GENEVA — Myanmar’s human rights situation has fallen to a “new low,” with the Rohingya and other minority communities facing escalating violence, forced labour and recruitment, while illicit economies fuel the country’s worsening crisis, according to a new UN report.
The report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights covers 1 June 2025 to 31 May 2026, documenting continued airstrikes, arson, displacement and denial of humanitarian aid by the Myanmar military.
It also found widespread and systematic abuses against the Rohingya by both the military and the Arakan Army, nine years after the violence of 2017 that forced hundreds of thousands to flee.
In northern Rakhine, the Arakan Army has carried out arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, forced labour and recruitment, enforced disappearances and property confiscations, the report said.
Children have also been forced into labour, with witnesses reporting children as young as six clearing jungle, constructing buildings and performing other work.
The UN also warned that Myanmar’s lack of rule of law has allowed illicit economies, including illegal mining, drug production, human trafficking and scam centres, to expand and help finance the conflict.
Rare-earth mining in Kachin and Shan has caused severe environmental damage. Satellite imagery showed 302 new mining sites in Kachin since 2021, a 149% increase, while sites in Shan rose from 12 before the 2021 coup to 85 afterward.
Toxic mining runoff and chemical contamination have damaged waterways, farmland and public health, with local documentation linking exposure to heavy metals to pregnancy complications and other illnesses.
“This report depicts a picture of suffering, misery, and cruelty on multiple levels and across the country that is heartbreaking,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
He urged governments, companies and investors to reconsider activities linked to Myanmar’s crisis, warning that their reputations and credibility are at stake.