OHCHR head warns human rights crisis deepens as aid collapses, attacks intensify in Myanmar

By Anjali Sharma

UNITED NATIONS – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned on Friday that Myanmar is spiraling deeper into humanitarian catastrophe as escalating military attacks, crippling aid restrictions and collapsing international support push millions toward starvation and despair.

Volker Türk briefed the UN Human rights council described a country gripped by war, repression and deepening suffering.

He said that the military coup in February 2021, 6,800 civilians have been killed and over 22,000 remain arbitrarily detained.

Humanitarian needs have soared, with 22 million people in need of assistance and more than 3.5 million displaced by conflict, he added..

“The report I am presenting today is about the people of Myanmar and their aspirations for a better future,” Mr. Türk said.

“Despite massive challenges, people from across society are striving to build a peaceful, sustainable, democratic and diverse Myanmar, grounded in human rights.”

He warned that conditions on the ground have only worsened.

The quake on March 28 killed 4,000 people and left six million in urgent need, the military intensified attacks instead of facilitating relief, Mr. Türk said.

OHCHR documented over 600 military strikes since the quake 94 per cent of them occurring during supposed ceasefires – with schools, religious sites and other protected locations frequently targeted.

The situation in Rakhine state remains particularly dire, with civilians the minority Muslim Rohingya in particular caught between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group.

The military’s ongoing obstruction of humanitarian access has worsened an already acute crisis.

Turk said that throughout the country, economic collapse and the breakdown of public institutions have compounded the suffering.

He stressed that 4 in 5 people now live below or just above the poverty line and an estimated 1.3 million have fled the country many undertaking perilous journeys by land and sea.

In 2025, nearly 1 in 5 people attempting sea crossings in the region have been reported dead or missing.

Mr. Tuk outlined a key pathways to lay the groundwork for a transition toward a peaceful and democratic Myanmar: justice and accountability, democratic governance; economic reform to serve the people, and sustained international engagement.

He stressed that accountability must begin with the release of all political prisoners and prosecution of those responsible for grave human rights violations.

“It is imperative for the military to immediately end the violence, allow unhindered humanitarian access and release all arbitrarily detained people,” he said.

“Amid the turmoil, planning for a future with human rights front and centre offers people a sense of hope. We owe it to the people of Myanmar to make that hope a reality.”

UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, echoed the High Commissioner’s warnings, raised alarm over a collapse in international humanitarian support and the military’s repression.

“The junta has chosen to use aid as a weapon,” he told the Council.

“I have spoken with humanitarian workers physically blocked at checkpoints and received reports of earthquake survivors evicted from shelters with no place to go.”

Mr. Andrews also warned that drastic cuts in international funding have already had severe consequences.

OHCHR said that as of 27 June, the $1.14 billion comprehensive humanitarian response plan for the country, only 12% funded and the $275 million addendum for the earthquake response is about 37 per cent.

Mr. Andrews said people of Myanmar need an enhanced level of support from the international community, they are getting the opposite.

He warned that the cost in human lives and human suffering will soon very likely get “significantly worse.”

“This dangerous trend begs the question – do human rights matter?” he asked.

“Because if human rights matter, if saving the lives of children in Myanmar matters, why are so many governments reluctant to invest even a modest amount of resources to save lives?,” he concluded.