A/HRC/42/CRP.5 by the recent fighting as a result of the road building activities. 1561 The media widely reported that immediately prior to the Tatmadaw’s shooting of Saw O Moo, he was driving a motorcycle with a passenger know to be a KNLA commander.1562 The Tatmadaw has reportedly denied wrongdoing in the killing, claiming that Saw O Moo was a rebel fighter dressed in civilian clothes.1563 Saw O Moo, a known human rights defender, was a known figure in the community, and it does not seem probably that he could have been mistaken as a rebel fighter. The Mission was unable to determine however the exact circumstances that led to the killings or whether the Tatmadaw knew at the time of the killing either man’s identity or affiliations. Despite repeated requests to the Tatmadaw from family members and the KNU to return the body, at the time of writing family members have not received the deceased’s remains which prevented them from practicing funeral rites in accordance with Karen traditions.1564 Authorities have not undertaken an effective investigation into this killing.1565 656. The Mission also documented the killing of seven members of a Muslim family and the wounding of one other in Seikkyi Township in Karen State on 5 April 2019.1566 Three children were amongst the family members who the Tatmadaw soldiers killed. Tatmadaw officials publically announced that charges would brought against those responsible. 1567 It has been reported that the two soldiers responsible were sentenced to 20 years with hard labour and were considered deserters.1568 E. Return of Karen refugees 657. The Mission takes note of the increasing pressure on Karen refugees who have been residing for decades in Thailand in refugee camps along the border to return to Myanmar.1569 The pressure is the result of assumptions made at the policy level by the international community that conditions are now safe for Karen refugees to return. These assumptions are based on the overall reductions in hostilities in Karen areas, the ongoing but fragile peace negotiations and expectations of democratic transition from military rule. As a result, there has been a significant reduction of funding for services for Karen refugees in the camps. This has included reductions in basic necessities such as food. Compounded by the lack of options for third-country resettlement, pressures on refugees to return to Myanmar continue to mount as life in the camps become increasingly untenable.1570 658. The Mission’s assessment of the human rights situation in many of the locations that Karen refugees call home, and in particular those refugees who come from the areas where the road construction is taking place, or scheduled to take place, is that the conditions may not be appropriate for safe, dignified or sustainable return.1571 For Karen refugees to make informed decisions about their return to Myanmar requires that they have transparent access 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569 1570 1571 LI-195, LM-034, LM-037, LM-059, FFFGEN-1-90479, FFFGEN-1-90475 See for example: Jonathan Watts, “Indigenous environmental campaigner killed by Myanmar government” (The Guardian, 13 April 2018). FFFGEN-1-90479, FFFGEN-1-90475 https://myawady-myawady.blogspot.com/2018/04/nca-knu.html; Nyein Nyein, “Tatmadaw Claims Killed Karen Community Leader Was a Plainclothes Fighter” (The Irrawaddy, 11 April 2018) LI-195, LI-196, LM-037 LI-195, LI-196, LM-037 LI-223, Nyein Nyein, “Tatmadaw Claims Killed Karen Community Leader Was a Plainclothes Fighter” (The Irrawaddy, 11 April 2018) Lawi Weng “Soldiers Kill 7 Villagers, Including 3 Children, over Motorbike in Karen State “ (The Irrawaddy, 8 April 2019) https://www.rfa.org/burmese/news/kyarinnsatekyi-murder-09072019020953.html, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfopVm-IfPA&feature=youtu.be GM-007, LM-034, Thomas Wilkie-Black, Ei Tu Hta, “Myanmar’s Karen displaced in a quagmire” (Asia Times, 27 April 2019). FFFGEN-1-90480 LM-034, LM-041 GM-007, LM-034, See also: Karen News, “In Thai Border Camps, Funding Cuts Leave Refugees in Limbo| (21 November 2017); FFFGEN-1-90480; . For a more detailed legal discussion, see Conclusions and legal findings: the impossibility of return. 173