The people of Myanmar are confronting two major challenges in 2025: oppression and violence by an increasingly desperate military junta at home and now the sudden withdrawal of critical support from abroad.

As the military junta’s control of Myanmar continues to shrink, its forces have doubled down on familiar patterns of violence and oppression, escalating aerial assaults on villages, executing villagers en masse, and perpetrating widespread sexual violence against women and girls. More than 100,000 homes and civilian structures have been torched by junta forces since the coup.

3.5 million people have been displaced by armed conflict and the junta’s attacks, half the population has fallen into poverty, and there is an imminent risk of famine. Landmine casualties, the number of political prisoners, and the portion of the population facing acute food insecurity have all reached record highs while rates of tuberculosis, malaria and cholera are on the rise.

The positive impact of actions taken by some Member States have demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of international support for human rights in Myanmar. But the withdrawal of support by the international community is undermining the capacity of the people of Myanmar to succeed, worsening a humanitarian crisis, and threatening to destabilize the region.

The Human Rights Council has been called the conscience of the United Nations. Now, more than ever, the people of Myanmar need its members to take a strong public stand for human rights and against the sudden breakdown of international support. This is a privilege not enjoyed by human rights defenders, humanitarian aid providers and UN agencies who worry that doing so might further compromise their ability to deliver critical services in the midst of a deepening humanitarian crisis.

The Special Rapporteur urges Council Member States to protect and defend human rights and human decency in Myanmar with strong words and principled action. The stakes could not be higher.

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