GENEVA – As the situation in Myanmar worsens after five years of conflict-related violence, a decline in international assistance is further compounding the suffering of millions of people, a report published today by the UN Human Rights Office finds.
At the same time, foreign actors continue to transfer arms, their parts and components, ammunition and munitions, as well as jet fuel and other dual-use items to the Myanmar military, which risks facilitating violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, the report states.
It highlights how civil society organisations and local governance structures have had to take civilian protection into their own hands to save lives and ensure a minimum level of access and availability of essential services, despite continuous attacks by the military on the civilian population. Reductions and suspensions in international assistance are now threatening the sustainability of these locally driven protection mechanisms when support is most needed.
The report covers the period from August 2025 to the end of January 2026 – from the military’s announcement of elections through to the conclusion of the voting period — detailing serious human rights violations amid ongoing conflict-related violence, lack of respect for the rule of law, denial of humanitarian assistance, and the impact of the military-controlled elections.
Credible sources verified a minimum of 702 civilian deaths during the six-month reporting period, mostly in the central regions and Rakhine, the report finds. Of these, 476 deaths were due to airstrikes with 111, including 43 women and 10 children, preceding the start of voting in December.
Reduced international assistance has increased civilian exposure to harm, the report says, adding: “Predictable funding is essential to strengthen civilian protection initiatives.”
Decline in support has forced deep programme cuts, closures and layoffs within civil society organisations, and ethnic media and women’s organisations impacted disproportionally. Humanitarian and community-based programmes, including assistance to displaced people, education initiatives, and psychosocial support, have been curtailed or halted, thereby increasing community vulnerability.
Due to military blockades and these cuts, emergency healthcare provision has deteriorated, with organisations reporting difficulties maintaining medicine supply chains and health facilities. Safe houses for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence have closed or operate at a reduced capacity, while boarding facilities, education, and women-focused programmes have been scaled down or sustained only through reallocating limited emergency resources. Education programmes for displaced children and psychosocial support initiatives have also been curtailed.
“As if the people of Myanmar have not suffered enough at the hands of the military, they have now seemingly been forgotten by those outside the country. Funding for localised protection efforts was in many areas the only solace from the suffering caused by constant targeting and indiscriminate attacks by the military. This pullback just compounds that injury,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk.
“The international community should hold up a mirror to themselves, and ask: after a decade of grievous suffering, are we going to fail the people of Myanmar yet again? The answer must be no.”
Community-based groups, civil society organisations, and local governance systems have shouldered the responsibility of creating and managing their own local protection mechanisms across Myanmar, providing a measure of modest relief far short of needs.
Early warning, emergency healthcare, and coordination of humanitarian assistance, are currently often provided through locally driven systems that made strengths out of local knowledge, adaptability, and creativity to begin to overcome the serious limitations upon them, the report finds.
“These mechanisms, though fragile and constrained, demonstrated that degrees of protection are possible even under extreme conditions, when grounded in legitimacy, trust, and collective organisation,” it says, emphasising the need for international support for local protection efforts.
The High Commissioner repeated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and facilitation of humanitarian access to all civilians in urgent need of food, clean water, medicines, and basic services.
