Life Under the Junta: Evidence of Crimes Against Humanity in Burma’s Chin State

In 2010, Physicians for Human Rights investigated alleged human rights violations against the people of Chin State. Their research revealed extraordinary levels of state and military violence against civilian populations. The report, Life Under the Junta: Evidence of Crimes Against Humanity in Burma’s Chin State, provides the first quantitative data of these human rights violations. The report also reveals that at least eight of the violations surveyed fall within the purview of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The research revealed widespread reports of human rights violations among 621 randomly selected households during the 12 months prior to interviews. The abuses included forced labor, religious persecution, beatings, killing, disappearances, torture, rape and widespread pillaging.

Additionally, the report, which includes a foreword by Justice Richard Goldstone and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, catalogues human rights violations that may constitute crimes against humanity. Although other researchers have posited that a prima facie case exists for crimes against humanity in Burma, the current study provides the first quantitative data on these alleged crimes.

The findings of this report are part of an ongoing project to investigate and document the nature and extent of human rights abuses in Burma by PHR in collaboration with the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. PHR is indebted to five Chin community-based organizations, including the Chin Human Rights Organization, for their collaboration, expertise, and tireless advocacy on behalf of the Chin people, without which this research would not be possible.

Download the report here.

This post is in: Crimes Against Humanity