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This article contains references to rape and child abuse.
United Nations investigators say they have recorded “systematic” torture in Myanmar’s military-run detention facilities, including beatings, electric shocks and gang rape.
Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military deposed the civilian government in a 2021 coup, with troops fighting an array of pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic armed groups.
The fighting has been accompanied by a crackdown in which nearly 30,000 people have been arrested, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitor group.
A report by the UN’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) said it had identified “serious abuses during interrogations and in detention facilities”.
“We have uncovered significant evidence, including eyewitness testimony, showing systematic torture in Myanmar detention facilities,” Nicholas Koumjian, head of the IIMM, said in a statement accompanying the 16-page annual report, which was released on Tuesday.
A junta spokesman could not be reached for comment on the allegations laid out in the report, which drew on testimony from nearly 600 eyewitnesses.
Children as young as two being detained as ‘proxies for their parents’, report says
It said there had been “systematic commission” of torture, including “sexual slavery”, the “burning of sexual body parts with cigarettes or burned objects”, and fingernails being pulled out with pliers.
It also found evidence “indicating that children — ranging from two to 17 years of age — have been detained, often as proxies for their parents”.
“Some of the detained children have been subjected to torture, ill-treatment or sexual and gender-based crimes,” it added.
The torture sometimes resulted in death, the report said.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has called for an arrest warrant for junta leader Min Aung Hlaing, who overthrew and imprisoned the democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Source: AAP / EPA/Andy Rain
Koumjian said the organisation had seen “a continued increase in the frequency and brutality of atrocities” but had made “headway in identifying the perpetrators”.
“We are working towards the day when the perpetrators will have to answer for their actions in a court of law.”
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has already requested an arrest warrant for junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, who ousted and jailed elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
That warrant request relates to alleged atrocities committed by the military on Myanmar’s Rohingya minority in 2017.
All sides in Myanmar’s civil war have been accused of committing war crimes, and the IIMM report said it had also identified cases where opposition groups had committed summary executions of captives.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
Readers seeking support can ring Lifeline crisis support on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged 5 to 25). More information is available at beyondblue.org.au and lifeline.org.au.
Anyone seeking information or support relating to sexual abuse can contact Bravehearts on 1800 272 831 or Blue Knot on 1300 657 380.
