Sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar and the gendered impact of its ethnic conflicts in English frequently officials took boys to small room to rape them. 374 One witness saw prison guards rape boys on numerous occasions.375 167. Sexual violence against boys also reportedly took place during the clearance operaions.376 Some of the children who fled the 2017 violence fled with persons from their villages or with unknown persons, because their parents were killed or they had lost contact with them, often increasing the risk of sexual violence against them. 377 Conclusions and legal findings 168. The Mission concludes on reasonable grounds that rape and other forms of sexual torture of Rohingya men were routine in Buthidaung prison.378 The Mission also concludes that the sexual violence against men and boys at this and other locations was intentionally inflicted to cause severe mental and physical pain or suffering and was perpetrated by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of Myanmar government officials, thereby constituting cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Mission also found that in many cases the sexual violence constituted torture because it was done for the purpose of obtaining information or a confession, or as punishment, or for reasons based on discrimination against Rohingya. The Mission also concludes that the Government failed in its obligation under international human rights law to prevent ethnic non-Rohingya prisoners from perpetrating sexual violence against Rohingya males. Similar to its conclusions above, the Mission also concludes on reasonable grounds that the sexual violence against boys violated the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the sexual violence against men and boys violated the Government’s obligation not to defeat the object and purpose of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.379 169. The Mission also concludes on reasonable grounds that the sexual violence against Rohingya men and boys was part of the widespread and systematic attack against the Rohingya civilian population that the Mission documented in its 2018 report. As such, the sexual violence constituted crimes against humanity, including rape, torture, and other inhuman acts entailing great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health. 170. The Mission draws particular attention to Buthiduang prison in Rakhine State, where many of these and other crimes against the Rohingya were committed.380 The Mission has collected information concerning the identities of potential individual perpetrators, namely authorities present at Buthidaung prison, and has added their names to the confidential list of suspected perpetrators. The prison officials who perpetrated acts of violence against Rohingya detainees must be investigated for the severe pain or suffering they caused either through their direct actions or through their consent or acquiescence to others who inflicted such grave mistreatment. 171. The Mission notes the sociological impact that sexual violence can have on the communities from which survivors come, including the impact that sexual violence against males can have on those communities when men are publicly emasculated. A recent study by the NGO International Alert referred to the “thwarted masculinities” phenomenon that has been known to occur in conflict and forced displacement settings. It is affecting most of the men in the refugee camps who are survivors and victims of conflict-related sexual violence. They face social and health issues that affect their well-being and that of their 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 40 QI-108, LI-22 ; FI-052, FI-053 QI-108. K-130, V-134. CI-148, EI-078, LI-097, LI-119, LI-122, WI-033. See also, Radio Free Asia, Huge influx of children complicates Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh, (25 September 2017) Mohammed Abu Aseker “Orphaned Rohingya children forced to grow up too fast” (22 December 2017). Mandakini Gahlot, “More than half of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are kids. Many are fleeing to Myanmar alone.” (Global Post, 28 September 2017). FI-230, DI-037, QI-105, CI-136, DI-037, QI-107, QI-108. See para. 30 CI-136, QI-108, NI-008, FI-047, FI-052, FI-053.