The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Friday released a report highlighting numerous human rights violations in Myanmar two years after the military coup.

The report states:

Myanmar’s conflict landscape has changed dramatically, highlighting concerns for the protection of civilians. By late 2021, and throughout 2022, violence intensified especially in the north-west and south-east, with the military employing its “four-cuts” strategy: indiscriminate deployment of airstrikes and artillery shelling, mass burnings of villages to displace civilian populations, and denial of humanitarian access.

According to the report, the military committed extrajudicial killings after arresting villagers during military raids. During these raids, the military used airstrikes, artillery fire and arson attacks. In 2022 alone, the military detained and killed at least five people in 24 separate incidents. Another 920 people died while in military custody.

Other human rights violations cited in the report include sexual and gender-based violence in interrogation facilities, sex trafficking, harassment, forced prostitution and forced disappearances.

The report also claims that the military has targeted and killed anti-military activists and arbitrarily apprehended and incarcerated family members of those with outstanding warrants. The military is also accused of torturing anti-military protesters, including children. Furthermore, the military allegedly looted and burned property in the villages it invaded. The most civilian destruction associated with this thus far was observed in January.

The report alleges that the military, which currently controls Myanmar’s government, has passed laws intended to target and repress the nation’s dissidents in an effort to usurp the rule of law. The report names some of the laws that threaten the country’s rule of law, including the 2021 amendments to the Counter Terrorism Law that increased criminal penalties and the Association Registration Law that restricts civil society’s ability to fully operate within the country. The military has also enacted regulations that limit the country’s freedom of expression and media, resulting in the arrest of 178 journalists, conviction of 60 and killing of two.

The OHCHR calls on military authorities to halt their operations immediately and to refrain from any further violation of human rights. Furthermore, it recommends that all stakeholders in Myanmar respect and adhere to international human rights laws. The report also urges the UN Security Council to refer the Myanmar case to the International Criminal Court for review and redress.