International community should refuse to legitimize Min Aung Hlaing’s regime as he seeks legitimacy throughout Asia

Benedict Rogers

Last week at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged member states to “refer the full situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court through the Security Council.”

Türk further urged “to end transfers to Myanmar of arms, ammunition, jet fuel and dual-use items, where there is a serious risk, they could facilitate violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.”

He is exactly right. For five years, since the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021, I and others have been calling for the same action: to cut the lifeline of funds, fuel, and arms to a regime that bombs its citizens from the skies on a daily basis, and at the same time provide a lifeline of aid to the people of Myanmar.

As I sat in the UN Human Rights Council chamber waiting to deliver a statement on behalf of Fortify Rights, I listened to Türk present his latest report, and to Nicholas Koumjian, the head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar (IIMM), and member states, carefully.

Türk correctly summarized the “devastating regional impacts of the crisis,” with millions of people forced from their homes, and hundreds dying on dangerous sea crossings — close to 1,000 have died this year alone at sea so far.

“Illegal economic activity is flourishing,” he noted, pointing to drug production, scam centers, human trafficking, and illegal mines which are “blighting lives, denying the people of Myanmar the use of their own resources, and fueling the conflict through payments to the military [junta].”

According to Türk, the UN has documented more than 1,200 civilians killed this year, but the actual figure may be more than 3,000. Airstrikes are the primary cause of death, accompanied by disease and starvation caused by the military’s denial and weaponization of aid. Forced conscription is a “key tactic” used by the military to advance on the battlefield and “spread fear.” All this is leading to “soaring humanitarian needs.”

In addition, the “catastrophic situation of the Rohingya is a wound that affects the entire country,” with grave human rights violations perpetrated both by the military regime and the Arakan Army. He called out the Arakan Army’s seizure of Rohingya land, making the plight of the Rohingya even worse, and their return home “even more challenging.” What he called the “unspeakable suffering” of the Rohingya has to end.

Koumjian, head of the IIMM, reported that “serious international crimes are being committed with greater frequency and intensity.” In particular, he noted — as did Canada in its intervention and as Fortify Rights documented and reported — the use of paramotors “is harder to detect than planes, giving people less time to seek shelter.”

Fortify Rights has also documented the use of gyrocopters, which I highlighted in my intervention.

Most member states expressed similar concerns about the human rights crisis in Myanmar.

The United Kingdom — the penholder on Myanmar at the UN — noted airstrikes, forced conscription, arson, arbitrary detention, forced labor, sexualized torture, the loss of land and homes, and the displacement of more than 3.6 million people.

It emphasized the importance of accountability. “Perpetrators of the violations documented must be held to account,” said the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Saunders.

A few predictable states stood out for their complete aversion to the truth and their absurd defense of Myanmar’s illegal, criminal and barbaric regime: notably China, Russia, and Belarus. Their statements were archetypal examples of Orwellian propaganda, representing a complete inversion of truth and reality.

Outside the Human Rights Council chamber, a gathering of courageous human rights defenders from Myanmar, with international human rights organizations supporting them, held a side event to share their experiences.

Salai Za Uk Ling, Executive Director of the Chin Human Rights Organization, spoke powerfully about the international community’s responsibility not simply to listen and take note, but to act. While non-governmental organizations can do their part in documenting and reporting human rights violations and advocating, governments must also do their part.

“We can keep knocking on doors. But eventually, someone on the other side must open them,” he said.

Perhaps most powerful was the performance by exiled Myanmar mega-star singer Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein. She spoke of the military regime’s crackdown, describing her own escape across the border into Thailand, and her transition from — in her own words — a “diva” to a “fugitive.”

She described the airstrikes and the humanitarian suffering, and her refusal to bow to the military regime. And she sang a powerful song, “Close the Sky,” about the airstrikes. I had the great privilege of spending two days with Phyu Phyu Kyaw Thein in Geneva, and I was deeply inspired by her courageous advocacy.

Over the course of three days, I and my colleagues from Fortify Rights had meetings with member states and with officials in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to press for action to end Myanmar’s nightmare and hold the regime to account.

We urged member states to invoke Article 14 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to call for a criminal case to be opened against the junta leaders, and to co-ordinate action to stop the flow of arms and jet fuel that enable the Myanmar military regime’s attacks on its people.

And we encouraged member states to hold high-level discussions at every opportunity at the UN Security Council, General Assembly, and Human Rights Council — to highlight and press for action to seek the release of more than 14,000 political prisoners in Myanmar, and to end the airstrikes on civilians.

As Min Aung Hlaing travels throughout Asia seeking legitimacy, the international community should refuse to legitimize his criminal and illegal regime and its sham elections.

Volker Türk said that “the human rights crisis in Myanmar is a matter of the greatest international concern.” His words are powerful, but they must be matched by actions.

It should indeed be a matter of the greatest international concern, but right now not enough members of the international community appear to be seized of the matter.

The high commissioner’s reports and speeches should be widely read and should compel member states to implement the actions he has recommended. It is time for the world to unite to end the devastating crisis engulfing Myanmar and impacting its neighbors and hold the perpetrators to account.

This article was originally published in UCA News and provided by Fortify Rights.