Human rights in Myanmar face ‘profound crisis’

New York [US], March 22 (ANI): Amidst a “profound crisis” facing access to basic human rights in Myanmar, the UN’s top rights official on Monday said that hundreds of localized armed resistance groups have now formed across the country, triggering “widespread violence in areas that were previously stable”.
High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet told the 49th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) that the country’s humanitarian crisis continues to expand as actions of security forces has inflamed pre-existing armed conflicts in multiple ethnic states, following the coup in February last year.
“The economy is on the brink of collapse. Over 14.4 million individuals are now assessed as being in humanitarian need”, said the OHCHR chief, predicting that “food scarcity will sharply increase over the coming months”.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has forecast that “the combined impact of the coup and the COVID-19 pandemic could force nearly half of Myanmar’s population into poverty this year.”
Although most protests have been expressed peacefully, including a ‘Silent Strike’ as well as other forms of protest and boycotts, the military has met all dissent with lethal force, mass arbitrary arrests, and torture, UN News reported.
“Credible sources have recorded the deaths of over 1,600 individuals, many engaged in peaceful protest. At least 350 of those killed died in military custody, over 21 per cent of the total deaths,” Bachelet said.
Since 1 February 2021, more than half a million people have been forced to flee their homes, with at least 15,000 reportedly fleeing the country – adding to the nearly 340,000 people internally displaced before the coup, and more than one million refugees, most of them mostly Muslim Rohingya who have found refuge in Bangladesh
Disproportionate military crackdowns in clear violation of international human rights and humanitarian law, have taken place in Sagaing and Magway Regions, as well as in Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, and Shan States.
“Tatmadaw have targeted both armed resistance groups and civilians with helicopter gunships, airstrikes, and the use of indiscriminate force,” she said. (ANI)