Myanmar Campaign Network (MCN) calls for an end to violence against women and girls in Myanmar as part of the global campaign of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
The Myanmar military’s use of gender-based violence and rape as a weapon of war has been well documented by ethnic women’s groups over decades, and reported by the U.N. Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (IIFFMM).
The IIFFMM collected testimony from hundreds of Rohingya women who were been subjected to grave sexual and gender-based violence, including, rape gang rape, mass rape and mutilation during the 2016 and 2017 “clearance operations”. To date, no senior Myanmar military officer has been held accountable for the systematic sexual and gender-based violence committed against the Rohingya.
These abuses against women and girls have continued since the 1 February 2021 coup, with the National Unity Government of Myanmar Ministry of Women, Youths and Childrens Affairs reportedly investigating 128 cases of sexual violence committed by the Myanmar military
There are now over 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myanmar, with women, girls, and children in conflict-affected areas at high risk of human trafficking and sexual violence. Women and girls in IDP and refugee camps are also at high risk of sexual and gender-based violence.
With over 13,000 people arbitrarily arrested and still detained since the coup, reports by Amnesty International and the Assistance Association For Political Prisoners show that prisoners are subjected to beatings and physical and mental torture including death and rape threats. Women detainees and LGBTIQI+ detainees have been subjected to sexual and gender-based crimes.
Myanmar Campaign Manager Tasneem Roc said, “Military authorised violence against women and girls can only be solved by ending the military regime in Myanmar. The Australian government must issue targeted sanctions on the Myanmar military to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes.”
The National Unity Government of Myanmar, together with other legitimate interim institutions, have produced the Federal Democracy Charter (FDC), outlining principles that emphasise a strong commitment of human rights, including minority rights and women’s rights, rule of law, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination. The FDC details a new justice system that will ensure accountability for war crimes and crime against humanity, including rape as a weapon of war and genocide.
Myanmar Campaign Network condemns all forms of violence against women, girls and the LGBTQI+ community, and calls on the Australian Government to issue targeted sanctions against the Myanmar military and its business networks, and to recognise the legitimate government of Myanmar, the National Unity Government.
Media Contact:
Myanmar Campaign Network
Tasneem Roc
+61 2 8203 6044
The Myanmar Campaign Network (MCN) is an Australian national coalition formed following the 2021 coup in Myanmar, comprising human rights organisations, international aid NGOs, Myanmar diaspora organisations, trade unions and faith-based organisations. This project is under the auspices of Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA.