International Commission of Jurists
Myanmar: Abysmal human rights and rule of law situation deteriorates further three years after the coup

Myanmar: Abysmal human rights and rule of law situation deteriorates further three years after the coup

Feb 1, 2024 | Advocacy, News

As the absolute military rule enters its fourth year with an extension of the state of emergency, widespread and systematic human rights violations continue to be perpetrated daily against large number of peoples in communities throughout Myanmar with impunity, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said today.

Arbitrary arrests and detentions and unsound convictions

Widespread gross human rights violations, many of which amount to crimes under international law, have taken place in a climate of near absolute impunity, with rampant arbitrary arrests, torture, detention and convictions for political reasons.

“Respect for human rights and the rule of law has disappeared three years after the coup d’état,” said Melissa Upreti, ICJ Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “The military junta has continued committing gross human rights violations, including by arbitrarily arresting, detaining, torturing and summarily executing those who have dared to oppose their illegitimate regime.”

The military junta has effectively weaponized its all-encompassing control over the legal and administrative system, with main targets including real or perceived political opponents, such as former government officials, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists and ethnic and religious minorities.

Credible information indicates that at least 25,000 individuals have been arbitrarily arrested and detained since the start of the coup, often solely in relation to their exercise of their right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association. Around 8,000 have been convicted based on spurious charges, and at least 119 political prisoners remain on death row.

These figures are a grim reminder of the extent to which the rule of law has completely collapsed in Myanmar. The convictions of people for political reasons have taken place in proceedings that flagrantly violate the essential fair trial and due process guarantees established under international law:

  • Many have been summarily tried and convicted in closed-door proceedings either in civilian courts located in prisons, or in military courts;
  • Lawyers have been obstructed from meeting and representing detainees, and have themselves been subject to arbitrary arrests and detention in relation to their work;
  • Convictions are typically based on spurious and unsubstantiated charges, and “confessions” that were reportedly obtained through torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment have been unlawfully relied on in these convictions; and
  • Other violations include the suspension of habeas corpus; and particularly for closed-door military tribunal proceedings, violations of the right to be present at one’s trial, the right to be represented by counsel and the right to appeal.

Prison conditions and treatment of detainees

“Detainees are being held in prisons and detention facilities in horrific conditions that run afoul of international law and standards governing the treatment of prisoners. Violence, much of which amounts to torture, is a daily reality for detainees, with women and LGBT detainees being subjected to targeted forms of cruelty and abuse, as a form of punishment and to instill fear. Unlawful deaths in custody are a common occurrence and remain unaccounted for,” added Upreti.

There is credible evidence that detainees are being subjected to severe beatings with sticks, wire ropes and guns, electrocution, mock execution, and burying alive. Women and LGBT detainees have reported cases of rape, invasive strip searches, sexual harassment and mutilation of genitalia.

Furthermore, reports have emerged of the severe overcrowding, poor hygiene and sanitation, lack of access to healthcare and insufficient food in detention facilities. There are also credible reports of religious minorities being prohibited from practicing their religion while in detention.

Continued failure to restore democratic institutions and violence against civilians

These widespread systematic human rights violations are taking place against the backdrop of the military extending its unlawful declaration of a state of emergency on 31 January 2024 and prolonging its unlawful, arbitrary and abusive exercise of authority. This reneges on its promise to hold national elections in August 2023, which, even if they had been carried out, would likely have been shambolic amidst the ongoing crackdown on perceived political opponents. 

Numerous separate armed conflicts continue to rage within the country, involving the Tatmadaw (Myanmar’s army) and anti-military armed groups. In carrying out its military operations, the military has unlawfully attacked civilians taking no part in hostilities, including direct, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks on civilians and civilian objects from aerial bombings; mass extrajudicial executions of civilians and detained combatants and large-scale and intentional burning of civilian homes and buildings, including religious infrastructure. As noted by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), these constitute “strong evidence indicating that serious international crimes are being inflicted against the people in Myanmar”.

Recommendations

“For Myanmar to return to the path of establishing itself as society based on rule of law, human rights and democracy, the first step is to end the state of emergency and all of the unlawful actions of the military regime that flow from it, including the prevailing impunity,” stressed Upreti. “The military regime and its members must be held accountable, the complicity that enables them must end and the human rights of all people in Myanmar must be fully restored.”

The ICJ reiterates its calls on the military to:

  • Return the country to a civilian government and restore democracy;
  • Immediately cease systematically violating the rights of persons for political reasons, including by releasing all people arbitrarily arrested and detained, and allowing the country’s institutions to function independently and impartially; and
  • Immediately cease all practices of torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and flagrant fair trial violations.

The ICJ urges all UN Member States to:

  • Keep up its pressure for the peaceful transfer of power to a democratically elected government;
  • Increase support for coordinated documentation and accountability efforts by ensuring that the IIMM, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights are given adequate resources to continue their important functions as effectively as possible; and
  • Hold perpetrators of serious crimes under international law accountable, including by exercising universal jurisdiction over these crimes in domestic courts. 

Contact

Melissa Upreti, ICJ Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, e: melissa.upreti@icj.org

Daron Tan, ICJ Associate International Legal Adviser, e: daron.tan@icj.org

Further Reading

ICJ, “Myanmar: Two years after the coup, country further than ever from democracy and the rule of law”, 2 February 2023

ICJ, “Myanmar: A year after military takeover, no rule of law or judicial independence”, 10 February 2022

Israel/Palestine: Authorities must end impunity for Israeli settler violence

Israel/Palestine: Authorities must end impunity for Israeli settler violence

Jan 15, 2024 | News

With 2023 being the deadliest year on record for Palestinians in the West Bank, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemns the rampant violent attacks by Israeli settlers, almost all of which are backed or tolerated by the Israeli authorities.

“The Israeli authorities must take immediate action to bring a halt to these violent attacks, some of which have led to the forced displacement of Palestinians,” said Said Benarbia, ICJ MENA director. “Those who are responsible for the attacks must be brought to justice with criminal sanctions commensurate to the gravity of the offences.”

Such incidents have dramatically escalated since the renewal of hostilities on 7 October, when Hamas launched unlawful attacks against Israeli civilians, which led to an indiscriminate and disproportionate response by Israeli forces in Gaza. Between 7 October and 27 December 2023, settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank led to the killing of at least seven adults and one child. The perpetrators have thus far enjoyed near complete impunity for the apparently unlawful killing and injury of Palestinians, with only two settlers arrested in relation to the attacks and no indictments filed.

Under international humanitarian law and human rights law, Israel, as the occupying power, has an obligation to ensure the safety and protection of the population of the West Bank and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Moreover, under human rights law, including under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Israel has an obligation to protect the population against human rights violations, including their rights to life and security of person, and to prevent such violations, in particular by addressing incitement to hostility or violence.

OHCHR reported that between 7 October and 27 December 2023, Israeli settlers perpetrated at least 367 violent attacks against Palestinians, which caused the displacement of 1208 members of West Bank herding communities, including 586 children. Overall, 2023 was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank with the  number of settler attacks against Palestinian civilians rising to an average of seven per day. In Zanuta village alone, armed Israeli settlers, some in Israeli Army reservist uniforms, forced 150 Palestinians from their homes. The Israeli Defence Forces have generally failed to intervene to prevent and stop violent acts against Palestinians, allowing Israeli settlers to seemingly exploit international preoccupation with events in Gaza to escalate efforts to forcibly remove Palestinians from their homes in the West Bank.

International law prohibits the forced displacement of persons lawfully present in an area by coercion or expulsion, without grounds permitted under international law. In addition, under international law, State-backed or tolerated Israeli settlers’ violence against civilian residents of the Occupied West Bank may amount to “an intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law by reason of the identity of the targeted group or collectivity.” This conduct may amount to the crimes against humanity of “deportation or forcible transfer of population” and “persecution”, respectively, if committed knowingly as part of a widespread or systematic attack against the Palestinian population.

The ICJ urges the Israeli government to take immediate and effective measures to prevent and stop settlers from perpetrating further crimes against the residents of the West Bank, to protect the civilian population from unlawful attacks, investigate all instances of settler violence and, when evidence so warrants, to bring those purportedly responsible to justice.

The ICJ also calls for the Israeli government to cease actions liable to further enable settlers to commit additional acts of unlawful violence against Palestinians, including by halting the implementation of its policy to expand settlements, the enforcement of laws facilitating the expropriation of Palestinian property by settler organizations, the unregulated supply of arms to settler communities, and official statements that risk being interpreted as calls for the eradication of Palestinian communities.

Finally, the ICJ calls on the International Criminal Court to investigate these criminal acts as potential war crimes and crimes against humanity that fall under the Rome Statute, and, where warranted, initiate prosecutions of those responsible.

Background

Israel’s establishment of settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967 constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. UN experts have also denounced the ongoing forced eviction of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem through the promulgation of discriminatory law that “helps settler organizations expropriate Palestinian properties.” International humanitarian and human rights law prohibit the unlawful seizure of private property and pillaging on occupied territory.

In February 2023, the newly formed Israeli government signed a coalition agreement that seeks to formally extend and annex settlements in the occupied West Bank, and establishes civilian administration for Israeli settlers in illegal West Bank settlements. The ICJ considers the settlement policy outlined in the coalition agreement to be manifestly unlawful under international law, paving the way for the further unlawful entrenchment of discriminatory and acquisitive Israeli practices towards Palestinian communities, while also being liable to incite further settler violence. In this regard, the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices noted “a direct correlation between the policies of the Israeli government, as articulated in its coalition agreement, and Israeli practices on the ground,” noting that “settler attacks have increased on average from two a day in 2022 to three a day in 2023.”

Contact

Said Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41-22-979-3800; e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org

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