Report: Human Rights Abuses Have Expanded in Myanmar

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Facts

  • On Mon., the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) presented its latest report to the UN Human Rights Council, denouncing an alleged increase in international crimes in the Southeast Asian Nation after the military seized power in Feb. 2021.
  • Incidents that took place after the takeover have become the "major focus" of the investigation, as Myanmar's military reportedly resorted to using force to suppress mass protests. Estimates from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners indicate that more than 2K people have been killed and over 15K arrested over the past few months.
  • According to Nicholas Koumjian, head of the IIMM, there are roughly 3M items of evidence indicating a "widespread and systematic attack against a civilian population," adding that both "the nature of the criminality" and its "geographic scope" have expanded.
  • Koumjian told the council that the evidence points to sexual and gender-based violence against both men and women, and crimes against children. He also indicated that the execution of four pro-democracy activists in July could be considered a crime against humanity due to an alleged lack of transparency.
  • The IIMM has gathered information from more than 200 sources — including Facebook, which alone voluntarily handed over 1M items — to prepare 67 "evidential and analytical packages" to be shared with judicial authorities.
  • The IIMM was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 to build case files for court proceedings as Myanmar faces charges of crimes against humanity and genocide over the 2017 crackdown against the Rohingya population in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and in the International Court of Justice, respectively.

Sources: Newsbud, Al Jazeera, and Reuters.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Myanmar Now. This crisis shows that the UN is either incapable or unwilling to protect basic rights as it has failed to halt violence for almost two years now. Indeed, Beijing and Moscow have blocked some efforts but the UN itself — which is quick to observe atrocities but slow to actually take action — is to blame. While the IIMM may promote future accountability, it won't bring immediate relief to the people currently suffering.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Swiss Info. The purpose of the IIMM is to serve as a UN evidence-gathering body to ensure that the most serious international crimes in Myanmar reach the ICC, and that's exactly what it's doing. Although it may not be a perfect mechanism, it has gone a long way in collecting huge amounts of evidence that will hold those responsible for the atrocities being committed in Myanmar accountable — despite limited resources due to the war in Ukraine.