Myanmar
Myanmar military killed at least 142 children in past 16 months: UN expert
The Myanmar military junta has brutally killed children and systematically abused their human rights, a UN expert said in a report released on Tuesday, noting that over the past 16 months, the military has killed at least 142 children in Myanmar.
The report called for immediate coordinated action to protect the rights of children and safeguard Myanmar’s future.
Over 250,000 children have been displaced by the military’s attacks and over 1,400 have been arbitrarily detained, said the report received from Geneva.
At least 61 children, including several under three years of age, are reportedly being held as hostages. The UN has documented the torture of 142 children since the coup.
“The international community’s approach to the coup and the junta’s atrocities has failed,” said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, adding that States must take immediate coordinated action to address an escalating political, economic and humanitarian crisis that is putting Myanmar’s children at risk of becoming a lost generation.
He said the junta’s relentless attacks on children underscore the generals’ depravity and willingness to inflict immense suffering on innocent victims in its attempt to subjugate the people of Myanmar.
The Special Rapporteur said it was clear from the evidence that the children of Myanmar were not only being caught in the crossfire of escalating attacks, but that they were often the targets of the violence.
“During my fact-finding for this report, I received information about children who were beaten, stabbed, burned with cigarettes, and subjected to mock executions, and who had their fingernails and teeth pulled out during lengthy interrogation sessions,” Andrews said.
The junta’s attacks on children constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes, he said, adding that Junta leader Min Aung Hlaing and other architects of the violence in Myanmar must be held accountable for their crimes against children.
READ: War crimes, crimes against humanity committed daily in Myanmar: UN expert
“For the sake of Myanmar’s children, Member States, regional organisations, the Security Council, and other UN entities must respond to the crisis in Myanmar with the same urgency they have responded to the crisis in Ukraine.”
Andrews urged Member States to work in coordination to alleviate the suffering of children by systematically increasing pressure on the junta.
He urged States that have already imposed sanctions on the military and military-linked companies to take stronger coordinated action that will inhibit the junta’s ability to finance atrocities.
“States must pursue stronger targeted economic sanctions and coordinated financial investigations. I urge Member States to commit to a dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance and unequivocal regional support for refugees,” he said.
“It is scandalous that the international community has committed only 10 percent of the funds required to implement the Myanmar Humanitarian Response Plan 2022, causing lifesaving programs for children to be shelved,” he said.
The Special Rapporteur’s report describes the impact of the 1 February 2021 coup on the human rights of children in Myanmar and details the alarming, underreported facts of the violence being perpetrated against them.
Soldiers, police officers and military-backed militias have murdered, abducted, detained and tortured children in a campaign of violence that has touched every corner of the country, the report said.
The junta has intentionally deprived children of their fundamental human rights to health, education and development, with an estimated 7.8 million children out of school.
Following the collapse of the public health system since the coup, the World Health Organization projects that 33,000 children will die preventable deaths in 2022 because they have not received routine immunizations.
Andrews said the lack of action by Security Council was a moral failure with profound repercussions for children in the country.
“World leaders, diplomats and donors should ask themselves why the world is failing to do all that can reasonably be done to bring an end to the suffering of the children of Myanmar,” the expert said.
Need to be tougher on drugs: Home Minister
Mentioning that 24 types of drugs are smuggled to Bangladesh from neighboring India and Myanmar, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said the authorities have to be tougher on drug smuggling.
The minister said this while addressing a drug eradication function at the BGB Cox's Bazar Regional Ground in Ramu as the chief guest on Friday morning.
All offenders will be brought to justice, no matter who they are, he said.
"In our country, 50 percent of drug addicts are youth. To save this generation of the country, we have no choice but to be tough against the drugs. So our goal is to implement zero tolerance against drugs," the minister added.
While addressing the programme, the minister said there are huge swathes of Bangladesh's area bordering India and Myanmar and many of them are in extremely remote areas where border guards can't easily travel. So BGB is using modern technology including helicopters and the government is constructing border-roads, which will be completed soon, he hopes.
The minister also officially razed to the ground drugs worth Tk 395.76 crore seized over the past one year in Cox’s Bazar.
The destroyed drugs include 90,80,477 pieces of Yaba, 23.752 kg crystal meth ice, 6,767 cans of beer, 1,339 bottles of alcohol, 154 bottles of Phensedyl; 206 liters of local alcohol; 17 kg cannabis; 48,019 different types of tablets; 10,984 packets of cigarettes and sever bottles of ammonium sulfur.
Besides, 1979 arrested drug peddlers and drugs worth Tk 510.90 crore were handed over to police.
A documentary on the BGB's drive against drugs was screened at the programme and BGB Cox's Bazar Regional Commander Brigadier General Nazam-us-Sakib, AFWC, PSC delivered the welcome note.
Government officials, reporters, BGB officials and members were present at the event.
Also read: BGB destroys seized drugs worth Tk 395 crore in Cox’s Bazar
Myanmar situation continues to remain unsafe for civilians: Bangladesh
Bangladesh is concerned that the situation in Myanmar continues to remain unsafe for civilians, especially for the ethnic and religious minorities such as Rohingyas, Ambassador Rabab Fatima has said.
While referring to the precarious security situation in Myanmar which is causing a delay in the repatriation of the Rohingyas, she also expressed concern about the denial of access to the UN and other humanitarian agencies in the country.
Ambassador Fatima was speaking at the UN Security Council (UNSC) Open Debate Wednesday.
She said the protection of civilians (POC) is an important national priority for Bangladesh, and the country remains committed to all efforts to strengthen it.
Convened by the US delegation as the current president of the Council, the debate focused on the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.
It discussed possible practical measures that the UNSC can take in the context of denial of humanitarian access, and attacks against humanitarian workers, among others.
The Bangladesh ambassador said the protection of civilians remains a serious challenge in the context of ongoing conflicts, protracted humanitarian crises and growing forced displacement.
While humanitarian needs are soaring, access remains a major challenge.
Ambassador Fatima mentioned Bangladesh's commitment to the protection of civilians, and the role its peacekeepers play in fulfilling this mandate.
"Nearly 7,000 peacekeepers from Bangladesh are serving in some of the most challenging missions, providing security at civilian sites, ensuring unhindered humanitarian services, supporting delivery of health and social services, community engagement and empowerment of women and youths," she added.
However, the peacekeepers and the humanitarian workers are increasingly becoming targets of attacks, often fueled by misinformation and disinformation.
The ambassador suggested that the relevant UN entities develop effective communications strategies to combat this.
She also emphasised ensuring that the peacekeeping missions are adequately resourced and equipped to fulfil their POC mandates.
Ambassador Fatima also called for increased awareness of compliance with international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflicts.
She also stressed the importance of holding the perpetrators accountable for violations of international humanitarian law. "Targeting civilians, schools, hospitals, and humanitarian actors cannot be condoned under any pretext. These attacks must be investigated and accounted for."
Also read: FM urges UNHCR to expedite efforts at Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar
Boat carrying Rohingya fleeing Myanmar capsizes, killing 16
At least 16 people from Myanmar’s Rohingya minority have died after a storm capsized the boat they were traveling on to seek refuge in another country, officials and a recovery team member said Tuesday.
There were 35 survivors of Saturday’s accident that took place Saturday off Myanmar’s southwestern coast and four people were missing, the officials said.
UNHCR, the U.N.’s refugee agency, expressed shock and sadness about the accident in a statement and said at least 17 Rohingya, including children, had died.
The boat left the western state of Rakhine last Thursday and encountered bad weather two days later off Ayeyarwaddy Region on Myanmar’s southwestern coast, causing it to capsize, the statement said.
The Rohingya, a Muslim minority, have long been persecuted in Myanmar. More than 700,000 Rohingya have fled the country to neighboring Bangladesh since August 2017 to escape the brutal counterinsurgency campaign of Myanmar’s military following an attack by a Rohingya insurgent group in Rakhine State.
Also Read: Dhaka wants UN actions to ensure early repatriation of Rohingyas
Myanmar’s government has denied accusations that security forces committed mass rapes and killings and burned thousands of homes, but the U.S. government recently labeled actions by the country’s military as genocide.
There are more than 100,000 Rohingya left in Myanmar, confined in squalid displacement camps, along with those living in crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Groups of Rohingya from camps in both countries embark on hazardous voyages to the Muslim-majority countries of Malaysia and Indonesia to seek a better living.
“Some 630 Rohingya have attempted sea journeys across the Bay of Bengal from January to May 2022,” the UNHCR statement said, with women and children making up 60% of those trying to flee.
The statement added: “The risk of abuse at the hands of smugglers and the peril of the sea journey itself are both exacerbated during prolonged journeys, when a safe harbor for disembarkation cannot be found.”
An Ayeyarwaddy Region resident said the 16 bodies, including those of two young boys, were recovered near Pathein township, about 300 kilometers (180 miles) west of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city. He spoke on condition of anonymity because Myanmar’s military government seeks to tightly control the flow of information.
A local official, who also requested anonymity for the same reason, said most of the 50 people on board the boat were men under 30 years old. He said the bodies were buried and that the 35 survivors were taken away by the security forces.
Maung Maung Than, a spokesperson for the Ayeyarwaddy Region government, confirmed that the accident happened but did not give further details.
“The latest tragedy shows once again the sense of desperation being felt by Rohingya in Myanmar and in the region,” Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCR’s director for Asia and the Pacific said in the agency’s statement. “It is shocking to see increasing numbers of children, women and men embarking on these dangerous journeys and eventually losing their lives.”
US to work closely with ASEAN for peaceful resolution to crisis in Myanmar: Sherman
US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has said her country would continue to work closely with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other partners in pressing for a just and peaceful resolution to the crisis in Myanmar.
Many Southeast Asian leaders are now in Washington for the US-ASEAN Special Summit.
Sherman Thursday held a meeting with representatives of Myanmar's National Unity Government (NUG), an administration set up by opponents of the February 1 military coup that plunged the country into chaos.
She met the NUG representatives, including Zin Mar Aung, in Washington.
Sherman underscored robust US support for the people of Myanmar in the face of the regime's brutal crackdown and pledged to continue providing support to all those working peacefully towards the restoration of Myanmar's path to inclusive democracy.
The deputy secretary thanked Zin Mar for her courage and dedication to the people of Myanmar and offered US support for an inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous democracy for all.
Also read: Dhaka seeks pro-active support from Manila, ASEAN for early repatriation of Rohingyas
Myanmar to resume issuing tourist visas after 2-year hiatus
Myanmar announced Thursday it will resume issuing visas for visitors in an effort to help its moribund tourism industry, devastated by the coronavirus pandemic and violent political unrest.
Starting on Sunday, tourist “e-Visas” will be provided online in a move also intended to harmonize tourism with neighboring countries, according to a government notice in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
Visitors need a certificate of vaccination, negative results from a COVID-19 RT-PCR test taken shortly before their flight and a travel insurance policy. They must also take an ATK rapid test after arrival.
Myanmar on April 1 had already resumed issuing business visas, and on April 17 dropped a ban on international commercial flights. It had stopped issuing visas and suspended flight arrivals in March 2020.
Tourism is an important source of revenue for most Southeast Asian nations but they banned almost all foreign visitors after the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020. In the past six months most have reopened and gradually dropped most or all testing requirements.
Also Read: Rights group urges UN Security Council to impose binding arms embargo on Myanmar
The pandemic and political instability have buffeted Myanmar’s economy, which was put under more pressure by economic sanctions imposed by Western nations targeting commercial holdings controlled by the army, which seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar hosted 4.36 million visitor arrivals in 2019, before the pandemic, but the number fell to 903,000 in 2020, the latest year for which official statistics are available.
Peaceful opposition to the military takeover has turned into armed resistance, and the country is now in a state of civil war, according to some U.N. experts. The army is conducting large-scale offensives in the countryside while anti-government forces carry out scattered urban guerrilla attacks in the cities.
The U.S. State Department advisory for Myanmar, which it calls by its old name Burma, is at its maximum alert Level 4. It advises against travel there “due to areas of civil unrest and armed conflict.” It also says “reconsider travel to Burma due to COVID-19-related restrictions.”
Rights group urges UN Security Council to impose binding arms embargo on Myanmar
The United Nations Security Council should urgently convene an open session on Myanmar and pass a binding resolution on the situation in the country, Fortify Rights said on Thursday.
A Security Council resolution on Myanmar should impose a global arms embargo on the military, refer the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court, and impose targeted sanctions, it said.
Also read:US may influence ASEAN to persuade Myanmar to stop atrocities, take Rohingyas back: Momen
Nine high-level representatives from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are scheduled to meet U.S. President Joe Biden on May 12 and 13 during a special summit in Washington D.C., where the regional bloc’s response to the crisis in Myanmar will be discussed.
“ASEAN and its consensus have failed,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Fortify Rights, a rights group which primarily works to ensure human rights.
“The Security Council has a responsibility to act. The flow of arms and money to the junta must be stopped, and the Security Council is the key international body with a mandate to make that happen," he said
In April 2021, ASEAN leaders reached a “Five-Point Consensus” with the Myanmar military, aimed at putting the nation back on a path to peace following the February 2021 military coup d’état led by Myanmar Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
The Myanmar junta has flouted the agreement while committing mass atrocity crimes.
The U.K. is the U.N. Security Council’s “penholder” on Myanmar and should table a Chapter VII resolution mandating an arms embargo and referral to the ICC, and President Biden should use the occasion of the Special Summit to obtain ASEAN’s support for such a move, Fortify Rights said.
Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter enables the Security Council to take coercive action with respect to threats to international peace and security; Chapter VII resolutions are binding on all U.N. member states. The Myanmar military is responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and has long posed a threat to international peace and security, said the rights body.
Since launching a coup d’état on February 1, 2021, the Myanmar army and police have reportedly killed more than 1,800 people and detained more than 13,640.
President Biden should also encourage ASEAN member states to engage the National Unity Government of Myanmar, as recommended by Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, said Fortify Rights.
Also read: Myanmar Crisis: US, ASEAN urged to increase pressure on Myanmar military junta
Thailand should be urged to stop returning refugees to Myanmar and to authorize cross-border humanitarian aid, it said.
The U.S. Government and ASEAN should also ensure that humanitarian aid to Myanmar is not directed through the military junta, said Fortify Rights.
“The Myanmar junta is destabilizing the entire region, and ASEAN is at risk of losing all credibility for failing to take decisive action,” said Matthew Smith.
“All governments have a responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar from mass atrocities and that includes members of the Security Council.”
No visible progress made in repatriation of Rohingyas: Minister Enamur
No visible progress has been seen in the repatriation of displaced Rohingyas to their homeland Myanmar, said State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Dr Enamur Rahman on Tuesday.
“We sat in a meeting last month and a list of Rohingyas was provided to Myanmar. Myanmar authorities received the list. So far, we have provided lists of 35,000 Rohingyas but they are yet to inform us about how many people they will receive,” he said.
Also read: US may influence ASEAN to persuade Myanmar to stop atrocities, take Rohingyas back: Momen
Enamur came up with the remarks while talking to reporters after a meeting with Nicholas Koumjian, the Head of Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar (IIMM) at the Secretariat.
IIMM chief came here to investigate the torture on Rohingyas by Myanmar security forces before they fled to Bangladesh and he also sought assistance of Refugee Relief & Repatriation Commissioner in Cox's Bazar to collect statements from victim Rohingyas, he said.
“We also assured him of providing all necessary support,” he added.
However, Nicholas also said that they will work to gain international support to send back Rohingyas to their home land with rights and safety.
Also read: Bangladesh considers continuation of learning of Rohingyas under Myanmar curriculum
Referring to another meeting with a delegation of USAID, Enamur said the delegation expressed satisfaction over the management of Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar.
Enamur also requested the USAID delegation to take effective steps so that the other UN organizations like UNHCR and WFP start their activities for Rohingyas in Bhasanchar.
Will expedite Rohingya repatriation efforts through talks: Envoy
Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming on Thursday said his country is trying to expedite the Rohingya repatriation efforts through holding talks with Bangladesh and Myanmar.
China always remains beside Bangladesh when it faces any problem, said Ambassador Li while attending a function at Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital.
Ambassador Li noted that China has been playing a role of “mediator” between Bangladesh and Myanmar during the past five years since the latest crisis happened in Rakhine State of Myanmar and has been working with relevant stakeholders, including UNHCR, to facilitate the early repatriation of the displaced people.
Also read: 'Princess Mary's visit to Rohingya camps great encouragement to humanitarian community'
The Chinese envoy said throughout the Covid pandemic China has stood beside Bangladesh with necessary assistance and it will continue to do so for developing the country’s medical sector.
Rohingya Repatriation: FM seeks US lawmakers’ role
Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen has requested the US lawmakers to persuade Myanmar in all possible ways to create a safe environment in Rakhine State and take back all the forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals, temporarily staying in Bangladesh, to their homeland.
Foreign Minister Momen held meetings with Senator Jon Ossoff (Democrat-Georgia); and Congressman Ami Bera (Democrat-California), the Chairman of the House, Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation.
The meetings were held on Wednesday in Washington D.C at the respective offices of the Senator and the Congressman at the US Capital.