On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, observed on June 26, the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) called for comprehensive assistance from relevant organizations and officials to support individuals unjustly arrested and tortured in southeastern regions of Myanmar.
By proposing four points aimed at identifying, educating, and preventing arbitrary arrests and torture in rural areas of Southeast Myanmar, including Karen, Karenni (Kayah), Mon, Tanintharyi, and Bago, KHRG urged relevant organizations and INGOs to collaborate in these efforts.
KHRG also called for exposing the Junta’s human rights violations and targeted torture of civilians, which have surged following the coup. It emphasized the need to support witnesses of these atrocities, and to advocate for groups that document these events.
KHRG highlighted the necessity of holding those who committed these brutal acts, accountable through free and fair trials, without allowing the Junta's crimes to go unpunished. It also underscored the need to expand psychological support to help victims and their families, who have escaped these atrocities, to readjust to society.
“It is crucial to recognize that the human rights of torture victims have been violated, and supporting the perpetrators amounts to being complicit in war crimes. We urge everyone to ensure that victims of abuse receive all possible assistance and are not neglected”, KHRG spokesperson Saw Nanda Hsu said.
KHRG also stated that the Junta's systematic tortures violate the Geneva Conventions and constitute a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
In 2023, there were at least 37 reported torture victims in the southeastern regions of Myanmar, with Junta troops identified as the main culprits in 33 of these cases. The regime soldiers used physical and psychological violence against the public, causing severe mental distress to the victims.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), over 3 million people have been displaced across Myanmar, including in southeastern regions, due to escalating internal conflicts exacerbated since the coup.
