1. The report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights entitled “Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar” submitted to the 59th regular session of the Human Rights Council does not include any meaningful facts but repetition of previous reports, particularly the one submitted to the 56th regular session of the Human Rights Council. The report attempts to glorify the so-called emerging local governance structures while covering up their subordinate nature to armed actors and unpopular heinous crimes.
2. Reference is made to paragraphs under the sub-title Introduction. The report admits it is a visioning exercise incorporating wishful thinking from armed terrorist groups without examining the complexities, ranging from armed movements of different groups, illegal extraction of natural resources, extortion, to ethnic supremacy. Above all, the report represents a clear example of how the Human Rights Council has been used to interfere in the internal affairs of Myanmar under the pretext of human rights.
3. Reference is made to paragraphs 5 and 9. The report alleges Myanmar continued restrictive control of humanitarian access following the devastating earthquake on 28 March 2025. Contrary, Myanmar facilitated the visits of Under-Secretary-General Tom Fletcher, Emergency Relief Coordinator, the Foreign Ministers of Malaysia and Thailand, and Ms. Julie Bishop, Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General, in April, among others. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar facilitated entry visas for over 90 personnel from the UN and international organizations during April 2025. In consideration of assisting the people affected by the powerful Mandalay earthquake on 28 March 2025, the Tatmadaw has declared a temporary ceasefire from 2 to 22 April 2025 to facilitate swift humanitarian and recovery operations. The Tatmadaw further extended the temporary ceasefire period until the end of June 2025. Tatmadaw (Myanmar Armed Forces) did not launch any military attacks during the period of temporary ceasefire, but took necessary countermeasures only when endangering civilian lives and property. Some EAOs and PDFs, however, continue committing attacks during the period of ceasefire, and the report fails to mention the following violence among others:
(a) On 30 April 2025, a joint KIA/PDF terrorist group launched a missile attack targeting the Myitkyina airport in Kachin State.
(b) On 3 May 2025, PDF terrorists planted handmade explosive mines at the southern jetty in Monywa, Sagaing Region.
(c) On 4 May 2025, a joint KNLA/PDF terrorist group detonated mines to destroy a reinforced concrete bridge on the Yangon-Mawlamyine highway in Thaton Township, Mon State.
(d) On 5 May 2025, a joint KNLA/PDF terrorist group planted and detonated mines on a railway bridge located between Hninpale and Taungsoon stations in Bilin Township, Mon State.
(e) On 6 May 2025, PDF terrorists carried out a drone attack using drop bombs on Thinpaungkyin Village in Kanbalu Township, Sagaing Region.
(f) On 8 May 2025, a joint KNLA/PDF terrorist group launched an attack on the headquarters of the Regional Operations Command (598) based in Zaloutgyi Village, Shwegyin Township, Bago Region.
4. Reference is made to paragraphs under the sub-title Methodology. It stated that the report gathered views of 36 groups and 391 people. Myanmar is a country with 53 million population and it is not rational to generalize the sentiment of a small group of people as the aspirations of the people of Myanmar. The report simply puts the one-sided narratives, as it does not include a single line of input provided by the Government of Myanmar.
5. Reference is made to paragraphs 9 and 10. The number of deaths in the report is being referred to the group, so-called Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as “credible sources”. The group affiliated with armed oppositions and funded by certain Western countries has been active in propaganda campaigns in favour of terrorist groups. It indicates that the authors of the report are simply reproducing misinformation from such non-independent groups. On the other hand, information provided by the Government is not reflected in the report. From 1 February 2021 to 30 April 2025, the terrorist groups have claimed the lives of 8,963 innocent civilians, including 337 children, 1,225 administrative staff, 114 teachers, and 24 healthcare workers. The terrorist groups have sabotaged 1,299 roads and bridges, 77 hospitals and dispensaries, and 831 schools and educational buildings. The report conceals the violence committed by terrorist groups. Myanmar has been making sure that civilian casualties and damage caused by clashes with terrorist groups are properly investigated. Special investigations have been conducted on some incidents under the direct supervision of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Services.
6. Reference is made to paragraphs 11, 12, and 49. Heaping all the blame on the Government regarding Myanmar’s economy is no longer rational. From October 2020 to September 2021 financial year, the GDP growth rate was minus 5.9 percent due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Myanmar achieved a growth rate of 2.4 percent during the first half of the 2021-2022 financial year, 3.4 percent in the 2022-23 financial year, and 3.5 percent in the 2023-24 financial year. The expected GDP growth rate for the 2024-2025 financial year is 3.8 percent, and that of the 2025-2026 financial year is 3 percent. Due to sanctions imposed by certain countries on its national banks, Myanmar experiences delayed payments, higher costs, including bank charges, limited ability to integrate in the global market, decreased trade value, higher price of essential imports, including medicine and fuel, and higher import costs affecting domestic manufacturing. Such consequences have an impact on vulnerable people, including children, women, and patients, and the right to development of the Myanmar people.
7. Reference is made to paragraph 13. The Government is prioritizing combating online scams and human trafficking, rescuing individuals who have been forced into these operations, and repatriating the victims to their home countries. From 5 October 2023 to 16 May 2025, a total of 65,709 foreign nationals identified as illegal immigrants involved in online scams were transferred to their respective countries. Due to the transnational nature of criminal activities and most of the victims reaching Myanmar’s remote areas via illegal border crossings, Myanmar has been working through the Myanmar-China-Thailand Trilateral Cooperation to crack down on online scams and online gambling.
8. Reference is made to paragraphs under the sub-title Constituencies for change. The paragraphs represent the false findings without proven evidence to support them, merely integrating the wishful thinking of armed opposition groups and their subordinate sections dealing with medical services, logistics, terrorist training, propaganda, and recruitment. In other words, the paragraphs mislead the viewers by portraying terrorist subordinate sections as if women, youth, civil society organizations, pro-democracy actors, and media, and blatantly advocate for armed terrorist groups operating against a UN member state. As such, paragraph 21 refers to the so-called Karenni Interim Executive Council, which is subordinate to KNPP and PDF armed terrorist groups responsible for numerous crimes brutally committed against the local population in Kayah State. It is too large to ignore the fact that the armed groups attacked Loikaw University in November 2023 and killed many on the campus and abducted over 190 university faculty members, including its rector, and students. The terrorist groups temporarily seized Loi Kaw city, killed several residents, burned down public buildings, and looted homes and shops. It has led the majority of residents to flee, and local communities have returned to their places following the counter-terrorism operations of state security forces in June 2024. It clearly shows that no civilians can live under the control of such brutal armed groups and their subordinate structures.
9. Reference is made to paragraphs 22 and 48. Anyone who knows forced recruitment can file a complaint to the Central Body for Summoning People’s Military Servants, and actions have been taken in case of non-compliance with the Law. As of 6 May 2025, a total of 1,689 persons who got involved in 1,344 cases of forced recruitment have been taken action. The allegations cannot be substantiated without any facts.
10. Reference is made to paragraphs under the sub-title Pathways to change. Although these paragraphs mention accountability and reconciliation, they inflame further divisions and mistrust. While alleging ethnic chauvinism against Myanmar’s population, the report ignores several instances of killings, discrimination, and violence committed by armed terrorist groups along ethnic lines. While Myanmar is diverse with multiethnic, multi-religious, and multi-cultural, the general population acknowledges the value of diversity and lives side by side in many parts of the country. It is witnessed in many cities, including Yangon and Mandalay, among others, which are home to many of Myanmar’s pluralist society.
11. Nonetheless, there are armed terrorist groups that create ethnic divisions to influence the local population in their interests. It becomes significant to observe infighting among several armed terrorist groups for land and natural resources. The armed groups formed under certain ethnic names are responsible for violence against other ethnic groups, and they, in many cases, target other ethnic youths for recruitment and oppression. Paragraph 42 glorifies the so-called Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), which attempts to expand the land delineated by the State Constitution and to seize towns and villages where the Shan and Bamar ethnic groups mainly reside. The terrorist group not only attacked and destroyed the cities, in addition to killings and violence, but also abolished the religious and cultural monuments in December 2023 and January 2024 in Namkhan, Shan State. Such offensive acts were widely condemned by the people of Myanmar, who were also outraged by the killings, torture, and looting of the TNLA. The hundreds of thousands of residents have returned homes only after the withdrawal of TNLA from the temporarily occupied areas in Shan State, and many local news reported such returns. Yet, the authors of the report turn a blind eye to these developments to reach their desired conclusions.
12. It is also the case for the so-called NUG, which exploits many youths by sending them to armed terrorist organizations for its political agenda. Such youths face various forms of discrimination and instances of killings and violence based on ethnicity and religion. It is illogical to see the figures of the so-called administrative structures of the terrorist group contained in paragraph 40, since the so-called NUG is in exile, while different factions of armed actors do not follow its command. Therefore, the wishful thinking of the authors does not meet reality, but the report creates a wrong impression of what is happening on the ground and offers false hope to prolong the instability in Myanmar.
13. Reference is made to paragraphs 53 to 58. These paragraphs represent the resentful narratives of interest groups, particularly in exile, advocating to impose unilateral measures on Myanmar in violation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. While state-owned enterprises contribute mainly to public services and expenditure, calls to impose sanctions mainly aim to hurt the general population of Myanmar. The paragraphs further incite the international community to engage with unlawful organizations, including armed terrorist groups, for their political gain. Paragraph 56 represents the interest of those in exile, while over 50 million people reside in Myanmar, and some others go abroad legally of their own volition.
14. The contents of the report are far from reality, creating false hope to endanger the lives of the Myanmar people, divided by a ‘Us vs. Them’ mentality. Such provocative actions and narratives are the hallmark of interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state under the pretext of human rights. In light of the principled position of Myanmar, which opposes country-specific mandates and the nature of the misleading report, the Government categorically rejects the whole report contained in document no. A/HRC/59/57, along with its intrusive conclusions and recommendations.
Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations
Geneva
25 June 2025