Mizzima

As part of the annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Myanmar to officially be released on 5 July, the UN offers recommendations to deal with the crisis.

The report identifies trends and patterns of human rights violations between 1 February 2021 to 30 April 2023 with a focus on the human rights impact of the denial of humanitarian access. 

The following is a list of the UN recommendations included in the report:

The High Commissioner recommends that military authorities:

(a)    Cease immediately all violence and attacks directed against the people of Myanmar and civilian infrastructures across the country, in compliance with Security Council resolution S/RES/2669(2022);

(b)     Ensure full compliance with international human rights law and international humanitarian law and, in particular, refrain from planting anti-personnel landmines which are inherently indiscriminate weapons greatly contributing to the suffering of the civilian population. Accurate recording and marking must be implemented and, whenever possible, implement humanitarian demining activities.  

(c)    Release immediately all those arbitrarily detained, prosecuted and/or sentenced, particularly those deprived of liberty for carrying out humanitarian action, as well as those who exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Discontinue politically-motivated prosecutions of all persons expressing opposition to the military’s assertion of power;

(d)    Immediately cease implementation of the unilateral amendments made to the 2014 Organizations Registration Law and all other actions aimed at restricting humanitarian and civic space and ensure that humanitarian organizations have unrestricted and predictable access to all people-in-need across the country without fear of retaliation for the exercise of rights; 

(e)    Take all prompt and necessary action, including in the banking and financial sectors, to guarantee the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of food and healthcare products and services essential to meet the pressing needs of all people in Myanmar, without any discrimination.  

The High Commissioner further recommends to the National Unity Government and other duty-bearers:

(a)    Take all steps to protect the civilian population, including stopping the use of inherently indiscriminate explosive devices, investigate reports of human rights violations, and take all adequate measures to ensure full compliance with international law by members of anti-military armed groups under their control;        

(b)    Refrain from imposing physical or administrative restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to people-in-need in the areas under their control;

(c)    Allow unrestricted access to humanitarian organizations to assess needs and develop responses on accurate and evidence-based data;

The High Commissioner recommends that the Security Council, also in view of the documented disregard by the military of resolution S/RES/2669 (2022), take steps to refer the full scope of the current situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court; 

Further, the High Commissioner recommends that the Security Council, ASEAN, and other Member States:

(a)    Maintain continuous attention to the situation on the ground and take necessary steps to promote political solutions to end the crisis and guarantee access to all people in need of life-saving assistance in the shortest possible time given the gravity of the situation;    

(b)    Take urgent action to ensure that the Humanitarian Response Plan is adequately funded to provide humanitarian organizations with necessary resources to meet the compelling demands of the people in Myanmar;   

(c)    Ensure adequate funding for the “2023 Joint Response Plan: Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis” to ensure that members of the Rohingya community in Bangladesh receive life-saving humanitarian assistance;

(d)    Provide flexible direct funding to local humanitarian organizations to support their ability to assist the population-in-need with life-saving aid and services;

(e)    Advocate for meaningful access to OHCHR in the country to facilitate independent and impartial monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation, including on civilian protection and humanitarian actions.