5,350 civilians killed, 3.3 million displaced since Myanmar coup 2021: UN report

Geneva [Switzerland]September 17 (ANI): The United Nations has revealed the devastating consequences of the February 1, 2021 military coup in a report on the human rights crisis in Myanmar, saying that since then at least 5,350 civilians have lost their lives and over 3.3 million people have been displaced.

What is particularly noteworthy is that on February 1, 2021, the military junta seized power in a coup and overthrew the elected government of Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights described a series of serious violations in a report on the human rights situation in Myanmar released on Tuesday, which continue to underscore the deepening crisis and the lack of rule of law across the country.

Since the coup on February 1, 2021, at least 5,350 civilians have been killed, more than 3.3 million have been displaced and more than half the population lives below the poverty line, mainly due to military violence, the report said.

The report also documents the enormous scale of detentions carried out by the military. Almost 27,400 people have been arrested since the coup, and arrests have been increasing since the military introduced conscription in February 2024.

Credible sources confirmed that over 9,000 people were arrested by the military – a third of the 26,933 people, including 5,556 women and 547 children, taken into custody since February 2021. Almost half of the arrests during the reporting period were made in Yangon, Mandalay and Sagaing. Arrests have increased particularly since the military announced the introduction of conscription in February 2024.

Citing credible sources, the report also said that at least 1,853 people died in custody, including 88 children and 125 women. Many of these people were found to have died after being subjected to abusive interrogation or other ill-treatment while in custody, or after being denied access to adequate health care, the report said.

The report examines the devastating impact of violence, destruction and deprivation on people’s mental health, as well as the decline in economic and social rights that is fuelling further economic decline. At the same time, young people, who hold the key to Myanmar’s future, are fleeing abroad to avoid being forced to serve in or fight for the military, the report says.

In view of the above findings, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, renewed, among other things, his recommendation to the UN Security Council to refer the current situation in Myanmar in its entirety to the International Criminal Court.

He reiterated his call for an end to the violence and the immediate and unconditional release of all arbitrarily detained, the report said.

In addition, the High Commissioner called on the military to immediately cease all violence and attacks against civilians, ensure the full and timely implementation of the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice, respect human rights obligations and adhere to international humanitarian law where applicable, immediately release all political prisoners and stop politically motivated prosecutions through the instrumentalisation of the judiciary, the report said. (ANI)