Human rights violations in Myanmar at extreme level: UN

The human rights situation in Myanmar has hit a new low. The United Nations has said that alongside widespread repression by the country's military and the Arakan Army, a conflict-driven economy built around illegal rare earth mineral extraction is further compounding the suffering of civilians, reports Reuters news agency.

A report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, published on Tuesday, August 25, highlights the situation in Myanmar from June 2025 to May 2026. The report states that ongoing conflict, military violence, and a growing 'conflict-driven economy' have plunged ordinary people into extreme suffering.

The report said both the Arakan Army, which controls a large part of Rakhine State, and the Myanmar military have committed widespread and systematic human rights violations against the Rohingya population. These include killings, torture, forced recruitment, forced labour, arbitrary detention and displacement. Reuters sought comments from both sides but received no response .

Nine years after hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Myanmar's military crackdown in 2017, the situation has not improved. Following the 2021 military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi, the Rohingya have faced new forms of persecution. The UN said this community still faces systematic discrimination.

Meanwhile, the military organised an election earlier this year, through which junta chief Min Aung Hlaing became president, the report noted.

More than five years after the coup, the Myanmar military has continued measures such as airstrikes, arson and blocking humanitarian aid to establish control and instil fear among the population. Since 2021, at least 8,075 civilians have been killed in the country, including 1,774 women and 1,074 children. However, the UN said the actual number could be much higher.

The Myanmar military has previously claimed that its airstrikes are limited to military targets, carried out in response to towns and villages falling to rebels and what they describe as the violent activities of 'terrorist groups.'

According to UN figures, the number of internally displaced people in Myanmar has risen to 3.6 million. Additionally, 12.4 million people are facing acute food shortages, and nearly 400,000 mothers and children are suffering from severe malnutrition.

The UN also accused the Arakan Army of arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, forced labour and land grabs against Rohingya in northern Rakhine. The report also mentioned that displaced Rohingya are being prevented from returning to their areas, with non-Rohingya being resettled on their land.

Satellite image analysis showed approximately 2,000 acres of land had been seized. Eyewitnesses reported that even children as young as six were forced into labour. Former detainees also reported torture and deaths in custody.

The report also highlighted the rapid expansion of illegal rare earth mineral extraction in Myanmar's Kachin and Shan states. The collapse of the rule of law there has allowed this conflict-financing illegal industry to flourish.