UN highlights abuses against persons with disabilities by Myanmar’s junta in new report

Mizzima

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar issued a new report on 13 November calling attention to the difficulties faced by persons with disabilities in Myanmar as a result of the junta’s ongoing acts of violence and repression.

The text of the press release accompanying the report is as follows.

Junta forces have executed, tortured and sexually assaulted persons with disabilities while their relentless repression and violence are trapping many in a daily fight for survival according to a new report issued today by Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

“Dozens of persons with disabilities have been burned alive in their own homes as junta forces carried out campaigns of mass arson throughout the country,” Andrews said. “Survivors of the junta’s attacks are often displaced and severed from their support networks and struggle to survive in hostile, inaccessible environments. Many face high barriers in accessing life-saving humanitarian aid.”

The Hidden Crisis: Disability Rights in Post-Coup Myanmar reveals how the 2021 military coup has devastated the lives of persons with disabilities in Myanmar, compounding historical stigma and discrimination. The new report describes the immense challenges facing persons with disabilities in Myanmar, including deep-rooted religious and cultural beliefs that perpetuate their isolation and disenfranchisement. It also spotlights the remarkable efforts of persons with disabilities and their organisations to address these conditions and support those caught in a vicious cycle of repression and discrimination.