A/HRC/42/CRP.3 including the Tatmadaw.173 Some interviewees asserted that the Tatmadaw targeted them because they had witnessed illegal timber exploitation174 or that they were tortured because the Tatmadaw wanted information on access to mines located in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).175 Victims and witnesses of hostilities in Tanai Township, Kachin State, in 2017 and 2018 said that the overall objective of the Tatmadaw operations was to destroy the KIA’s economy by appropriating amber and mining resources under KIA control.176 The Mission also investigated a case from October 2015 of the Tatmadaw shooting at a group of villagers as they approached a gold mine in Tachilek Township in eastern Shan State. One man was shot and killed as a result. The group had walked to the mining area with a plan of discussing with company management concerns they had about the mine’s environmental hazards, including possible contamination of water sources.177 82. As another example, though outside Kachin and Shan States, the Mission verified that on 20 December 2017 Tatmadaw soldiers killed three Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP)/Karenni Army members and one civilian at a KNPP checkpoint in Kayah State. 178 The Tatmadaw soldiers held the men at the checkpoint and executed them on the spot. One KNPP member managed to escape and is now in hiding. The Mission has reasonable grounds to conclude that the victims were unlawfully killed because they observed the Tatmadaw transporting illegally logged timber.179 Tatmadaw, MEHL and MEC involvement in jade and ruby mining in Kachin and Shan States 83. To understand better the nature and consequences of the Tatmadaw’s economic operations generally, the Mission examined more closely the involvement of the Tatmadaw and its holding companies in jade and ruby mining in Kachin and Shan States. The Tatmadaw benefits from and supports extractive industry businesses operating in conflict-affected areas in northern Myanmar, at a significant human cost. These industries include natural resources, particularly oil and gas, minerals and gems. According to the most up-to-date figures available to the Mission, in 2015-2016 the extractive sector accounted for 6 per cent of Myanmar’s GDP, 20 per cent of State revenue and 47.6 per cent of exports.180 The extractive sector is the second largest source of foreign direct investment in Myanmar, with gas and gems being the two main revenue-generating commodities.181 84. One of the close, mutually beneficial relationships that the Mission has documented is between the Tatmadaw and mining businesses in Kachin and Shan States, in areas which have been affected by hostilities in the ongoing non-international armed conflict.182 Currently, much of MEHL and MEC’s involvement in mining is in Kachin and Shan States. The Mission has identified 23 MEHL subsidiaries involved in jade and ruby mining.183 85. The Tatmadaw’s economic imprint extends beyond MEHL, MEC and their subsidiaries, particularly in northern Myanmar where the Tatmadaw operates other, distinct 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 30 A/HRC/39/CRP.2, paragraph 111. PI-013, PI-022, PI-026, PI-032, PI-039, PI-048, PI-054, PI-061, PI-077, PI-103, QI-080. For example, PI-039, PI-048. For example, PI-054; for further information on the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), see: A/HRC/39/CRP.2, paragraphs 52, 53. For example, PI-043, PI-049, PI-054. GI-050, GI-001, GI-002. K-135, PI-039, PI-048. A/HRC/39/CRP.2, paragraph 113. “Extractive industries contribution,” Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Myanmar (https://eiti.org/myanmar#extractive-industries-contribution). “EITI REPORT FOR THE PERIOD APRIL 2014 - MARCH 2015 OIL, GAS AND MINING SECTORS,” Myanmar Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (MEITI), March 2018 (http://themimu.info/sites/themimu.info/files/documents/Report_Myanmar_Extractive_Industries_Tra nsparency_Initiative_Report_2014-2015.pdf). A/HRC/39/CRP.2, paragraph 1513. See Annex III. MEHL jade and ruby mining companies.