UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet urged the Human Rights Council and UN nations on Tuesday to take swift action to aid the deteriorating situation in Myanmar.
Speaking at the 47th Session of the Human Rights Council, Bachelet said that the situation in Myanmar “has evolved from a political crisis to a multi-dimensional human rights catastrophe.” Bachelet reiterated concerns that the political crisis, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, has created a situation that could have horrific consequences for civilians.
The military coup in Myanmar has already resulted in the deaths of 900 civilians and has displaced more than 200,000 more. The economy has been even further crippled by the ongoing global pandemic, and forecasts by the World Food Programme and the UN Development Programme anticipate that nearly 6 million are in need of food aid and over half of the population in Myanmar could be forced into poverty by 2022. The junta has incapacitated medical services by dismissing essential workers and conducting at least 240 attacks on medical personnel and medical service providers. This widespread instability has reignited fighting in the border states of Kachin, Kayin, Shan, Chin and Kayah.
Despite this, the civilian population of Myanmar has continued to protest peacefully in the face of the junta’s “massive use of lethal force against them, including heavy weaponry.” The brutal tactics used by the junta, including censorship of free media and civilian detention and torture, have created a volatile situation that needs to be addressed. Bachelet praised the Civil Disobedience Movement and the “incredible resilience” of Myanmar’s people, but suggested that despair is rising in Myanmar and creating further strife.
Bachelet warned the Human Rights Council that the catastrophic developments and changing conditions in Myanmar are creating a “clear potential for massive insecurity, with fallout for the wider region.” Bachelet asked that the UN act now to prevent further human rights violations, and pleaded that the “United Nations and its principal organs must not fail the country and its people a second time.” Bachelet asked all member nations to stand united and give immediate effect to the General Assembly’s call to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar. Urging the Council to stand with the people of Myanmar, Bachelet said, “While a political process is needed, ultimate accountability cannot be avoided. Continued impunity will only undermine any future democracy, reconciliation, sustainable development or progress towards stability and peace.”
