Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun, has made a significant revelation about the military council’s sexual violence crimes. Speaking at the 11th International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict at the UN Headquarters in New York, he detailed the brutal sexual violence perpetrated by the military council. The ambassador disclosed that the military council and their associates are systematically committing sexual violence, with victims ranging from children as young as four years old to elderly persons up to 84 years of age.
The ambassador emphasized that the military council’s sexual violence targets women, girls, men, boys, as well as members of the LGBTIQ community, political activists, and democracy supporters. He highlighted that over the past four years, the military council has severely violated international humanitarian laws and international human rights laws, while completely destroying domestic rule of law. The military council’s pattern of sexual violence includes forced stripping, sexual humiliation, torture during detention, rape, and gang rape, which are being used as weapons of war. These atrocities have caused severe psychological trauma not only to the survivors but also to their family members and friends.
The military council has escalated its campaign of violence beyond sexual crimes to include arbitrary arrests, torture, extrajudicial killings, and aerial bombardments. These actions have resulted in the destruction of civilian homes, villages, and infrastructure, causing immense suffering to people across the country. The ambassador stressed that civilian casualties continue to rise as the military council intensifies its brutal campaign against its own people. The systematic nature of these attacks demonstrates a clear pattern of using sexual violence as a military strategy to terrorize and subjugate the population.
Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun emphasized that the international community must address the root cause of these problems. He argued that only by permanently eliminating the military dictatorship, the illegal military coup, and the military’s longstanding impunity can sexual violence in conflict be effectively eliminated in Myanmar. The ambassador called for decisive action from the international community, highlighting that the situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate with ongoing human rights violations and crimes against humanity. He stressed that the military council’s actions have created a crisis that requires immediate and coordinated international response to protect civilians and restore democratic governance in Myanmar.
