Myanmar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun, has detailed the military council’s systematic use of sexual violence against women during his address at the UN-Women Executive Board’s 2025 Annual Meeting at UN Headquarters in New York. The ambassador revealed that throughout the period of military coup, the terrorist military council has been using rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war against women and girls. He disclosed that victims range from girls as young as 4 years old to elderly women up to 84 years of age.
The ambassador explained that even before the coup, the military regime had been promoting patriarchal norms within communities and violating the fundamental human rights of women and girls. He emphasized that as the military continues to escalate its warfare and targeted attacks against civilians, Myanmar’s women and girls are bearing the heaviest burden of this conflict. The situation has created unprecedented challenges for women and girls who are facing multiple forms of violence and discrimination.
According to the ambassador’s statement, out of the 20 million people in Myanmar who need humanitarian assistance, approximately 10.4 million are women and girls. The lack of adequate funding has become a critical additional challenge, complicating the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The delivery of basic health and care services, along with other humanitarian support, is being significantly blocked and hindered. This has created a severe impact on the ability to provide essential services to those in need.
Ambassador U Kyaw Moe Tun urged the international community to take balanced and decisive action to ensure peace, security, and equality for women and girls in Myanmar. He emphasized that ending the military dictatorship and the illegal military coup, along with stopping their impunity, is the only way forward. The ambassador concluded by calling for coordinated international efforts to address the root causes of these issues and to work towards bringing justice, peace, security, and a bright future for Myanmar’s women and girls.
