Statement at the 57th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council

Statement to the Human Rights Council by Mr. Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, at the 57th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council

9 September 2024

Mister President,

Excellencies,

It is an honour to present to this Council the sixth Annual Report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.

Over the past year, the Mechanism has seen evidence of increasingly frequent and brutal war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed by many different parties to the ongoing conflicts. In many instances, civilians are not just collateral damage but rather the target of attacks, which appear intended to create terror.

Aerial attacks by the Myanmar military intensified across the country. Planes bombed a wedding party and monasteries in Sagaing region; a displaced persons’ camp in Kachin State; and schools in Kayah, Kayin and Chin States. Just last week, airstrikes near a night market in Northern Shan State reportedly killed about a dozen people, including a pregnant woman and two children.

The Mechanism has collected many reports and testimonies regarding crimes against the thousands now in detention, including torture and sexual assault. Victims and witnesses have recounted beatings, electric shocks, strangulations and torture by pulling out fingernails with pliers. There is evidence that minors and other victims of all genders have been subjected to gang rape, burns on sexual body parts and other violent sexual and gender-based crimes.

The intensity of warfare across Myanmar has escalated, including in Rakhine State where fighting between the military and the Arakan Army has impacted thousands of civilians. The Mechanism is actively investigating horrific reports of killings, torture, rape and the burning of villages. All ethnicities in Rakhine State have suffered, but the Rohingya population that remains there is in a particularly precarious situation, caught between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army. They have been directly targeted and thousands forcibly displaced from their homes.

I was particularly shocked by one video that circulated last month showing the aftermath of a drone attack on Rohingya that were attempting to flee Myanmar. Dozens of bodies, mainly women and children, were scattered beside luggage on a riverbank. The victims were clearly civilians. I cannot imagine anyone believing there was a military purpose to this attack. We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and make every effort to see those responsible for this attack, regardless of their ethnicity or politics, are held to account.

Mr. President,

What is happening today in Rakhine State and across the country is the result of decades of impunity. When crimes go unpunished, this only fuels more criminal behaviour.

To fight against this impunity, we have accelerated the sharing of our evidence and analysis with the authorities conducting proceedings concerning crimes against the Rohingya at the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice and in Argentina. To date we have shared over 80 packages containing more than one million evidence items.

While we have made significant progress, we face a number of challenges. We do not have access to crime scenes or witnesses inside Myanmar. Securely receiving information from inside the country is difficult. Many individuals who cooperate with us do so at great personal risk.

To compensate, we have looked to innovate and use the most modern technologies. We have a specialised team to authenticate and verify the large volumes of digital information we have collected, including photographs, videos, audio material, geospatial imagery and social media posts. This evidence is then cross-checked against the information received from more than 900 sources, including over 400 accounts collected from victims and other witnesses. We have automated some of our processes to make the collection, analysis and sharing of information more efficient and secure.

I am very grateful to the many courageous and committed persons and civil society organisations who risk their lives and liberty to share information with us. Our work would not be possible without them. We put their safety paramount and are using the most advanced technology to ensure that their interactions with us have the highest level of confidentiality and security.

Mr President,

The members of this Council and concerned States have for years called for an end to the violence and horrific crimes in Myanmar. But seven years after the clearance operations that led to our creation, and three and a half years after the military coup, the violence has only increased. The people of Myanmar are suffering, and nearby States are also strained under the burden of people fleeing across their borders. Clearly, words are not enough. All States, but especially those in the region, must support our efforts to collect evidence of the very worst violence being committed in Myanmar and help us to end this downward cycle of impunity.

Thank you.