Picture credit: UN NEWS
The Human Rights Implementation Deficit in Myanmar
By Fazila Nawaz /GICJ
Since 2017, Myanmar has consistently faced severe violations of human rights law. The ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims from the Rakhine state in 2017 became a historical atrocity recognised by the United Nations as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing. The internal conflicts between different ethical groups have, over time, resulted in communal clashes between militias. Since independence, the power struggle between political parties and the military has weakened the State’s ability to find common ground for resolving ethnic tensions, leading to severe human rights crises fueled by interethnic violence and retaliatory clashes between the army and militia.
Since the army took control after overthrowing a democratic government, the frequent military airstrikes escalated, affecting the daily lives of common people. The attacks on schools, hospitals and civilian infrastructure have deprived people of their basic rights, including the right to education, to life, to a fair trial, etc. The arbitrary arrests of human rights activists, journalists and politicians have restricted freedom of expression. The number of internally displaced persons exceeded three million, while over 20,000 individuals remained imprisoned. More than 6,000 people were killed by the military during the year. The coup leader, General Min Aung Hlaing, who currently heads the State Administration Council, was issued an arrest warrant by the Office of the ICC Prosecutor for crimes against humanity, including deportation and persecution of the Rohingya population during the 2017 military operations. [1]
After the Military took over the governance, from 2021 to August 2025, credible sources have verified the killing of some 7,100 people by the military, of whom about a third were women and children. At least 29,560 people have been arrested on political grounds, and over 22,000 remain in detention without respect for fair trial and judicial guarantees in military-controlled courts. The illegal airstrikes and killings have several times targeted religious buildings, schools, hospitals and places where the displaced people were sheltered, including camps and monasteries. [2] In one incident on 12 May 2025, an airstrike hit a school, killing 24 civilians, including 16 girls, six boys, and two female teachers. According to sources, the military has consistently targeted public administration sites, such as schools, public spaces, and places of worship, with the intention of instilling fear among the population, the report states. There was already a documented pattern of more than 640 military attacks on schools since 2021. [3]
On 5 August, a drone and mortar assault on Rohingya civilians fleeing fighting in northern Rakhine State killed an estimated 200 men, women, and children, marking the deadliest attack against the Rohingya since 2017. These horrific violations are anticipated to worsen following the United States’ withdrawal of sanctions against entities providing military and material support to the Myanmar military. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump lifted U.S. sanctions on five individuals and companies, a move described by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, as a “major step backwards.” [4]
Tom Andrews has indicated this step alarmingly, mentioning that “the junta’s use of weapons of war to attack civilians has been devastating, and this is a fact that the Trump administration has recognised by calling out the military junta for these attacks and other grave human rights violations. What makes this action even more appalling is that sanctions against the junta are proving to be effective. The volume of military equipment that the junta was able to import declined by over 30 per cent from 2023 to 2024 in part because of sanctions imposed by the United States and other nations. [4]
The violations, including arbitrary arrests, torture in detention centres, forcibly recruiting child soldiers, sexual and gender-based violence, the burning of homes, attacks on humanitarian workers and facilities, restrictions on humanitarian access by the military regime and various armed groups, abuses by local armed groups, dismemberment and burning of civilians, are threatening the lives of common people. [5]The intensification of conflict in the Rakhine State, especially human rights violations of marginalised ethnic groups, including the Rohingya Muslims, is caught between the military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group. The communities are facing abuses at the hands of local armed groups and deadly attacks by the military. This situation is further worsened by the military's ongoing obstruction of humanitarian access. [6]
In April, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Myanmar that, for the first time, called on UN member states to refrain from the export, sale or transfer of jet fuel to the Myanmar military. [7] New shipments of aviation fuel arrived in Myanmar, despite global calls to deprive the country’s military of the resources it needed to carry out unlawful air strikes. In two instances, a Chinese-owned oil tanker transported fuel from Vietnam to Myanmar. A likely third shipment appeared to have come to Myanmar from the United Arab Emirates in May. It was unclear how the fuel was used after it arrived, but the military’s control of the port raised significant concerns that it could be used for non-civilian purposes. [8]
To enable Myanmar to take meaningful steps toward lasting peace, the support of the international community is essential. Powerful states must reinstate and enforce the ban on arms supplies to the military and its allies. With sustained global engagement and stronger alignment of Myanmar’s state institutions with international human rights frameworks, the country can address grave human rights violations and prevent the recurrence of historical injustices.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) condemns the military junta’s ongoing human rights violations, including attacks on civilians, arbitrary detentions, torture, sexual violence, and persecution of minorities such as the Rohingya. GICJ urges a comprehensive arms and jet fuel embargo, targeted sanctions on military-linked entities, and unrestricted humanitarian access. It calls for international support to local civil society, ethnic groups, and the inclusion of minorities in political processes. GICJ emphasises that perpetrators must face justice through international courts, urging decisive global action to help the people of Myanmar reclaim their rights and dignity.
References
- BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-12990563
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/asia-and-the-pacific/south-east-asia-and-the-pacific/myanmar/report-myanmar/
- UN Office of Human Rights Commission, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/myanmar-death-destruction-and-desperation-mirror-2017-atrocities-un-report
- UN Office of Human Rights Commission, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/un-expert-appalled-us-withdrawal-sanctions-against-companies-providing
- UN Office of Human Rights Commission, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/myanmar-death-destruction-and-desperation-mirror-2017-atrocities-un-report
- Aljazeera News, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/30/un-expert-condemns-us-rollback-of-sanctions-on-myanmar-regime-allies
- United Nations Human Rights Commission, https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/un-expert-appalled-us-withdrawal-sanctions-against-companies-providing
- UN News, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1165041
