Myanmar: Four years after the military coup, widespread atrocities persist without accountability

As Myanmar enters the fourth year under military rule following the coup d’état on February 1, 2021, widespread and systematic atrocity crimes continue to be perpetrated by the military junta and armed groups across Myanmar with near total impunity, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said today.

Extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual violence, and war crimes in the context of the numerous ongoing armed conflicts in the country are a daily reality for the people of Myanmar. Many of these violations amount to crimes under international law. Multiple religious and ethnic minority groups, including the Rohingya, have been the particular target of attacks.

“There continues to be a massive absence of accountability for the harrowing array of atrocity crimes committed not just by the military junta, but also by armed groups across Myanmar since the coup in 2021, the lack of international attention to which has entrenched cycles of impunity,” said Melissa Upreti, ICJ Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.

Systematic violence against the civilian population and the impact of the conflict on marginalized groups

Military operations, characterized by indiscriminate airstrikes and mass summary executions, have displaced nearly two million people with over 18 million in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, where the intentional obstruction of aid deliveries has magnified the suffering.

“As the conflict in Myanmar continues unabated, the military has continued perpetrating gender-based crimes, including conflict-related sexual violence, particularly against ethnic and religious minorities. Survivors have reported harrowing accounts of rape, sexual harassment, and mutilation suggesting its use as a weapon of war,” added Upreti.

The gendered dimensions of such atrocity crimes remain under-investigated, without adequate recognition or remedy, as highlighted in the ICJ’s report, Towards Gender Inclusive Justice and Accountability for Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in Myanmar. Children have not been spared either, with the recruitment of child soldiers remaining rampant. The military regime’s campaign of repression extends to religious minorities: the ICJ has previously flagged the reports of young Rohingya Muslim men facing forcible recruitment from the military junta and armed groups through coercion, bribery and exploitation.

Arbitrary arrests and detention, unfair trials and torture and ill-treatment in custody 

Reports indicate that at least 28,000 individuals have been arbitrarily arrested since the coup began. Lawyers representing political detainees face systematic surveillance, harassment, arrests, and detention. Convictions in military-controlled courts are often based on fabricated charges or “confessions” extracted through torture or ill-treatment. Fair trial guarantees, such as access to lawyers, the right to appeal, and the presumption of innocence, are routinely ignored.

Persons deprived of liberty have been subjected to intense psychological and physical torment in interrogation and detention settings. As documented in the ICJ’s briefing paper, Unseen and Unheard: Violations of the Human Rights of Women Deprived of Liberty in Myanmar, women and LGBTQI detainees are subjected to sexual violence, intrusive strip and body searches, and denial of sexual and reproductive healthcare, often as a tool of control, intimidation and punishment.

Increased restrictions in the digital sphere

The right to freedom of expression and information has come under further siege with the junta’s recent enactment of the Cybersecurity Law in January 2025, passed for the purported purpose of “protecting and safeguarding the sovereignty and stability of the State” and “investigating and prosecuting cybercrimes”.

The law criminalizes the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) without prior permission, commonly used to circumvent internet restrictions in Myanmar, in violation of the right to freedom of expression. The law provides a new tool to the military to impermissibly criminalize the online activities of people in Myanmar, exacerbating the internet and communications restrictions already in place across the country.

The ICJ reiterates its concern as well that these arbitrary internet and communications blackouts prevent independent monitoring and reporting of the situation on the ground, which may help to conceal responsibilities for atrocity crimes and human rights violations and abet the possible destruction of evidence.

Steps toward justice and accountability

The ICJ calls for wide-ranging efforts to dismantle and counter impunity and deliver justice to victims of ongoing atrocities, including those perpetrated in the four years since the 2021 coup. Increased support is urgently needed for wholesale reform processes that have already begun across Myanmar, with the aim of laying the foundation for long-term peace based on democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

In light of the above, the ICJ calls on UN Member States and international organizations to:

  1. Continue to Push for an End to the Repression and Atrocities: States and organizations should continue pressing the military junta to end its abusive human rights practices and for a political transition marked by free and fair elections in Myanmar.
  2. Ensure Accountability for Perpetrators: States should, where possible, exercise universal or other extraterritorial jurisdiction to hold those accountable for atrocity crimes to justice in their domestic courts.
  3. Continue to Support Documentation towards Accountability Efforts: Continue support for coordinated documentation efforts, with a view to ultimately providing for criminal and civil accountability including the work of local civil society groups, networks and individual documenters, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), and the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar.
  4. Protect Persons from Marginalized Groups: Pay particular attention to the needs and situation of women, children, LGBTQI individuals, and ethnic and religious minorities, ensuring their active participation and leadership in all justice and peacebuilding initiatives at the domestic and international levels.

Contact

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

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

Further reading

ICJ, “Myanmar: Abysmal human rights and rule of law situation deteriorates further three years after the coup”, 1 February 2024

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

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