A/HRC/7/18 page 14 the recruitment of child soldiers. These violations have not been investigated and their authors have not been prosecuted. Victims have not been in a position to assert their rights and receive a fair and effective remedy. 59. As noted by the Special Rapporteur in his previous reports, the above-mentioned serious human rights violations have been widespread and systematic, suggesting that they are not simply isolated acts of individual misconduct by middle- or low-ranking officers, but rather the result of a system under which individuals and groups have been allowed to break the law and violate human rights without being called to account. 60. The Special Rapporteur also believes that impunity and non-accountability are among the main underlying causes of the degrading economic and social conditions of rural farmers, who represent the majority of the population of Myanmar. The militarization of rural areas has contributed to the impoverishment of villagers as the military relies on local labour as the result of the incapacity of the Government to deliver support for its activities. The Special Rapporteur has received allegations that villagers have been severely punished because they refused to perform forced labour or have been subject to unlawful appropriation of their land, livestock, harvest and other property. A number of internally displaced people from several villages in Bago Division and Karen State informed the Special Rapporteur that they fled from their villages because they had been harassed to provide free labour force for the construction of roads to newly established camps. Myanmar has increased the number of its battalions nationwide since 1988, and the implementation of self-reliance policies by the local military over the past decade has undermined the rule of law and damaged the livelihood of local communities. 61. Concerns have also been expressed by the Special Rapporteur on various occasions over the use of excessive force in the country linked to the alleged participation of groups, such as the Swan Ah Shin and other militias in violent attacks against civilians. 62. The Special Rapporteur is seriously concerned at the continued misuse of the legal system, which denies the rule of law and represents a major obstacle to securing the effective and meaningful exercise of fundamental freedoms. The Special Rapporteur regrets to observe that the lack of independence of the judiciary has provided a “legal” basis for abuses of power, arbitrary decision-making and the examination of those responsible for serious human rights violations. C. Land confiscation, natural resources, forced displacements and migration 63. Access to and control over land and natural resources have long been central to the political economy of Myanmar. In many ethnic minority-populated areas, repeated incidents of forced displacement have been a fact of life for generations. Some 75 per cent of the population is engaged in agriculture (including fisheries, forestry and livestock), which accounts for 40 per cent of the gross domestic product. 64. The Special Rapporteur notes the increasing recognition among human rights, humanitarian and development groups of the need to document issues related to land and natural resource management in Myanmar. Arbitrary land confiscations throughout the country are another illustration of the culture of impunity prevailing in Myanmar. While the Government claims that land is “State-owned property”, on the basis of the Land Nationalization Act