A/HRC/42/CRP.5 family members, refused to provide families with information about the location and safety of the detainees,884 and took bribes in exchange for the release of detainees. 4. Forced Labour 392. The Mission’s 2018 report documented the Tatmadaw’s widespread use of civilians for forced labour.885 In the context of the continuing conflict between the Tatmadaw and the AA, the Mission concludes on reasonable grounds that this practice is also taking place across Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in Chin State. It takes many forms and affects people from various ethnic groups. It also appears that, while the practice of forced labour of ethnic Rakhine was most notable in 2018 and early 2019, due to the escalation of conflict with the AA, the Tatmadaw may be reducing their reliance on ethnic Rakhine as a source of forced labour, and engaging in more aggressive forced labour practices against Rohingya civilians.886 The Mission has identified several locally based Tatmadaw battalions and Light Infantry Divisions that have subjected villagers to forced labour.887 393. The Tatmadaw has subjected ethnic Rakhine,888 Rohingya889 and ethnic Chin890 to forced labour in carrying food and other goods and supplies, including weapons, for the Tatmadaw. Individuals from these ethnic groups, predominantly men, but also some Rakhine and Chin women,891 described to the Mission the arduous conditions under which they were forced to work, including being denied access to sufficient food and water 892 and being forced to work long hours and to carry heavy loads while being subjected to physical893 and verbal abuse and threats.894 394. The Mission also received numerous reports of Tatmadaw soldiers commandeering villagers’ boats and forcing Chin, Rakhine and Rohingya to guide and transport them through waterways.895 The Tatmadaw also forced Rohingya villagers to perform sentry duty at night to guard and inform the Tatmadaw about AA sightings. 896 395. In addition to the often harsh working and living conditions, the forced labour exposed people to the dangers of the conflict. Both ethnic Rakhine and Chin villagers described to the Mission the extreme fear they had of being the target of an attack, caught in crossfire or injured by a land mine.897 Chin and Rakhine villagers described to the Mission how they were injured or narrowly escaped injury from attack while performing forced labour.898 One ethnic Rakhine man described how Tatmadaw soldiers forcibly commandeered his boat and forced him and another Rakhine villager to sail it with them onboard. The AA shot at it. During the attack, the other villager was shot in the thigh.899 Another Rakhine man described how he was forced to porter for the Tatmadaw when he 884 885 886 887 888 889 890 891 892 893 894 895 896 897 898 899 112 See J.M. Henckaerts and L. Doswald-Beck, “Customary International Humanitarian Law. Volume I: Rules” (Cambridge, ICRC/Cambridge University Press, 2005), rule 99 (deprivation of liberty), Rule 100 (fair trial guarantees); Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 35 on Article 9 (Liberty and security of person), CCPR/C/GC/35. A/HRC/39/CRP.2., paras 253 – 273, 412-424, 614-615. See Chapter IV, section E in this report: The situation of the Rohingya; Forced or compulsory labour. CI-280, LI-169, LI-173, LI-177. CI-281, CI-284, CI-286, LI-167, LI-169, LI-170, LI-173. LI-137, FI-029, FI-048 Amnesty International, No one Can Protect Us: War Crimes and Abuses in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, (May 2019), p. 29; See Chapter IV, section E in this report: The situation of the Rohingya; Forced or compulsory labour. CI-247, CI-248, CI-250, CI-252, CI-255, CI-260, LI-143, LI-145, LI-146 LI-147, LI-151, LI-158. LI-182, LI-151, LM-043. CI-252, CI-260, CI-284, CI-286, FI-029, LI-143, LI-173, LI-176, LI-177 LI-224. CI-286, FI-048, LI-170, LI-173, LI-177, LI-224. CI-280, LI-173, LI-176, LI-177. CI-248, CI-280, LI-145, LI-146, LI-147, LI-148, LI-158, LM-058. FI-024, FI-037, LM-058, see also: Amnesty International, No one Can Protect Us: War Crimes and Abuses in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, (May 2019), p. 31. LI-143, LI-146, LI-147, LI-151, LI-158, LI-170, LI-172, LI-176. CI-250, CI-281, LI-170. CI-280.