Report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar
Summary
The present document is the sixth report submitted by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar to the Human Rights Council pursuant to resolution 39/2. It covers the activities carried out by the Mechanism between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024, highlighting progress on investigations, approaches and methodologies, challenges and areas for additional support. During the reporting period, the conflict in Myanmar escalated substantially, with reports of more frequent and brutal crimes committed across the country. The Mechanism possesses substantial evidence that a variety of war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed. While the great majority of information collected by the Mechanism concerns crimes committed by the Myanmar security forces or affiliated militias, the Mechanism has also received credible information regarding crimes committed by some armed groups fighting against the military. The Mechanism is examining evidence of alleged
crimes regardless of the affiliation or ethnicity of the perpetrators or victims.
Despite the complex and evolving situation in the country, the Mechanism made important progress across its various investigations, with almost 28 million items of information and evidence collected from over 900 sources by the end of the reporting period, including: witness statements; photographs; videos; audio materials; documents; maps; geospatial imagery; social media posts; and forensic evidence. To enable these vast quantities of material to be searched, analysed and utilized to build case files, the Mechanism has developed and optimized innovative technologies.
During the reporting period, the Mechanism made significant strides in its investigations into crimes committed following the military takeover in February 2021. Evidence has been collecting related to the violent suppression of protests; torture and other
abuses in detention, including sexual and gender-based crimes; unlawful imprisonment of perceived opponents of the military regime, including arbitrary detention and manifestly unfair trials; indiscriminate or intentional artillery and aerial attacks against civilians or civilian objects; killings of civilians or fighters detained during operations; and the intentional burning of civilian dwellings and other civilian buildings.
In relation to the clearance operations carried out by the Myanmar security forces in 2016 and 2017, which forced almost three quarters of a million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh, the Mechanism has conducted numerous witness interviews and screenings and has produced a number of confidential analytical reports, including on movements of military units during clearance operations. The Mechanism is making efforts to gather information on the current conflict in Rakhine State between the Myanmar security forces and the Arakan Army and serious allegations of crimes committed against both Rohingya and Rakhine
civilians in Buthidaung, Maungdaw and surrounding areas.
The ultimate goal of the Mechanism is to enable national and international authorities to deliver justice for the victims of serious international crimes committed in Myanmar. During the reporting period, the Mechanism shared a significantly higher volume of evidence and analysis than ever before. The evidence is for use in three ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings related to crimes against the Rohingya that are being conducted by the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office No. 9 in Argentina. To date, the Mechanism has prepared over 260 packages with evidentiary materials and analytical products available for sharing with relevant authorities, of which 80 packages have already been shared.
