UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on Myanmar

The UN Human Rights Office released a new report on Myanmar, describing death, destruction and desperation which reflect atrocities committed in 2017.

“This morning our Office published a report on Myanmar, detailing the worsening human rights crisis, particularly in Rakhine State. The report provides a stark reminder of the atrocities committed by the military in 2017, pointing to increased killings, torture and the razing of villages,” UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence said.

“Since the escalation of hostilities in Rakhine hundreds of thousands more people have been displaced. The United Nations estimates some 150,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since November 2023, joining nearly one million already taking refuge there,” he said.

“The military and the Arakan Army have acted with near complete impunity enabling the recurrence of violations in an endless cycle of suffering for the civilian population. Videos and pictures show death, destruction and desperation, distressingly similar to images that we already saw during the 2017 atrocities committed by the military against the Rohingya,” Laurence said.

“In light of the ongoing violations of international law and the prevailing impunity, the High Commissioner reiterates his previous calls for a full referral of the Myanmar situation to the International Criminal Court by the Security Council,” the spokesperson said.

The report, which covers the 14 months up until 31 May 2025, also examines in detail four incidents involving grave violations, including the targeting of civilian homes, villages, schools and camps for displaced people throughout Myanmar. In one of the incidents, on 12 May 2025, an airstrike hit a school killing 24 civilians, including 16 girls, six boys, and two female teachers. According to one witness all four classrooms were destroyed except the roof of the last room. Analysis of pictures and videos received by the UN Human Rights Office corroborated witness accounts.

Sources indicate that the military has regularly targeted public administration sites, including schools, with the effect of instilling fear in the public, the report says. There was already an established pattern of over 640 instances of military attacks against schools since 2021.

“Despite calls by the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations for the de-escalation of violence, the attacks on civilians continue in violation of international human rights and humanitarian law,” he said.

The report says that even after declaring a unilateral ceasefire following the earthquake in March 2025, the military reportedly launched over 550 attacks, and killed over 480 people, on top of the nearly 4,000 deaths from the earthquake itself.

At the same time, food insecurity continues to rise, linked to the armed conflict, economic instability, and natural disasters. In 2025, an estimated 15.2 million people, nearly a third of the country’s population, were projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity, a sharp increase from 13.3 million in 2024.

“Humanitarian funding is urgently required to meet these needs, and we implore Member States to act to hold the parties to their obligations to allow help to reach those in need, and to support international efforts to hold those responsible for violations of international law to account,” Laurence said.

Also, at the briefing James Rodehaver, who heads the UN Human Rights Myanmar office based in Bangkok, described the ever-worsening situation on the ground.

“I would just say that since the time in which this report was written, the situation has continued to worsen. It's not just a question of airstrikes and the continuing use of heavier and heavier munitions in the conduct of airstrikes. But it's also now the growth of ground operations, throughout the country by the military, designed specifically to consolidate its control or to expand its control in strategic areas prior to elections that were announced to start in late December this year,” he said.

“I would say that the estimate has always been that following the exodus in 2017, there were around 200,000 Rohingya still left in communities throughout Rakhine State. But since the fighting renewed in November of 2023, those numbers have dwindled significantly. Probably as much as a third of those Rohingya still remaining in Rakhine state have now fled abroad,” Rodehaver said.

“I think you can see that the military is clearly gaining momentum. The tactics that they have used particularly since the earthquake of launching persistent airstrikes, artillery barrages and following it up with, troop deployments on the ground, to really press their advantage against armed groups that they know are hurting, either because of the earthquake (or) because of the restrictions on humanitarian assistance, and the of course, the dwindling humanitarian assistance and international assistance available more broadly,” he stated.

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact:

In Geneva:

Ravina Shamdasani: + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org

Jeremy Laurence: + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org

Marta Hurtado: + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org

Thameen Al-Kheetan: + 41 76 223 77 62 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org

In Nairobi:

Seif Magango: + 254 788 343 897 / seif.magango@un.org

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