A/HRC/42/CRP.3
aircraft in the commission of these violations, the Mission has examined the sources of the
Tatmadaw’s arms and other equipment.
150. In analysing the sale of arms and related equipment to the Tatmadaw, the Mission
focused its investigation on information concerning deliveries and orders since 2016. 361
During this period, especially after November 2016, States and foreign companies, including
foreign SOEs, knew or ought to have known that Myanmar security forces, including the
Tatmadaw, were responsible for gross violations of human rights law in northern Rakhine
State. In confirmation of this, in at least one domestic jurisdiction, a petition was filed in early
2017 that successfully blocked the delivery of military equipment to the Tatmadaw on the
basis of the events in October 2016 in northern Rakhine.362
151. As the situation deteriorated from October 2016, it became a matter of the public
record that United Nations humanitarian agencies were blocked from delivering aid.363
Myanmar’s security forces were accused of undertaking a “scorched earth” policy. 364 In
March 2017, the UN Human Rights Council adopted resolution 34/22, noting the seriousness
of the allegations contained in a “flash report” released by the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights.365 In November 2017, the Security Council issued a
presidential statement calling on Myanmar to end excessive military force and
intercommunal violence in Rakhine State.366 The widespread public condemnation of the
conduct of Myanmar’s security forces, the response in international fora and the extent of
international media coverage of highly traumatized civilians cannot have escaped the
attention of States. They must have had knowledge and notice that the Tatmadaw was
engaging in serious violations of international human rights law and, where applicable,
international humanitarian law.
152. Since August 2017, the Tatmadaw’s “clearance operations” and allegations of serious
human rights violations were contemporaneously reported, almost in real-time, by the
international press and known throughout the world.367 The Mission’s September 2018 report
also received widespread international and domestic attention. The Mission reported to the
General Assembly in October 2018. It was also invited to brief the UN Security Council in
October 2018, where some of those States, including the Russian Federation and China, made
statements indicating their awareness of the situation in northern Rakhine State.368
153. Additionally, public reports documenting the human rights crisis in Myanmar contain
credible information about the types of weapons and related equipment that the Tatmadaw
and other security forces had used in their commission of violations of international law.
Myanmar security forces used helicopters, rifles, grenades, and RPGs against the Rohingya
during the attacks that began in October 2016.369 As reported in the Mission’s 2018 report,
witnesses in Dar Gyi Zar saw the arrival of two or three helicopters on 12 November 2016
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
54
See Figure 3: Arms and Military Equipment Suppliers to the Tatmadaw.
Digital records 1990, 1991, 1997.
“UN: Food aid for 80,000 Rohingya blocked by Myanmar,” Al Jazeera, 19 October 2016
(https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/food-aid-80000-rohingya-blocked-myanmar161019135600701.html).
Amnesty International, “Myanmar: Security Forces Target Rohingya During Vicious Rakhine
Scorched-Earth Campaign,” 19 December 2016 (https://www.amnesty.org/en/pressreleases/2016/12/myanmar-security-forces-target-rohingya-viscious-scorched-earth-campaign/)
A/HRC/RES/34/22, paragraph 9.
SC/13055, “Security Council Presidential Statement Calls on Myanmar to End Excessive Military
Force, Intercommunal Violence in Rakhine State,” 6 November 2017
(https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc13055.doc.htm).
A/HRC/RES/34/22, paragraph 1538.
E.g., On 24 October 2018, Meeting Coverage, Head of Human Rights Fact-Finding Mission on
Myanmar Urges Security Council to Ensure Accountability for Serious Violations against Rohingya:
Myanmar’s Representative Calls Mission Flawed, Biased, Defends Counter-Terrorist Actions by
Security Forces in Rakhine State, SC/13552, 24 October 2018
(https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sc13552.doc.htm).
BBC News, “Myanmar army fires on Rohingya villages in Rakhine region,” 13 November 2016
(https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-37968090); OHCHR, Report of OHCHR mission to
Bangladesh – Interviews with Rohingyas fleeing from Myanmar since 9 October 2016 – Flash Report
(3 February 2017).
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