The 57th Session of the Human Rights Council
9 September – 11 October 2024
Item 2: Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General.
Item 4: Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention.
23 September 2024.
Statement of Meezaan Centre for Human Rights
Delivered by Carolina Atlee
Thank you,
We thank the High Commissioner for his report, and commend his dedication to raising awareness to the dire situation in Myanmar.
It is appalling that physical and sexual violations still routinely occur, despite many appeals by this council and the international community to end them.
The genocide of the Rohingya civilians is ongoing. As mentioned by the High Commissioner, the military is continuing to persecute thousands of civilians and attack and set fire to homes creating new ways of displacement, adding to their suffering from the past years. All these forms of violence leave invisible scars, and the psychological condition of all civilians is at risk.
This is a crisis where detainees would rather hear the screams of their fellow inmates, because their silences mean death. Where mock executions, snakes, and other insects are regularly used to instil fear, and parents fear their children being taken away as punishment. This perpetual fear is because no one feels safe. The lack of safety and constant fear causes psychological instability, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Fortunately, community-based organisations are supporting the psychological states of survivors and their families. However, this should not be solely the responsibility of the local community.
Therefore, Meezaan Centre for Human Rights and Geneva International Centre for Justice urge the international community to immediately take action rather than wait for these horrific rights violations to worsen. We call for States to not only demand accountability from the military of Myanmar, but also to support and consider viable options of directly funding mental health programmes, to mitigate trauma of current inhabitants and refugees of Myanmar.
Thank you.
