Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar

A/RES/73/264View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 74cHuman rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives, published in 2018.

What else is in this group?

46 documents · 1994–2026

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2026).

2026A/HRC/RES/61/30Situation of human rights in MyanmarCompare with earlier document
2025A/HRC/RES/58/20Situation of human rights in MyanmarCompare with earlier document
2024A/HRC/RES/55/20Situation of human rights in MyanmarCompare with earlier document
2023A/HRC/RES/52/31Situation of human rights in MyanmarCompare with earlier document
2022A/HRC/RES/49/23Situation of human rights in MyanmarCompare with earlier document

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

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Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

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What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Bangladesh Human Rights in Armed Conflicts Humanitarian Assistance Minorities Myanmar Refugees

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2019.

2019A/74/311Situation of human rights in Myanmar report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

33 operative paragraphs

Expresses grave concern at the findings of the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar that there is sufficient information to warrant investigation and prosecution so that a competent court may determine liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine State, that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan States, including murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, rape, sexual slavery and other forms of sexual violence, persecution and enslavement, that children were subjected to and witnessed serious human rights violations, including killing, maiming and sexual violence, that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that serious crimes under international law have been committed that warrant criminal investigation and prosecution and that the military has consistently failed to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law;

Strongly condemns all violations and abuses of human rights in Myanmar, as set out in the report of the fact-finding mission, including the widespread, systematic and gross human rights violations and abuses committed in Rakhine State, including the presence of elements of extermination and deportation and the systematic oppression and discrimination that the fact-finding mission concluded may amount to persecution and to the crime of apartheid, also strongly condemns the grossly disproportionate response of the military and the security forces, deplores the serious deterioration of the security, human rights and humanitarian situation and the exodus of more than 723,000 Rohingya Muslims and other minorities to Bangladesh and the subsequent depopulation of northern Rakhine State, and calls upon the Myanmar authorities to ensure that those responsible for violations of international law, including human rights violations and abuses, are held accountable and removed from positions of power;

Calls for a full and independent investigation of the human rights violations and abuses committed, including against the Rohingya Muslims and persons belonging to other minorities, as reported by various United Nations bodies, including the Human Rights Council, the fact-finding mission and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to ensure that those responsible for such crimes are held accountable;

Notes the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry by the Government of Myanmar as a step towards ensuring accountability for investigating alleged violations and abuses of human rights in Rakhine State, provided that the commission, unlike preceding national investigative mechanisms, is able to work with independence, impartiality, transparency and objectivity in a credible way in line with international standards, and encourages the commission to seek support and expertise from the United Nations and the international community;

Calls for the expeditious entry into operation of the independent mechanism established by the Human Rights Council and steps to secure its effective functioning as soon as possible;

Notes the recommendation by the fact-finding mission on the conduct of a comprehensive, independent inquiry into the involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar since 2011, and encourages the United Nations system to follow up on the issues raised and to ensure that all engagement with Myanmar takes into account, and addresses, human rights concerns;

Also notes the holding of the third session of the 21st-Century Panglong Conference from 11 to 16 July 2018 and the progress made towards the principles of a future democratic federal union of Myanmar, while calling for further steps, including an immediate cessation of fighting and hostilities, of targeting civilians and of all violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in northern Myanmar and an inclusive and comprehensive national political dialogue ensuring the full, effective and meaningful participation of all ethnic groups, women and young people, and persons with disabilities, as well as civil society, with the objective of achieving lasting peace;

Reiterates the urgent call upon the Government of Myanmar:

To take the necessary measures to address the spread of discrimination and prejudice and to combat the incitement of hatred against Rohingya Muslims and other persons belonging to minorities, including Kachin and Shan, by publicly condemning such acts and combating hate speech, while fully respecting international human rights law, as well as by promoting interfaith dialogue in cooperation with the international community and encouraging political and religious leaders in the country to work towards reconciliation among communities and national unity through dialogue;

To expedite efforts to eliminate statelessness and the systematic and institutionalized discrimination against members of ethnic and religious minorities, in particular relating to the Rohingya Muslims, by, inter alia, reviewing the 1982 Citizenship Law, which has led to deprivation of human rights, by ensuring equal access to full citizenship through a transparent, voluntary and accessible procedure and to all civil and political rights, by allowing for self-identification, by amending or repealing all discriminatory legislation and policies, including discriminatory provisions of the set of “protection of race and religion laws” enacted in 2015 covering religious conversion, interfaith marriage, monogamy and population control, and by lifting all local orders restricting rights to freedom of movement and access to civil registration, health and education services and livelihoods;

To dismantle the camps for internally displaced persons in Rakhine State, ensuring that the return and relocation of internally displaced persons is carried out in accordance with international standards and best practices, including as set forth in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement;

To create the conditions necessary for the safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of refugees, to proactively apprise the prospective returnees about developments in this regard and to formulate a time-bound road map for their implementation;

To allow full and unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance, including gender-responsive assistance, by humanitarian actors, including the United Nations and its international partners, as well as by regional organizations, including but not limited to the Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to affected persons and communities, without fear of reprisals, intimidation or attack, and in this regard urges the Government of Myanmar to implement the various international cooperation agreements that have not yet been fully implemented for the distribution of humanitarian aid to all affected areas, including Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States, without discrimination;

To sustain the democratic transition of Myanmar by bringing all national institutions, including the military, under the democratically elected civilian Government;

To ensure full protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons in Myanmar, including Rohingya Muslims and persons belonging to other minorities, in an equal and dignified manner in order to prevent further instability and insecurity, alleviate suffering, address the root causes of the situation and forge a viable, lasting and durable solution;

To fulfil its human rights obligations and commitments to protect the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, to create and maintain a safe and enabling environment for civil society and independent media and to ensure the safety, security and freedom of journalists, media workers, civil society activists and human rights defenders, including while they are engaged in their work;

Underscores the importance of providing protection and assistance specifically tailored to women and girls and to the victims of sexual violence;

Reiterates its deep concern at the continued plight of Rohingya refugees and forcibly displaced persons living in Bangladesh and in other countries, and appreciates the commitment by the Government of Bangladesh to provide temporary shelter, humanitarian assistance and protection to them;

Expresses grave concern at the potential retraumatization of survivors of human rights violations and abuses, particularly child survivors and sexual violence survivors, and calls upon all actors engaging in documentation work to follow international human rights standards and the “do no harm” principle for evidence-gathering in order to respect the dignity of survivors and to avoid retraumatization;

Encourages further cooperation between Myanmar and Bangladesh in order to expedite the establishment of conditions that will allow for the safe, sustainable and voluntary return of Rohingya refugees and forcibly displaced persons, with the full support and meaningful involvement of the international community, including the United Nations and its funds, programmes and agencies;

Also encourages the international community to (a) assist Bangladesh in providing humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees and forcibly displaced persons until such time as they are voluntarily repatriated to Myanmar in safety and dignity; and (b) assist Myanmar in the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected persons of all communities who have been internally displaced, including those in camps for internally displaced persons within Rakhine State;

Urges the Government of Myanmar to continue to work with the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations, including the United Nations Development Programme and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to allow the voluntary return of all refugees and forcibly displaced persons in conditions of safety and dignity to their places of origin in Myanmar, including through the implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed between the Government of Myanmar and the United Nations Development Programme and the Office of the High Commissioner;

Recognizes with appreciation the assistance and support of the international community, including regional organizations, in particular the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the countries neighbouring Myanmar, and encourages support for the Government of Myanmar in the fulfilment of its international human rights obligations and commitments, the implementation of its democratic transition process, inclusive socioeconomic development and sustainable peace, as well as its national reconciliation process involving all relevant stakeholders;

Emphasizes the need for the Governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh, as well as the United Nations, to ensure the voluntariness of the repatriation process and to ensure that the concerns, specific needs and requests of Rohingya refugees and other forcibly displaced persons are taken into account;

Urges the international community to support the underfunded 2018 joint response plan for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis to ensure adequate resources for addressing the humanitarian crisis;

Requests the Secretary-General:

To continue to provide his good offices and to pursue his discussions relating to Myanmar, involving all relevant stakeholders, and to offer assistance to the Government of Myanmar;

To extend the appointment of the Special Envoy on Myanmar and submit the report of the Special Envoy covering all relevant issues addressed in the present resolution to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session;

To provide all assistance necessary to enable the Special Envoy to effectively discharge her mandate and to brief Member States every six months, or as otherwise requested or as warranted by the situation on the ground;

To identify ways in which the existing mandates can more effectively deliver in their respective areas of responsibility and can complement each other’s work through enhanced coordination;

To call the continued attention of the Security Council to the situation in Myanmar with concrete recommendations for action towards resolving the humanitarian crisis, promoting the safe, dignified, voluntary and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees and forcibly displaced persons and ensuring accountability for those responsible for human rights violations;

Requests that the Special Envoy participate by way of interactive dialogue in the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly;

Decides to remain seized of the matter, inter alia, on the basis of the reports of the Secretary-General, the fact-finding mission, the ongoing international mechanism, the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council and the Special Envoy on Myanmar.

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