyaukphyu also explained the struggles of local communities that they have to pay 60,000 to 100,000 Kyats per person to the junta soldiers to get the travel permissions.
Murders and Extrajudicial Killings of Civilians
Extrajudicial Killings of Political Prisoners
According to the AAPP, on 15 March 2024, the military junta’s security affairs personnel and police carried out searches in Dawei Prison, Tanintharyi Region. Subsequently, under the pretext of finding mobile phones during the search, some political prisoners were placed in solitary confinement, as a form of punishment. On March 16, Win Thiha was taken outside the prison, purportedly to question him about the incident. However, he was shot, allegedly for attempting to flee. When his family members came for a prison visit on 20 March 2024, they were denied access to him. Then, prison authorities informed his family about his death on 23 March. It is reported that his body was not returned to the family.
Human Rights Abuses
Myanmar's Universities Held Hostage by Military Forces
According to the University World News, the presence of junta’s forces on university campuses since the illegal military coup in 2021 has caused chaos in the past few months, with staff and students being effectively trapped on-site during outbreaks of armed conflict, raising incidents of civilians being served as human shields.
On 26 February at Kalay University in Sagaing Region, 150 teachers and students were rescued by the People’s Defence Force (PDF) after the PDF launched an attack against junta troops stationed at the university.
Sagaing Region, which has seen heavy fighting for many months, has been ravaged by junta atrocities since the 2021 coup, including the burning of houses, the burning of villagers alive, and deadly air attacks on schools, according to a wide range of documentation and reports. A representative of the NUG Ministry of Defence told University World News that junta troops have been strategically positioned at various locations within the Kalay University campus since 2021. The locations include the university's entrance archway, the gymnasium, the hill near the Bandola dormitory, the Department of Myanmar Language, and other places.
Armed with heavy weapons, the junta reinforcement troops supported junta soldiers on the ground in shooting at settlements in the Chin Hills and areas around Kalay town. “During our early attack against the junta’s troops stationed at the campus on 26 February we found that civilian teachers and students had become trapped between the junta’s troops and us, the resistance fighters. We moved the students and teachers to safe places. “We rescued more than 150 people. We learned later that over 500 students and teachers were on campus,” the representative told University World News. No one was injured during the rescue.
The rescued students and teachers were later transferred to Township Administrative Teams which are set up in areas held by PDF forces. The teams are made up of locals who contribute to the township’s safety by distributing accurate information about the junta, raising funds for the township’s security, and resolving conflicts that include two or more people. Due to frequent military operations and the large number of internally displaced people living in the area, those rescued were sent home in batches.
Commission of Crimes Against Humanity and Human Rights Abuses by the Junta’s Forces in Rakhine State
According to monitoring by the Documentation and Research Department of AAPP, during the intensifying clashes between junta forces and the Arakan Army in Rakhine State, the junta cut off the flow of commodities and medicine, creating blockades on the roads preventing people from accessing medical treatment. Consequently, people faced difficulties, and shortages of medicine in hospitals increased, leading to loss of life. Moreover, the junta has been inciting ethnic and religious conflict in Rakhine State. The junta has also instructed travel agencies not to sell tickets to individuals carrying ID cards with “11/” in ID number, which signifies people from Rakhine State, and that they must deny them travel.
The junta has also restricted the ability of civilians who do not hold ID cards from Rakhine State, and who are eligible for military conscription, from freely traveling. They issued instructions to only sell tickets to them if they have approval letters from their respective townships. Additionally, members of the administration teams under the command of the junta in Yangon Region, Mandalay Region, Ayeyarwady Region, and Nay Pyi Taw have been collecting fees from civilians, allegedly to support those chosen to attend military training. Some individuals selected for conscription have consequently, attempted suicide.
Actions of Resistance Forces against the Junta
During the fourth week of March 2024, several significant military developments unfolded across Myanmar. The Myanmar-China border trade city of “Lwegel” was seized, while Hpapun city in Karen State was captured.
Military operations were also conducted in various cities in the plains, alongside an expansion of the Arakan Army’s activities to the Rakhine-Magway border areas. Kachin Independence Army (KIA) surrounded Lwegel, Myanmar-China border trade town, asking members and associates of the terrorist Military Council to vacate within a day’s notice. Following the capture of the Yaw Yon military camp, a critical point along the Lwegel-Bhamo road, Lwegel town fell under KIA control. The battle to seize the Yaw Yon camp resulted in the capture of two 122 mm cannons and a substantial cache of ammunition. Additionally, joint forces, including the KIA, launched an attack on the military junta’s Infantry Battalion (46) stationed in the town of Sumprabum between Myitkyina, Capital of Kachin State, and Puta-O.
Meanwhile, on 28 March, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the People’s Defense Army (PDA), and the Bamar People’s Liberation Army (BPLA) united to assault and capture Hpapun city in southern Kayin State.
In tandem with the city-occupation battles of the hilly/mountainous regions, urban assaults occurred in the plains towns of Tamu and Pale. Four members of Pyusawhti (the junta’s affiliate militias) were killed and two junta soldiers were wounded in an attack on a military junta and Pyusawhti militia combined column stationed in the Nantphalon neighborhood of Tamu Town. Additionally, three columns of the People’s Defense Army and local defense forces targeted military objectives in Pale city, seizing a gun and office supplies from the Immigration Office.
On the Rakhine front, the Arakan Army (AA) captured the Buthidaung Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) (552), while approximately 100 terrorist military council’s soldiers surrendered from Tamantar Police Station in Maungtaw Town. Moreover, the AA announced the surrender of thousands of military personnel and their families in Rakhine and Paletwa areas. Following the takeover of battalion headquarters and strongholds in Rakhine State, the Arakan Army expanded its operations into Magway Region, bordering Rakhine State.
In Ngape Township, Magway Region, bordering Ann Township in Rakhine State where the Western Regional Military Headquarters is situated, the Arakan Army intercepted a convoy, resulting in four junta soldiers killed and eight wounded out of a 40-strong column.
Furthermore, the 19th Battalion of Yinmarbin District reported the arrest of Captain Hein Ye Htet, a terrorist military council’s platoon commander, who was out drinking in civilian clothes at Kant Daunt Police Station in Pale Township, Sagaing Region. This incident highlights the strengthening territorial control and surveillance efforts by People’s Defense Army battalions.
Ethnic Karen-led forces seize Hpapun Town from military
Allied forces fighting under the Karen National Union (KNU) took control of the town of Hpapun in Karen State this week, according to members of the People’s Defence Force (PDF), a resistance group which took part in the operation. The Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), with the support of the PDF, began a siege on Hpapun on 19 March, and reportedly captured it one week later, on 26 March.
“The town is under full control of the KNLA, the PDF, and its allies,” said Tin Oo, a spokesperson for the No. 2 southern sub-command of the PDF.
Despite no longer having a ground presence in Hpapun, the military junta is “conducting airstrikes on civilian targets every day,” Tin Oo added. The KNU has not released a statement on the seizure of Hpapun, which is located in its Brigade 5 administrative area, known as Mutraw District.
On 28 March the Karen Information Center, a local media outlet, reported the seizure of Hpapun by the KNLA after a Brigade 5 spokesperson said that junta troops had retreated from their positions in the town. According to previous Myanmar government demarcation, which differs from the KNU’s structure of its territory, Hpapun is the administrative centre of the township by the same name. Overtaking Hpapun town has not driven the military out of Mutraw District, where at least four junta infantry battalions remain active.
Ethnic Karen media have reported that fighting has been ongoing around Mutraw and thousands of residents have been displaced due to junta shelling and aerial assaults on the area. Intense fighting also broke out near the border between Karen and Mon states when KNLA and its allies attacked and seized a police station in Kawt Bein Village in Kawkareik Township, Karen State, on 30 March.
More than 200 houses in the Dhamma Tha village in Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, burned down due to junta artillery fire on 27 March, according to the Lion Battalion, an armed group fighting under the KNLA. Two children in Dhamma Tha, as well as two women in Kawt Pauk Village in Kawkareik Township—which is less than a mile from the state boundary—were killed by junta artillery strikes on 31 March.
Another junta airstrike in Bago Region’s Taungoo District, where the KNU is active, displaced thousands of residents from five villages on 26 March, according to local news outlets.
NUG Military Operation Claims 47 Enemy Officers in Sagaing Region
The National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defence revealed on 16 March 2024 that 47 enemy officers were killed and 20 wounded during a military operation in Kani, Yinmarbin District, Sagaing Region.
From 2 March 2024 to 12 March, joint teams from No. (1) Military Region, Yinmarbin District Command, and the People’s Defense Force (PDF) executed an 11-day city control operation, successfully attacking and destroying the junta’s military station. During the battle, 11 weapons, including 81 mm artillery, and significant ammunition were seized.
In response to the offensive, the military junta deployed helicopter and jets 54 times and dropped over 100 bombs from Y-12 aircraft. Despite the enemy’s retaliation, the revolutionary forces pressed on, resulting in the death of 47 terrorist soldiers, over 20 injuries, and the sacrifice of 11 PDF joint team members. With the terrorist military council resorting to air and ground force to devastate the city, the Ministry of Defence announced the temporary withdrawal of revolutionary forces until the military objective is achieved.
The operation involved joint efforts from various People’s Defence Forces, including the Yinmarbin District Battalions (1, 2, 6, 9, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32), Kani-PDF, Alpha Column, Salingyi column, drone forces, and regional defense groups.
Defense Ministry Reports Successful Intercept and Attack on Enemy
Reinforcement Column in Karenni State
The National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defense announced that the People’s Revolutionary Forces, including Karenni Army (KA), Karenni Nationalities Defence Force (KNDF), Karenni National People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF), Central Military Division, and Karenni Military Division PDF battalions, intercepted and attacked an enemy column providing reinforcements from Htoo Chuang Camp, Bawlakhe Township, Karenni (Kayah) State, on 20 March 2024.
The attack occurred near the Parpu wooden pier in Parpu Village, Hpasawng Township, and lasted for 7 hours. According to the Ministry, the terrorist Military Council’s forces utilized aerial missiles and drones during the battle. As a result, 15 individuals, including the strategist of the enemy column, sustained injuries, while 16 others were killed. Additionally, one person was captured during the operation.
Activities of the National Unity Government
Prime Minister Announces Advancements in Township Governance
During a recent meeting of the Central Committee for Interim Implementation of Public Administration on 28 March, Prime Minister Mahn Winn Khaing Thann provided an update on the status of township public administration bodies, stating that out of the 174 established, 38 are currently under control and management.
“There are 174 township public administration bodies established and approved by the Central Committee for Interim Implementation of Public Administration, and 38 townships are under control and management. To ensure the effective implementation of policies, we must coordinate with relevant ministries and among them to address townships deviating from government policies and guidelines. It’s imperative that we manage these situations closely,” urged the Prime Minister.
Additionally, the Prime Minister urged for clear communication and instruction to all officials involved in the township and district affairs, emphasizing the importance of adhering to government policies as military affairs progress.
National Unity Government’s Ministry of Education Approves 303 Schools as ‘Interim Basic Education Schools
The Ministry of Education of the National Unity Government (NUG) announced on 27 March that 303 schools, which have pledged to comply with the Ministry’s 11 accreditation policies, have been verified and authorized to operate as “interim basic education schools.”
The NUG is actively collaborating with both traditional public education schools and online platforms to ensure that students who have been deprived of their right to education during this transitional period can continue their studies uninterrupted.
Myanmar Permanent Representative to the United Nations told that Myanmar’s Anti-Money Laundering Efforts Deteriorate Post-Military Takeover
Under the elected civilian government in 2016, Myanmar made significant progress in anti-money laundering regulations and anti-corruption. However, after the illegal military coup, transnational organized crimes, including the proliferation of online scam and drug trafficking, has become more widespread and worse.
U Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, called for urgent action during the 28th Special Meeting on Cooperation on International Tax Issues in New York City on 18 March 2024. He emphasized the critical need for the international community to prevent illicit money flows, particularly cross-border money laundering orchestrated by Myanmar’s military junta and its affiliates.
NUG Defence Minister and KIA Lieutenant General Inspect Captured Military Camp
Union Defence Minister U Yee Mon and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) Lieutenant General R Hkawng Lum, Chief of Staff, visited the recently captured Bumre Bum Camp in the Kachin region, as confirmed by the National Unity Government’s Ministry of Defense on 20th March 2024.
Bumre Bum Camp, a pivotal defense stronghold under the junta’s Frontline No. 21 Operation Command Headquarters Point 771, fell into the hands of KIA-led revolutionary forces on 15 March 2024.
Union Minister of Education and German Bundestag Human Rights Committee Chair Discuss Terrorist Military Council’s Atrocities
The National Unity Government’s Union Minister of Education, Dr. Zaw Wai Soe, and the Chair of the Human Rights Committee in the German Bundestag (Federal Parliament), Mrs. Renata Alt, convened in Germany to address the harrowing atrocities committed by the terrorist Military Council.
The meeting delved into the plight of the 20,274 political prisoners enduring appalling conditions under the military council’s rule. Additionally, they discussed the documented decades-long systematic use of rape and sexual violence against women, children, and men by the terrorist military council as a weapon, as well as the escalation of such violence in recent years.
Mrs. Alt, known for her staunch defense of human rights, emphasized the imperative of holding all responsible parties accountable for these heinous crimes, from individual perpetrators to their highest commanders. The discussion also centered on strategies to strengthen bilateral relations between the two nations, grounded in shared values and aspirations for a brighter future.
National Unity Government Launches Telegram Channel to Support Victims of Military Council’s Forced Conscription
On 30 March 2024, the National Unity Government (NUG) introduced a Telegram channel as a public service initiative aimed at easing the anxieties of individuals affected by the Military Council’s forced conscription. The primary objective is to offer assistance and support to those impacted to the fullest extent possible.
The channel is open to the entire public suffering from the adverse consequences of the terrorist military group’s compulsory soldier recruitment. Individuals can utilize the channel to seek information, request advice, solicit assistance, lodge complaints, and report incidents. A dedicated team managing the channel will liaise with relevant ministries and NUG offices to address inquiries, provide guidance, facilitate connections with assisting organizations, and document complaints for appropriate action.
International Community Actions and Response to the Military Coup
International Efforts Addressing the Situation in Myanmar
In his statement on Myanmar addressed on 19 March 2024, UN Secretary-General called for the protection of civilians including aid workers in accordance with international humanitarian law, for the cessation of hostilities, and humanitarian access and called on all parties to prevent further incitement of communal tensions. As he was deeply concerned by the reports of forcible detention and recruitment of youths, including Rohingya, and the potential impact of forced conscription on human rights and on the social fabric of communities in Myanmar, UNSG also called for sustained international and regional attention to the crisis in Myanmar, including through strengthening regional refugee protection efforts and responsibility sharing with countries hosting those fleeing persecution and violence.
The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar attended the Interactive Dialogue held at the HRC55 Session and stressed the importance to consider Myanmar’s crisis. He carefully stressed the junta’s ongoing conduct of atrocities and its dire impacts on the people of Myanmar, the region and the world. He has also called for critical steps towards adopting a humanitarian aid strategy, ending impunity for war crimes and crimes against humanity and investing now in preparations for Myanmar’s transition. In this regard, the National Unity Government of Myanmar welcomed the Interactive Dialogue as well as the corresponding report of Mr. Tom Andrews and fully supported his call on the international community.
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Date: 31 March 2024
Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations, New York
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