Human rights violations in Myanmar: The problem of reality and facts from documents

Abstract

The serious human rights violations in Myanmar, especially against ethnic minorities, have been a matter of debate for decades between the Myanmar government and the victims, especially the acts against the Rohingya, which worsened in 2017 and continued to occur in conflict-torn areas such as Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states, and in response to anti-coup protests. Based on documentary evidence and reports from decades of violence and ongoing violations by civil society inside and outside the country, efforts have been made to track and record human rights violations in order to hold the state accountable and tell the truth. However, the state has refused to accept the truth from documents or reports, citing the redundancy of the multi-layered documentation system, over reporting, and citing the domestic legal system to protect the state’s actions. Meanwhile, international fact-finding surveys clearly show that human rights violations have occurred. The key issue is not beliefs or documents, but how all parties will accept and address human rights issues, given the potential limitations of Myanmar’s multi-layered documentation efforts for accountability and truth-telling after the 2021 coup.