Myanmar continues 'deadly freefall' into deeper violence: UN rights chief

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The UN human rights chief on Thursday said Myanmar continues its "deadly freefall into deeper violence ... at the whim of reckless military authority."

During an interactive dialogue on Myanmar in Geneva as part of the 53rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Volker Turk said "it is almost impossible to imagine that the people of Myanmar can endure more suffering."

"Yet the country continues its deadly freefall into even deeper violence and heartbreak," he said.

He drew attention to the spiraling economy, worsening poverty and exploitation of natural resources, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and torture in the East Asian nation since the Feb. 1, 2021 military coup.

"The report I present to the Council today focuses on the systematic denial by the military of life-saving humanitarian aid for civilians," he said. "They have put in place a raft of legal, financial, and bureaucratic barriers to ensure people in need do not receive and cannot access assistance."

Turk noted that 15.2 million people are in need of urgent food and nutrition support.

"It is of the utmost urgency that we restore all conditions necessary for Myanmar’s people to find a way out of the heartache, and to live their lives in freedom and safety," he urged.

Myanmar has been haunted by a spiral of violence and economic crisis since the military toppled an elected government and launched a brutal onslaught to crush dissent in 2021.