HC Türk on Myanmar: “De-escalation, aid and accountability are the way out of this crisis”

Arakan Now | 9 September 2025

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has warned that Myanmar’s crisis is deepening, with civilians bearing the brunt of escalating violence, forced recruitment, and economic collapse.

Since the February 2021 coup, over 7,000 civilians have been killed and more than 30,000 arrested on political grounds. Military airstrikes, mass arrests, and village burnings have become routine, while anti-junta armed groups have also been accused of killings and forced recruitment. Humanitarian needs have soared, with 15.2 million people facing acute food insecurity and millions displaced.

Türk reiterated that “de-escalation, humanitarian access, and accountability” — not military-run elections — are the only way out of the country’s worsening turmoil.

Escalating Persecution of Rohingya

Türk sounded a stark alarm over the plight of Myanmar’s long-persecuted Rohingya minority, saying their suffering has intensified as fighting in Rakhine State reaches “fever pitch.”

Eight years after the Myanmar military’s brutal 2017 crackdown that drove 700,000 Rohingya to Bangladesh, new atrocities are being reported — this time at the hands of both the military and the Arakan Army, which now controls much of Rakhine.

The Arakan Army has been accused of killing, abducting, torturing, and forcibly recruiting Rohingya, as well as burning homes and villages. One of the deadliest incidents occurred on 5–6 August 2024, when drone and artillery strikes killed hundreds of Rohingya civilians gathered along the Naf River or fleeing by boat to Bangladesh. Survivors blamed the Arakan Army.

Meanwhile, the military has stepped up airstrikes and abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and forced conscription. Rohingya armed groups have also been implicated in violence against civilians.

Videos and images emerging from northern Rakhine in late 2024 are drawing comparisons to 2017, with thousands reportedly killed and tens of thousands displaced. Many Rohingya fled their homes amid threats or attacks by the Arakan Army, while communications blackouts have made it difficult to verify the full scale of violations.

Other communities, including ethnic Rakhine, are also under siege, with artillery fire and airstrikes causing widespread devastation. Military blockades have choked humanitarian aid, and more than half of families in Rakhine now struggle to meet basic food needs.

Türk called for urgent implementation of international measures, including UN Security Council Resolution 2669, which demands an end to violence and protection of Rohingya lives. He urged countries to halt arms flows into Myanmar, step up peace efforts, and create safe pathways for refugees, particularly Rohingya.

The High Commissioner welcomed recent sanctions and moves by the International Criminal Court, including an arrest warrant application for junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, but stressed that “much more is clearly needed.”

“The international community has all the information it needs to act,” Türk told the Human Rights Council, warning that inaction will only embolden further atrocities.