A/HRC/34/67 The Special Rapporteur’s request to visit Laiza and meet those affected was denied for security reasons. She then requested to visit Mongkoe and other locations in Shan State as an alternative, but that was also denied. 52. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes that the United Nations and its partners should have regular, independent and predictable access to all those in need of humanitarian assistance wherever they are located. She reminds the Government of its commitment to “leave no one behind”,10 and calls on it and all other parties to grant immediate, unfettered access to all sites hosting internally displaced persons. She also calls on the Government to officially withdraw the unacceptable proposal that internally displaced persons should travel extensive distances and cross conflict lines to receive assistance. 53. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the first pilot of voluntary returns of refugees from Thailand in October 2016 involving 71 individuals. She underlines that all returns must be in compliance with international standards. She also notes that clear policies will be needed to address issues likely to hamper returns including security and safety, landmine clearance, adequate housing, where applicable restitution of land for returnees, reacquisition of vital legal documents and equal access to public services and livelihoods. 2. Conflict-related violations 54. The Special Rapporteur is concerned by the continuing reports of conflict-related violations committed by all parties, including torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary killings, abductions, including for forced labour and use as human shields, looting and property confiscation. 55. There has also been a worrying trend of reportedly indiscriminate attacks in or near civilian areas, including displacement sites, schools and in some cases, areas where there are no known legitimate military targets. In one incident on 12 January 2017, two civilians, including a 6-year-old boy, were reportedly killed when artillery shells landed in a village in northern Shan State. 56. Sexual and gender-based violence, including intimate partner violence, remains a problem across the country but is particularly prevalent in conflict areas and areas of increased militarization. Survivors have limited access to life-saving services due to the limited capacity of providers and specialists, and restrictions upon women’s freedom of movement due to increased militarization. There have been numerous allegations of rapes carried out by members of the security forces in Rakhine State following the 9 October 2016 attacks. Few survivors are able to reach the necessary medical care. Underreporting is widespread; only 50 per cent of women in Rakhine State and 18 per cent of women in Kachin State accepted referral to health-care providers in 2016. Those figures are drawn from programming data that represent a fraction of the incidents; the vast majority remain unreported. Survivors are allegedly asked not to report sexual and gender-based violence to humanitarian organizations and sometimes face repercussions if they do so. Where cases are reported, there is still widespread impunity. Two years after the rape and murder in 2015 of two Kachin schoolteachers, Maran Lu Ra and Tangbau Hkwan Nan Tsin, the perpetrators remain at large. The previously highlighted cases of Sumlut Roi Ja and Ja Seng Ing have not yet been solved. 57. While noting information from the Government that nine members of the military who were accused of rape were tried in civilian courts in 2015 and 2016, many cases involving Tatmadaw personnel are still tried under court martial rather than being transferred to civilian courts. Seven soldiers were court-martialled for the killing of five civilians in June 2016 and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. The deaths of two other civilians killed on the same day in the same location remain unexplained. 10 10 See Htin Lynn, Director-General, International Organizations and Economic Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Myanmar, statement delivered at the World Humanitarian Summit, Istanbul, Turkey, 24 May 2016. Available from https://consultations.worldhumanitariansummit.org/bitcache/f6e4658 e546e2b02b37aaa9f839c9f7641c69aca?vid=581020&disposition=inline&op=view.