According to a report from U.N. special reporter on human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, some minors were beaten and stabbed while others had their fingernails or teeth removed during interrogation, and The Junta even made some endure mock executions. Andrews’ report was released for the 49th regular session of the U.N. Human Rights Council. The report concluded that Myanmar’s military and security forces have shown “a flagrant disregard for human life,” explaining that many have been shot in the head, burned to death, arbitrarily arrested, tortured, or even used as shields.
The new report released on Tuesday underscores the aggressions being made by an out-of-control Coup. The report amplified not only the gross rights violations but spoke of mass murders and appalling suffering, on top of detaining and displacing people they would eventually murder.
The report covers recurring issues in the nation since last year’s military takeover. It’s based on interviews with more than 155 victims, witnesses, and advocates, whose accounts were proven true using satellite imagery, verified multimedia files, and credible open-source information. The U.N. spoke about the report June 15, “Besides the killings and mass detentions, at least 440,000 have gotten displaced with 14 million in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, the delivery of which has largely been blocked by military forces.”
The gross misconduct by the Myanmar military introduces the potential of war crimes charges and crimes against humanity. The U.N. rights office said on Tuesday that since the military coup last year, security forces in Myanmar killed a minimum of 1,600 people and detained more than 12,500. Andrews said in a statement that “The junta’s relentless attacks on children underscore the generals’ depravity and willingness to inflict immense suffering on innocent victims in its attempt to subjugate the people.”
Andrews’ report includes alleged crimes of sexual violence, including rape; detainees being suspended from the ceiling without food or water; being forced to stand for extended periods while in solitary confinement; electrocution, sometimes alongside the injection of unidentified drugs; and forcing Muslim prisoners to ingest pork.
The Junta has frequently rebuked the United Nations and Western countries for interfering in its affairs and denied charges that it is committing crimes. A military spokesperson could not be reached following the report’s release on Tuesday.
Despite the seemingly never-ending violence, the U.N. human rights chief remained a figure of optimism, attesting that “The will of the people has clearly not been broken. Throughout the tumult and violence of the past year, they remain committed to seeing a return to democracy and to institutions that reflect their will and aspirations.”
Andrews said the world should take coordinated action to isolate the Junta financially and commit to a “dramatic increase” in humanitarian assistance, urging the U.N. to respond to Myanmar’s atrocities with the same urgency they did for Ukraine.
