80th Session of the Third Committee of the General Assembly
Statement by Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar
28 October 2025
Mister Chair,
Excellencies, distinguished representatives,
It is an honour to update you on the progress of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.
Since I last appeared before you, the frequency and severity of international crimes in Myanmar have escalated. The Mechanism’s effort to collect evidence documenting those crimes has progressed – we have engaged with over 1,300 sources, who have provided us with evidence, including over 600 testimonies from witness.
We have amassed evidence that persons detained by the military authorities have been tortured and subjected to various forms of sexual violence and we have evidence of the identity of the perpetrators and their commanders. We have also documented several summary executions of captured combatants or civilians by both military and opposition groups.
The military is increasingly relying on airstrikes. We are prioritizing our investigations into strikes on schools, hospitals, homes, and places of worship.
Last month we published a summary of our analysis into the deliberate destruction and dispossession of Rohingya property in the 2017 Clearance Operations. The report looked at how Rohingya homes, businesses and places of worship have been destroyed, often replaced by construction of border guard bases.
The violence in Rakhine State has intensified. The Arakan Army has taken most territory in the state and the military has responded with brutal air strikes and shelling. Civilians of all ethnicities are suffering. Rohingya have been recruited by both the military and Arakan Army and Rohingya armed groups are now active in the conflict. The Mechanism is gathering evidence of several alleged atrocities including drone attacks targeting civilians, executions, rape, torture, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid to a population facing starvation. We seek to document the truth of what has occurred, through direct contact with individuals who witnessed events and the analysis and verification of photographic and open-source material. We welcome contact with anyone willing to share first-hand information. It is important to note that while the Mechanism has reached out to both the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army for information, neither has cooperated to date.
The Mechanism’s evidence has been used by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and by the Investigative Judge for the Argentine Federal District Court. We are also sharing information for use in the case at the International Court of Justice where The Gambia alleges that Myanmar has failed to meet its responsibilities under the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.
We are also working with States that are investigating potential violations of their national laws by individuals or businesses providing weapons or equipment used to commit crimes in Myanmar.
Mr. Chair,
The Mechanism was established and resourced before the military seized power in 2021, and the sheer number of crimes to be investigated has far surpassed what was foreseen at the outset.
Unfortunately, given today’s difficult regular budget environment and decrease in pledges of voluntary funding from donors, we risk losing over one-third of our personnel by early next year. This includes experts in sexual and gender-based crimes and crimes against children, and open-source specialists who forensically validate publicly available information that has proven to be valuable evidence.
Accountability and international justice are at an important crossroads. Pursuing justice for the crimes committed in Myanmar sends an important message to all perpetrators, not just those in Myanmar, that the international community will not stand by when civilians are targeted and international law ignored.
We stand ready to work with the Member States represented in this room to hold those responsible for serious international crimes in Myanmar to account.
Thank you.
