On June 27, HRN made an oral statement for the 59th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Myanmar. A video of the statement is below, and a transcript of the statement is below that.
Oral Statement on Myanmar
Transcript:
Over the past year, airstrikes against civilian targets by Myanmar’s military have increased fivefold, including attacks on civilian infrastructure, schools, clinics, villages, and internally displaced person (IDP) camps, killing thousands and driving new waves of displacement.
Over 3 million people have been displaced and 4 million are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance due to the conflict. At the same time, there are significant shortfalls in humanitarian funding from states and aid organizations, including the complete dismantling of USAID. The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that it will be forced to cut off 1 million people from life-saving food aid due to funding shortfalls.
Compounding the misery, the devastating March 2025 earthquake in central Myanmar caused nearly 3,800 civilian deaths and 200,000 more people to lose their homes, further deepening the humanitarian crisis.
Despite the overwhelming needs of its population, Myanmar’s military has blocked humanitarian aid reaching affected areas, confiscated supplies, and opened fire on aid convoys while imposing tight controls on local responders, not only failing to provide sufficient assistance but making the humanitarian situation much worse.
We urge states to help stop the illegal actions of Myanmar’s military by supporting binding embargoes on weapons and jet fuel, to ensure companies doing business in Myanmar conduct heightened due diligence and divest from all military-linked business, and to restore and increase all forms of humanitarian aid to Myanmar.