Statement at the 60th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council
Statement by Mr. Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, at the 60th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council
8 September 2025
Mister President,
Excellencies,
It is an honour to present to this Council the seventh Annual Report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.
At the risk of repeating what I have said each year since the 2021 military coup, serious international crimes are being committed in Myanmar ever more frequently and the suffering of Myanmar’s people continues to worsen. The Mechanism has gathered evidence of the military arresting thousands of perceived political opponents without fundamental due process, and systematically torturing detainees by inflicting beatings, gang rape and other forms of sexual violence.
The military is increasingly relying on aerial attacks to target opposition forces and civilian populations which oppose military rule. We have intensified our investigations into air strikes that hit homes, hospitals, places of worship, IDP camps and schools with no apparent military target in the vicinity. We are gathering evidence of the chain of command of the Myanmar Air Force to help establish who gave the orders for these crimes.
In Rakhine State, we are investigating recent reports of aerial bombings of civilians by planes and drones, torture and rape, killings, the use of civilians as human shields and obstruction of humanitarian aid to a population threatened with starvation. Rohingya remaining inside Rakhine are often the victims – about 150,000 Rohingya have been newly displaced to Bangladesh – but all ethnic communities in Rakhine State are suffering. We are investigating allegations of very serious crimes committed by both the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army.
We have evidence of instances where both the Myanmar military and various opposition forces around the country have summarily executed captured combatants or civilians accused of being informers. This includes in some instances solid evidence of the identity of the perpetrators.
Allow me to make it clear so that everyone – but particularly commanders from all factions in Myanmar – hear my message: The laws of war protect civilians and captured fighters. Civilians must not be targeted and captured fighters must not be tortured or executed. Whenever we receive reports of such crimes, regardless of the politics or ethnicity of the perpetrators or victims, we will gather the evidence so that one day the perpetrators, and commanders who failed in their duty to prevent and punish such crimes, will be held to account.
Mr. President,
The Mechanism has collected and analysed evidence from more than 1,300 sources, including more than 600 eyewitnesses. We are grateful for the information that individuals and civil society organizations provide to us, often at a great risk. We use this evidence to facilitate criminal prosecutions in national or international courts. We have shared vast amounts of evidence and analysis for proceedings at the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and with the Federal Prosecutor in Argentina concerning crimes against the Rohingya. We are also responding to specific requests for information from authorities in the United Kingdom and other jurisdictions, often concerning post-coup violence.
ASEAN, in its Five Point Consensus, and this Council have called for an end to the violence in Myanmar, but each year the violence grows worse. If crimes remain ignored and unpunished, perpetrators will be emboldened to commit further atrocities. To break this cycle of impunity we must have sustained political will. The Mechanism stands ready to support relevant national and international jurisdictions that are willing and able to prosecute these crimes and bring an end to the suffering of the Myanmar people.
Thank you.
