Recently, over 500 human rights groups have called upon the United Nations Security Council to stop the Myanmar military violence in Myanmar’s western Chin state.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released a statement on behalf of 521 international and domestic organisations calling on the Security Council to adopt a resolution and act before the offensive expands in the embattled border region.
The following statement says, “It must convene an urgent meeting on the escalating attacks in Chin State and the overall deepening political, human rights and humanitarian crisis as a result of the Myanmar military leaders’ search for power and greed that has caused immense suffering.”
The rights groups also called on the UN to impose a global arms embargo to stop the flow of weapons and dual-use goods to the Myanmar military government who took over the country in February this year.
Since then, Myanmar has been paralysed by protests and violence against the coup which led to a devastating state.
On Wednesday, the UN humanitarian agency in a situation report said, clashes between security forces and people’s defence forces had intensified in Chin as well as in neighbouring Magway and Sagaing regions.
Last week, the Myanmar military began shelling the town of Thantlang, in Chin State. About 200 houses including two churches razed by fire to the ground witnessing aid groups, local media and civilians.
HRW said soldiers deliberately torched houses at random. Save the Children had its office destroyed as well.
Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar said, “These tactics are ominously reminiscent of those employed by the military before its genocidal attacks against the Rohingya in Rakhine state in 2016 and 2017.”
“We should all be prepared, as the people in this part of Myanmar are prepared, for even more mass atrocity crimes. I desperately hope that I am wrong,” he said as he presented his findings to the UN General Assembly last week.
HRW said, “The human security risk not only threatens the people of Myanmar but also regional and thus global security and peace. The Council must immediately build on previous statements with concrete action by adopting a resolution that consolidates international action to resolve the deepening crisis.”
