UN Human Rights Council 50: UK statement on Myanmar

Thank you, Special Rapporteur for your update.

Special Rapporteur,

Your new report sheds light on the abhorrent violence committed against children in Myanmar. Your report underscores the shockingly high numbers of children – killed by the military, forced to flee their homes, and arbitrarily detained – with horrifying reports of torture. Their childhoods have been stolen.

The United Kingdom condemns in the strongest terms these grave violations against Myanmar’s children. The military must immediately cease all violations against children, including releasing those in arbitrary detention.

As penholder at the UN Security Council and a member of the UNSC Children and Armed Conflict Working Group, the UK will continue to ensure that protecting the children of Myanmar and safeguarding their human rights remains high on the international agenda.

The UK has announced 11 tranches of sanctions since the coup, which inhibit the military regime’s ability to finance such atrocities. We also continue to put our full support behind the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, and its mandate to collect evidence of the most serious human rights violations, including those against children.

Special Rapporteur,

What more can the international community do to improve the documentation of human rights violations against children, as well as victims and survivors of conflict-related sexual and gender based violence and hold those responsible to account?