UN Human Rights Council – 49th session
Item 4: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
21 March 2022
Madam Vice-President, Mister Special Rapporteur,
FIDH and its member organizations ALTSEAN-Burma and Women’s Peace Network condemn the intensified killing of civilians, including women and children, by Myanmar’s military junta across the country.
From 1 February to 11 March 2022, there were 1,135 armed clashes and attacks on civilians, a 226% increase over the same period a year ago.
In addition, the junta has continued to abuse, imprison, and systematically discriminate against ethnic Rohingya. Rohingya and other ethnic women continue to disproportionately suffer from the junta’s violence.
We are outraged by the ongoing arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of activists, human rights defenders, and National League for Democracy members.
These criminal acts have not deterred the people of Myanmar. After more than one year since the coup d’état, daily peaceful pro-democracy protests have continued to occur in various parts of Myanmar. International support to such actions and to prevent further atrocities is urgently needed.
This is why we reiterate our call for a UN Security Council referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court and for a global arms embargo on the junta. We also call on UN member states to impose effective sanctions targeting the Myanmar military’s economic interests, especially in the oil and gas sectors, to deprive the junta of the necessary financial resources to buy weapons it uses against the people of Myanmar.
Thank you.