Before the soldiers left the village, they planted landmines, one of them in front of the church. An old man, maybe 70 years-old, stepped on a landmine and was killed … I lost everything—kitchen, furniture, rice stocks—not a single piece of paper was left. The same happened to the other 19 families whose houses were burned.”

Female rice farmer from Tantabin township

In the past nine months, Myanmar has witnessed three pivotal moments in the country's turbulent recent history: the brutal crackdown following mass demonstrations in September 2007; a constitutional referendum in which both the substantive content and procedural aspects have been deeply flawed; and a humanitarian and human rights disaster in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

At the same time, another human rights emergency is going on in eastern Myanmar. For two and a half years, a military offensive by the Myanmar army, known as the tatmadaw, has been waged against ethnic Karen civilians in Kayin (Karen) State and Bago (Pegu) Division, involving a widespread and systematic violation of international human rights and humanitarian law. These violations constitute crimes against humanity.

Unlike previous counter-insurgency campaigns against the Karen National Union (KNU) and its armed wing (the Karen National Liberation Army, KNLA) for nearly 60 years, the current offensive has civilians as the primary targets. The current operation is the largest in a decade and is unique in that, unlike previous seasonal operations that have generally ended at the start of the yearly rains between May and October, this offensive has continued through two consecutive rainy seasons and shows no signs of stopping as a third season is underway.

An estimated 147,800 people are reported to have been, and remain, internally displaced in Kayin State and eastern Bago Division. Many of them have also been subjected to other widespread and systematic violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including unlawful killings; torture and other ill-treatment; enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests; the imposition of forced labour, including portering; the destruction of homes and whole villages; and the destruction or confiscation of crops and food-stocks and other forms of collective punishment.

Civilian Karen villagers told Amnesty International of living in fear for their lives, dignity, and property, after having been subjected to or witnessed torture, extrajudicial executions, forced labour and destruction of homes. Such violations were described as directed at civilians, simply on account of their Karen ethnicity or location in Karen majority areas, or retribution for activities by the KNLA.

Amnesty International has documented how these violations of international human rights and humanitarian law have been preceded or accompanied by consistent threats and warnings by the tatmadaw that they would take place, and by statements by Myanmar government officials. The organization is thus concerned that the violations are the result of official State Peace and Development Council (SPDC, the Myanmar government) and tatmadaw policy. Moreover, the tatmadaw apparently enjoys impunity for violations committed against Karen civilians. The prevailing impunity for such crimes, with a lack of avenues for redress for victims, has contributed to Myanmar’s ongoing human rights crisis.

Crimes against humanity are certain acts that, committed in times of war or peace, form part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population. According to Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, acts—including murder, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer of population, imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance, and other inhumane acts—may constitute crimes against humanity “when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack …” This definition reflects customary international law binding on all states, regardless of whether or not they are parties to the Statute.

Recommendations

Based on the findings presented in the report Crimes against humanity in eastern Myanmar, Amnesty International makes the following recommendations:

To the SPDC:

• Put an immediate halt to all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by government forces and aligned militias, including the targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attacks, extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment, destruction of houses and crops, and forced labour;


• Ensure that all acts violating international human rights and humanitarian law are subject to prompt, independent, and impartial investigations, and that suspected perpetrators, including those suspected of ordering these acts, regardless of rank, are brought to justice;


• Ensure that victims of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law are provided with full reparation, including restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition.

To armed opposition groups:

• Armed opposition groups should publicly undertake to observe the provisions of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and other provisions of international humanitarian law applicable to non-international armed conflicts.

To the UN:

• The Security Council should demand that the SPDC immediately halt all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by government forces and aligned militias, including in the ongoing offensive in eastern Myanmar;


• The Security Council should consider visiting Myanmar, including its eastern parts, to obtain first hand information on the situation on the ground;


• The Security Council should request the Secretary-General to provide a specific report on the situation in eastern Myanmar;


• The Security Council should impose a comprehensive mandatory arms embargo on Myanmar, which should cover the direct and indirect supply of military and security equipment and munitions and expertise, including transfers claimed to be ‘non-lethal’.


• The Secretary-General should continue to closely monitor and regularly report on the human rights and humanitarian situation in Myanmar, and use his ‘good offices’ mandate to further encourage the SPDC to halt all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by government forces and aligned militias in Kayin Sate and Bago Division, to end impunity for such violations, and to ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian organizations;


• The General Assembly should follow up on its recommendation in Resolution 61/232 (2006) that the SPDC “take urgent measures to put an end to the military operations targeting civilians in ethnic areas and the associated violations of human rights and humanitarian law against persons belonging to ethnic nationalities, including widespread rape and other forms of sexual violence persistently carried out by members of the armed forces, and to facilitate a fact-finding mission comprising representatives of relevant United Nations agencies to help to identify measures to alleviate the humanitarian and human rights consequences of the conflict in Karen State”;


• The Human Rights Council should include in its deliberations and actions on the situation in Myanmar, a specific focus on the human rights and humanitarian situation in Kayin State and Bago Division. The Human Rights Council should also continue to urge the SPDC to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and other UN bodies.

To UN member states

• Exercise universal jurisdiction over persons suspected of involvement in crimes against humanity in Myanmar;


• Immediately suspend the supply to Myanmar of all direct and indirect transfers of military and security equipment and munitions and expertise, including transfers claimed to be ‘non-lethal’.

To Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

• Urge the SPDC, both in the ASEAN framework and as individual member states, to immediately halt all violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Kayin State and Bago Division, and to comply with their international legal obligations, including core obligations under the ASEAN Charter.

This is a summary of a 56-page document ( 22,000 words), Crimes against humanity in eastern Myanmar (AI Index: ASA 16/011/2008 issued by Amnesty International in June 2008. Anyone wishing further details or to take action on this issue should consult the full document. An extensive range of our materials on this and other subjects is available at http://www.amnesty.org and Amnesty International news releases can be received by email.

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