OHCHR / TURK MYANMAR HUMAN RIGHTS
06-Mar-2023
00:04:12
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said, “And I call on all United Nations Member States to promote dialogue and sustainable solutions that are representative of the will of the Myanmar people, in order to bring an end to this brutal crisis. The people of Myanmar deserve a better future.” UNTV CH
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STORY: OHCHR / VOLKER TURK ARRIVAL
TRT: 4:12
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGAUGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 6 MARCH 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
TRT: 4:12
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGAUGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 6 MARCH 2023, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Wide shot, exteriors Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, meeting room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Overall, the military increased airstrikes against civilian locations by 141 percent in the second year of the military takeover. Its artillery shelling of communities, including hospitals, schools and places of worship, increased by over 100 percent.”
4. Med shot, meeting room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Despite official claims that such tactics are aimed at anti-military armed groups, in numerous cases, testimony gathered by my Office has not indicated the presence of such groups.”
6. Wide shot, meeting room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The military’s use of arson throughout the country echoes its past attacks on civilians in Rakhine State. Incidents in which homes and neighbourhoods have been set on fire have risen by 380 percent in the second year after the coup, leading to an estimated 1,200 percent increase in the number of homes destroyed.”
8. Close up, camera and cameraman
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“People who are unable to flee risk being burned to death. Those who can escape, over 1.3 million people displaced since the coup was launched, face destitution. Overall, credible sources have verified that at least 2,947 civilians have been killed by the military and its affiliates since 2021, including 244 children. More than one third of these confirmed deaths occurred in military custody. The actual number of civilian killings is almost certainly far higher.”
10. Med shot, meeting room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Detainees across the country have reported severe beatings; mock executions; suspension from ceilings without food or water; electrocution; and acts of sexual violence. I condemn this apparently widespread use of torture and ill-treatment, as well as consistent reports of squalid conditions of detention.”
12. Med shot, meeting room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Merely ‘liking’ a Facebook post may lead to terrorism charges, with sentences of 10 years or more in prison, following opaque trials that do not meet fair trial standards at all.”
14. Wide shot, meeting room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The necessary conditions for voluntary, safe and dignified returns of refugees to Rakhine State simply do not exist, and the over 1 million Rohingya who remain in forced exile in Bangladesh and other countries, as well as hundreds of thousands who are internally displaced, face a bleak present, and worse future.”
16. Wide shot, meeting room
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The Rohingya community still remaining in Myanmar, which has already endured decades of persecution, continues to face widespread and systematic discrimination in every area of life.”
18. Med shot, meeting room
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“And I call on all United Nations Member States to promote dialogue and sustainable solutions that are representative of the will of the people of Myanmar, in order to bring an end to this brutal crisis. The people of Myanmar deserve a much better future.”
20. Wide shot, meeting room
2. Wide shot, meeting room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Overall, the military increased airstrikes against civilian locations by 141 percent in the second year of the military takeover. Its artillery shelling of communities, including hospitals, schools and places of worship, increased by over 100 percent.”
4. Med shot, meeting room
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Despite official claims that such tactics are aimed at anti-military armed groups, in numerous cases, testimony gathered by my Office has not indicated the presence of such groups.”
6. Wide shot, meeting room
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The military’s use of arson throughout the country echoes its past attacks on civilians in Rakhine State. Incidents in which homes and neighbourhoods have been set on fire have risen by 380 percent in the second year after the coup, leading to an estimated 1,200 percent increase in the number of homes destroyed.”
8. Close up, camera and cameraman
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“People who are unable to flee risk being burned to death. Those who can escape, over 1.3 million people displaced since the coup was launched, face destitution. Overall, credible sources have verified that at least 2,947 civilians have been killed by the military and its affiliates since 2021, including 244 children. More than one third of these confirmed deaths occurred in military custody. The actual number of civilian killings is almost certainly far higher.”
10. Med shot, meeting room
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Detainees across the country have reported severe beatings; mock executions; suspension from ceilings without food or water; electrocution; and acts of sexual violence. I condemn this apparently widespread use of torture and ill-treatment, as well as consistent reports of squalid conditions of detention.”
12. Med shot, meeting room
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“Merely ‘liking’ a Facebook post may lead to terrorism charges, with sentences of 10 years or more in prison, following opaque trials that do not meet fair trial standards at all.”
14. Wide shot, meeting room
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The necessary conditions for voluntary, safe and dignified returns of refugees to Rakhine State simply do not exist, and the over 1 million Rohingya who remain in forced exile in Bangladesh and other countries, as well as hundreds of thousands who are internally displaced, face a bleak present, and worse future.”
16. Wide shot, meeting room
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“The Rohingya community still remaining in Myanmar, which has already endured decades of persecution, continues to face widespread and systematic discrimination in every area of life.”
18. Med shot, meeting room
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR):
“And I call on all United Nations Member States to promote dialogue and sustainable solutions that are representative of the will of the people of Myanmar, in order to bring an end to this brutal crisis. The people of Myanmar deserve a much better future.”
20. Wide shot, meeting room
STORYLINE
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk today (6 Mar) delivered a statement on Myanmar at the 52nd Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The High Commissioner said that as the country enters the third year of the crisis generated by military rule, the people of Myanmar continue to suffer profound human rights harms; there is an expanding humanitarian emergency; the impunity of the military continues; and the economic crisis is deepening. Armed conflict has continued to grow in scope and intensity, with attacks on civilians reminiscent of those in 2017, when the military attacked Rohingya communities in Rakhine State.
However, military operations now increasingly involve the use of airstrikes, artillery shelling and heavy weaponry against civilian communities across the country. The latest UN Human Rights report (A/HRC/52/21) details a number of incidents, investigated by UN Human Rights staff, in which hundreds of houses were burned and dozens of people - including children - killed by shelling and military raids.
“Overall, the military increased airstrikes against civilian locations by 141 percent in the second year of the military takeover. Its artillery shelling of communities, including hospitals, schools and places of worship, increased by over 100 percent,” Türk said.
“Despite official claims that such tactics are aimed at anti-military armed groups, in numerous cases, testimony gathered by my Office has not indicated the presence of such groups,” he added.
“The military’s use of arson throughout the country echoes its past attacks on civilians in Rakhine State. Incidents in which homes and neighbourhoods have been set on fire have risen by 380 percent in the second year after the coup, leading to an estimated 1,200 percent increase in the number of homes destroyed,” the UN Human Rights Chief said.
The UN Human Rights Office continues to receive daily reports of new incidents - particularly in Sagaing Region, northwest of Mandalay - with soldiers reportedly moving from village to village, looting and then setting fire to homes and farms.
UN colleagues indicate that since the military takeover, some 39,000 structures have been burned in villages and towns where the military has operated. Satellite images confirm that numerous incidents have involved destruction of entire villages, while other villages have been set on fire on multiple occasions.
“People who are unable to flee risk being burned to death. Those who can escape, over 1.3 million people displaced since the coup was launched, face destitution. Overall, credible sources have verified that at least 2,947 civilians have been killed by the military and its affiliates since 2021, including 244 children. More than one third of these confirmed deaths occurred in military custody. The actual number of civilian killings is almost certainly far higher,” the High Commissioner said.
Cases have been reported of some armed groups attacking and killing civilians perceived to be working for or with the military. In some of these incidents, the targets have included family members. Such acts are in not in any way a legitimate form of opposition or resistance. They constitute murder and must be condemned.
While the High Commissioner notes that the scale of human rights abuses committed by armed groups appears considerably lower than the violations committed by the military, he emphasised that all armed parties must institute or strengthen efforts to comply with the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, especially civilian protection.
It is imperative, he said, that the military respect the Security Council’s December resolution S/RES/2669 and take steps to end the violence.
This subjects civilians to the expanded jurisdiction of military tribunals, with no right to appeal – even upon imposition of the death penalty. Credible sources verified that since 1 February 2021, at least 17,572 people have been arrested (including 381 children) with 13,763 remaining in detention.
“Detainees across the country have reported severe beatings; mock executions; suspension from ceilings without food or water; electrocution; and acts of sexual violence. I condemn this apparently widespread use of torture and ill-treatment, as well as consistent reports of squalid conditions of detention,” Türk said.
The rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and movement have been increasingly – it appears, strategically - restricted, and continue to strangle media freedoms and civic space, Türk said.
“Merely ‘liking’ a Facebook post may lead to terrorism charges, with sentences of 10 years or more in prison, following opaque trials that do not meet fair trial standards at all,” he said.
Over the past year, thousands more Rohingya have sought to flee unbearable conditions. At least 3,500 attempted sea crossings in 2022 – a 360 percent increase from 2021. At least 348 of them died or went missing at sea, in a context of widespread indifference to their plight.
In addition, around 2,000 Rohingya people were arrested in 2022 for “unauthorised travel” within Myanmar.
“The necessary conditions for voluntary, safe and dignified returns of refugees to Rakhine State simply do not exist, and the over 1 million Rohingya who remain in forced exile in Bangladesh and other countries, as well as hundreds of thousands who are internally displaced, face a bleak present, and worse future,” he added.
He appealed to all countries to provide continued robust support to people fleeing Myanmar, and to their host communities in the region, notably in Bangladesh. No durable vision for the future can dispense with accountability for the cruel violence of the past, Türk stressed.
“The Rohingya community still remaining in Myanmar, which has already endured decades of persecution, continues to face widespread and systematic discrimination in every area of life,” Türk said.
The High Commissioner said, “And I call on all United Nations Member States to promote dialogue and sustainable solutions that are representative of the will of the Myanmar people, in order to bring an end to this brutal crisis. The people of Myanmar deserve a better future.”
The High Commissioner said that as the country enters the third year of the crisis generated by military rule, the people of Myanmar continue to suffer profound human rights harms; there is an expanding humanitarian emergency; the impunity of the military continues; and the economic crisis is deepening. Armed conflict has continued to grow in scope and intensity, with attacks on civilians reminiscent of those in 2017, when the military attacked Rohingya communities in Rakhine State.
However, military operations now increasingly involve the use of airstrikes, artillery shelling and heavy weaponry against civilian communities across the country. The latest UN Human Rights report (A/HRC/52/21) details a number of incidents, investigated by UN Human Rights staff, in which hundreds of houses were burned and dozens of people - including children - killed by shelling and military raids.
“Overall, the military increased airstrikes against civilian locations by 141 percent in the second year of the military takeover. Its artillery shelling of communities, including hospitals, schools and places of worship, increased by over 100 percent,” Türk said.
“Despite official claims that such tactics are aimed at anti-military armed groups, in numerous cases, testimony gathered by my Office has not indicated the presence of such groups,” he added.
“The military’s use of arson throughout the country echoes its past attacks on civilians in Rakhine State. Incidents in which homes and neighbourhoods have been set on fire have risen by 380 percent in the second year after the coup, leading to an estimated 1,200 percent increase in the number of homes destroyed,” the UN Human Rights Chief said.
The UN Human Rights Office continues to receive daily reports of new incidents - particularly in Sagaing Region, northwest of Mandalay - with soldiers reportedly moving from village to village, looting and then setting fire to homes and farms.
UN colleagues indicate that since the military takeover, some 39,000 structures have been burned in villages and towns where the military has operated. Satellite images confirm that numerous incidents have involved destruction of entire villages, while other villages have been set on fire on multiple occasions.
“People who are unable to flee risk being burned to death. Those who can escape, over 1.3 million people displaced since the coup was launched, face destitution. Overall, credible sources have verified that at least 2,947 civilians have been killed by the military and its affiliates since 2021, including 244 children. More than one third of these confirmed deaths occurred in military custody. The actual number of civilian killings is almost certainly far higher,” the High Commissioner said.
Cases have been reported of some armed groups attacking and killing civilians perceived to be working for or with the military. In some of these incidents, the targets have included family members. Such acts are in not in any way a legitimate form of opposition or resistance. They constitute murder and must be condemned.
While the High Commissioner notes that the scale of human rights abuses committed by armed groups appears considerably lower than the violations committed by the military, he emphasised that all armed parties must institute or strengthen efforts to comply with the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, especially civilian protection.
It is imperative, he said, that the military respect the Security Council’s December resolution S/RES/2669 and take steps to end the violence.
This subjects civilians to the expanded jurisdiction of military tribunals, with no right to appeal – even upon imposition of the death penalty. Credible sources verified that since 1 February 2021, at least 17,572 people have been arrested (including 381 children) with 13,763 remaining in detention.
“Detainees across the country have reported severe beatings; mock executions; suspension from ceilings without food or water; electrocution; and acts of sexual violence. I condemn this apparently widespread use of torture and ill-treatment, as well as consistent reports of squalid conditions of detention,” Türk said.
The rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, and movement have been increasingly – it appears, strategically - restricted, and continue to strangle media freedoms and civic space, Türk said.
“Merely ‘liking’ a Facebook post may lead to terrorism charges, with sentences of 10 years or more in prison, following opaque trials that do not meet fair trial standards at all,” he said.
Over the past year, thousands more Rohingya have sought to flee unbearable conditions. At least 3,500 attempted sea crossings in 2022 – a 360 percent increase from 2021. At least 348 of them died or went missing at sea, in a context of widespread indifference to their plight.
In addition, around 2,000 Rohingya people were arrested in 2022 for “unauthorised travel” within Myanmar.
“The necessary conditions for voluntary, safe and dignified returns of refugees to Rakhine State simply do not exist, and the over 1 million Rohingya who remain in forced exile in Bangladesh and other countries, as well as hundreds of thousands who are internally displaced, face a bleak present, and worse future,” he added.
He appealed to all countries to provide continued robust support to people fleeing Myanmar, and to their host communities in the region, notably in Bangladesh. No durable vision for the future can dispense with accountability for the cruel violence of the past, Türk stressed.
“The Rohingya community still remaining in Myanmar, which has already endured decades of persecution, continues to face widespread and systematic discrimination in every area of life,” Türk said.
The High Commissioner said, “And I call on all United Nations Member States to promote dialogue and sustainable solutions that are representative of the will of the Myanmar people, in order to bring an end to this brutal crisis. The people of Myanmar deserve a better future.”
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