UN denounces crimes against humanity in Burma after military coup

The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday denounced the massacres in Burma and accused the army of possible crimes against humanity and war crimes following the coup d'état in February 2021.

In a report analyzing the period following the military coup, he called on the international community to take immediate steps to control the spiral of violence in Burma.

“The terrifying magnitude of the violations of international law suffered by the people of Burma demands a firm, united and determined international response,” said the agency's head, Michelle Bachelet.

The former Chilean president accused the Burmese army of committing “systematic and widespread violations and attacks on human rights” and of showing “a flagrant disregard for human life.”

Some of these violations “could be assimilated to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” estimates the UN, which often leaves the courts to rule on such cases.

“We have certainly been able to identify the existence of a pattern of behavior last year that shows systematic, coordinated and planned attacks, and there are clear signs that these could be crimes against humanity and war crimes,” said a spokeswoman for the High Commissioner, Ravina Shamdasani, at the presentation of the report.

The spokeswoman also stressed that before the coup, the High Commissioner had already mentioned that the Burmese armed forces “committed crimes against humanity by treating the Rohingya”, a Muslim minority in the country.

- “Burned alive” -

More than a year after the coup d'état that overthrew Aung San Suu Kyi and ended a 10-year democratic hiatus, Burma remains sunk in chaos.

The anti-junta militias took up arms against the generals, who violently suffocate any opposition. According to a local association for the defense of human rights, more than 1,600 civilians have been killed and 11,000 were arrested.

The UN report reports 1,600 dead and more than 12,500 detainees, as well as at least 440,000 displaced persons. It also warns that 14 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid and that much of this assistance is blocked by the army.

Most of these human rights violations were committed by the security forces, but at least 543 people were reportedly killed because of their alleged support for the army, according to the document.

The High Commissioner accuses the armed forces of shelling inhabited areas and of attacking civilians, “many of whom were shot to the head, burned alive, arbitrarily detained, tortured or used as human shields”.

The agency also mentions “mass killings”, especially in July, in the Sagaing region, “where soldiers killed 40 people in several attacks”.

“The inhabitants found the remains of some victims, with their hands and feet still tied behind their backs,” says the High Commissioner.

The report is based on interviews with more than 155 people, including victims and witnesses, whose accounts were corroborated by satellite images.

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