The United Nations has declared that the human rights situation in Myanmar has reached a new nadir, pointing to the escalating brutal abuse of the Rohingya minority and the ruinous effects of illicit economies, notably illegal rare‑earth mining.
The UN human rights office released a report on Tuesday, noting that the military’s pursuit of control and legitimacy since its 2021 coup has intensified civilian suffering.
According to the report, the military has employed tactics including airstrikes, arson, forced displacement, and the obstruction of aid while fighting ethnic armed groups and militias for dominance over the resource‑rich nation.
The report estimates that 8,075 civilians, among them 1,074 children, have been killed since the coup, with at least 1,241 of those deaths occurring in the past year alone.
The report cautions that the actual figures may be higher, with open sources suggesting up to 15,731 civilian deaths since the coup and 3,102 in the last year.
The violence has also driven the number of internally displaced persons to 3.6 million. Approximately 12.4 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity, while 400,000 young children and mothers are afflicted by acute malnutrition.
In western Rakhine State, both the military and the Arakan Army, the powerful ethnic armed group they oppose, continue to perpetrate widespread and systematic violations against the predominantly Muslim Rohingya.
The ongoing violence, occurring nine years after a crackdown that drove roughly 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh, has sparked fresh displacement.
The report further accuses the Arakan Army of arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual and gender‑based violence, forced labor and recruitment, as well as the destruction of villages and religious sites.
Rohingya who attempt to evade forced recruitment are detained and routinely subjected to ill‑treatment; former detainees report beatings, nail removal, and the application of chilli to genitals.
The UN human rights office states that the breakdown of the rule of law has fostered a thriving illicit economy, with illegal rare‑earth mining in northern Kachin and northeastern Shan States bolstering transnational criminal networks.
Satellite imagery identifies Kachin State as the main rare‑earth mining hub, having seen 302 new sites since 2021, a 149 percent rise.
Mining runoff has caused environmental contamination, adversely affecting maternal and reproductive health; the report notes a sharp increase in miscarriages and other pregnancy complications linked to heavy‑metal and chemical exposure.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk described the findings as deeply troubling.
“This report paints a heartbreaking picture of suffering, misery, and cruelty at multiple levels throughout the country,” Turk remarked.
The High Commissioner called on states, companies, and investors to reconsider their involvement with the country.
“I urge all states, companies, and investors to engage in serious self‑reflection about their actions—or inaction—and to ask whether they are fair and just for the people of Myanmar.”