On 8 September 2025, HRN gave an oral statement at the 60th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva protesting the military’s planned upcoming sham election, as well as its ongoing rights violations, attacks on civilians, and Myanmar’s humanitarian emergency.
A transcript of the statement is below the video.
Transcript:
Multiple violations by Myanmar’s military make it impossible to expect that its planned national election will be free or fair, including its elimination of all independent media, its dissolution of more than 40 opposition parties, its suspension of civil and political protections allowing for warrantless arrests and arbitrary surveillance, the ongoing conflict which excludes large areas of the country from the election, and a new electoral law imposing severe punishments for speech and protests against the electoral process.
These follow the military’s pattern of flagrant civil and political rights violations, including more than 22,000 political prisoners since the coup. A sham election will only legitimize the military’s abusive rule.
The military is also continuing to target civilian areas with indiscriminate attacks, exacerbating Myanmar’s humanitarian emergency. Over 22 million people require urgent humanitarian assistance, and more than 3.5 million have been displaced, but the UN Humanitarian Response Plan has only been 12% funded, and the military continues to blockade and obstruct aid delivery.
We call on the military to restore Myanmar’s democratically elected government, immediately end the conflict, end all measures violating civil and political rights, and free all persons arbitrarily arrested. We call on states to greatly increase aid to Myanmar, impose appropriate sanctions and weapons and jet fuel embargos against the military, and require companies to conduct heightened due diligence and end any business supporting the military until its violations end.