HRN has given an oral statement at the Human Rights Council in Geneva this week protesting the continuing abuses of Myanmar’s junta and military two years after the coup. You can see a video of the oral statement below and a transcript of the statement below that. HRN also submitted a written statement to the same Council session which goes into more detail.
Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
For more than two years, the people of Myanmar have faced political oppression by the junta and targeted violence by its military. More than 10,000 civilians have been arbitrarily arrested, many of which face death sentences. More than 40 journalists, including Maung Maung Myo, Toe Aung, and Htun Than Aung, and more than 450 members of the political opposition, including leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former President Win Myint, have been imprisoned for long sentences in the junta’s relentless crackdown on civil society.
In recent months, the military has escalated indiscriminate attacks killing and harming civilians, including indiscriminate airstrikes and artillery fire on villages, such as the monastery attack last week in Shan state killing at least 22 people, as well as the deliberate razing of thousands of homes. The Special Advisory Council’s January report reveals that violence has been enabled by companies from at least 13 UN member states, which continue to provide the military with arms and supplies.
Human Rights Now implores the international community to support rigorous and binding sanctions, including an arms embargo, against the junta, as well as humanitarian assistance, and we call on transnational businesses to end all dealings in Myanmar that may support the junta or armed forces. Only a united and stringent approach can help restore respect for human rights within Myanmar.
Thank you.