A/HRC/61/CRP.9: From impunity to justice: accountability for grave human rights violations in Myanmar – Conference room paper of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

Summary

Impunity lies at the heart of the human rights crisis in Myanmar and has enabled decades of grave violations by the military with devastating consequences for the country’s people. Since the 2021 coup, the military has intensified its campaign of violence and repression, killing thousands of civilians, arbitrarily detaining tens of thousands, displacing millions, and systematically employing airstrikes, arson, torture and sexual violence to crush resistance and dissent. These abuses are not aberrations but the predictable result of a long entrenched culture of impunity in which senior military leaders have remained above the law. In this final report of his tenure, the Special Rapporteur examines viable pathways to accountability for grave human rights violations in Myanmar. Drawing on years of documentation and the testimonies of survivors and victims’ families, the report underscores that justice, truth and reparations are essential both to address the immense suffering endured by victims and to protect future generations from recurring cycles of military rule and abuse. The report assesses steps already taken at the national and international levels and sets out concrete recommendations for states, United Nations bodies and other actors to advance accountability and help dismantle the culture of impunity that has long shielded the perpetrators of atrocities in Myanmar.

Download pdf