50^th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council

Item 4: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

Delivered by Ahmed Adam

On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

 29 June 2022

Mr. President,

We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s update.

The Myanmar military’s 17 month long nationwide terror campaign against the relentless democratic resistance to its failed coup has left in its wake a trail of massacres, destruction and immense human suffering.

In the past 17 months, the junta has led over 10,000 armed clashes including attacks on civilians with indiscriminate shelling, airstrikes, mass killings, and burning down of villages, killing at least 2000 people and displacing over 700,000 civilians.

In Sagain region, the junta burned down over 5600 houses in the first four months of this year alone. Just this week, junta’s rocket and arson attack on Thantlang in Chin State destroyed a church and the entire complex of a high school. On 27 June, two hours of continuous air strikes on three villages in Karen State forced at least 350 people to flee to Thai-Myanmar border.

Junta is effectively holding over 14 million people in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance hostage in exchange for international recognition and legitimacy.

We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s recent conference room paper on the impact of the junta’s ongoing atrocities on children. Harrowing details of the situation of children recounted in the paper alone clearly demonstrate the failure of the international response to the human rights and humanitarian catastrophe in Myanmar.

We reiterate the Special Rapporteur’s call for a more coordinated international response, including stronger and more unified targeted economic and financial sanctions, universal arms embargoes and urgent action by the UN Security Council.

Can the Special Rapporteur elaborate on further action the international community can take to advance criminal accountability for grave international crimes including genocide against Rohingya and war crimes and crimes against humanity against ethnic communities; and necessary steps by the international community, especially UN agencies, to ensure that they are not legitimising the junta through their response to the crisis.

Thank you