UNHRC to hold special session following Myanmar coup

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold a special session today on Myanmar.

Myanmar’s military has seized power in a coup, detaining democratically elected leaders, including State Councillor Aung San Suu Kyi, National League for Democracy (NLD) party members and key civil society stakeholders. The senior general leading the coup, Min Aung Hlaing, has continued to make baseless claims that the seizure of power was necessary as there were irregularities in November’s elections, in which the NLD won a decisive victory. Now, Myanmar once again faces bans on gatherings, internet black-outs and even violence towards a historic mass uprising of protesters.

Concerned with the possibility of increased human rights violations under a military junta, continued violence against protesters and the military’s genocide of the Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority, expect the UNHRC to pass a resolution that calls for an immediate end to violence and the release of democratically elected leaders. In supporting UN action, several countries are currently considering and applying sanctions on companies with ties to the military.

Moving forward, international and domestic actors’ acceptance of the military’s power grab would be detrimental to human rights in Myanmar, especially to marginalised communities, such as the Rohingya, who have systematically been targeted en masse by the military.