Sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar and the gendered impact of its ethnic conflicts in English rape survivor, “We are going to kill you this way, by raping. We are going to kill Rohingya. We will rape you.”207 Another woman from Kha Maung Seik, Maungdaw Township, reported a soldier saying, “We will rape you and kill you” and using insulting terms such as “Kalar”.208 The second factor was the Tatmadaw’s organized plan of destruction that included the targeting of women and girls of reproductive age for rape, gang rape and other forms of sexual violence.209 The third factor was the Tatmadaw’s extreme brutality, including attacks on pregnant mothers and on babies.210 96. After further investigation and consolidation of its materials on sexual and genderbased violence for this report, the Mission now concludes on reasonable grounds that the sexual violence perpetrated against women and girls that began on 25 August 2017 was a sixth factor that indicated the Tatmadaw’s genocidal intent to destroy the Rohingya people, including by means of killing female members of the Rohingya community, causing Rohingya women and girls serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting on the Rohingya women and girls conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Rohingya in whole or in part, and imposing measures that prevented births within the group. This conclusion is based on the Mission’s analysis of the widespread and systematic killing of women and girls, the systematic selection of women and girls of reproductive ages for rape,211 attacks on pregnant women and on babies,212 the mutilation and other injuries to their reproductive organs,213 the physical branding of their bodies by bite marks on their cheeks, neck, breast and thigh,214 and so severely injuring victims that they may be unable to have sexual intercourse with their husbands or to conceive and leaving them concerned that they would no longer be able to have children. 97. A woman from Laung Don, Maungdaw Township, underwent a hysterectomy in Bangladesh due to injuries sustained because of gang rape.215 Injuries were exacerbated by lack of access to healthcare en route to Bangladesh and on arrival. The Mission received information of women and girls who died en route due to the severity of injuries and lack of medical care.216 98. Additionally, the Mission concludes on reasonable grounds that the Myanmar Government’s failure to cease, prevent and take action against sexual and gender-based violence targeting the Rohingya since at least 2012 marks a dismal failure on its part to respect and protect human rights under international law, including its treaty obligations under the Convention on the Elimination on All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, for its use of sexual violence as a prohibited form of discrimination, and under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, for its use of sexual violence against girls that amounted to sexual abuse, arbitrary deprivation of life, torture or other ill-treatment. The Mission also concludes on reasonable grounds that sexual and gender-based violence that the security forces perpetrated in the 2016 and 2017 “clearance operations”—after the government signed the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights but before it became a State party—constituted assaults on the living conditions and health, including sexual and reproductive health, of women and girls that defeated the Covenant’s object and purpose and, therefore, the Government violated its obligation under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. These violations are an injustice for the victims of sexual and gender-based violence, but they are also a significant contributor to a climate of tolerance for sexual violence that has fuelled further sexual violence. 99. The two waves of gross violations of human rights in 2012 and 2016 along with the perpetuation of anti-Rohingya laws and policies laid the groundwork for the Tatmadaw to 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 24 A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 932. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 932. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 1428-1431. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 1432-1433. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 933. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 933. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 934. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 926. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 934. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, para. 934.