International human rights groups have urged the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which now includes Timor-Leste as its latest addition, to stand with Dili following a criminal complaint filed under the legal principle of universal jurisdiction against 14 senior Myanmar military officials, including regime leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.
“We have a historical record that whenever the military [re]turns back to power, it targets religious minorities. Since the coup, [these attacks] have transformed into more violent forms,” Salai Za Uk Ling, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) executive director, told DVB in an exclusive interview on Feb. 10.
CHRO collaborated with the Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP), led by Chris Gunness, to file legal proceedings at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Timor-Leste on Jan. 12 alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out by the Myanmar military since the coup on Feb. 1, 2021.
MAP is also pursuing a universal jurisdiction case in Turkey and another with CHRO in the Philippines. The two cases launched in 2022 and 2023 remain pending. Salai Za Uk Ling told DVB that CHRO has “irrefutable evidence” documenting atrocities committed by the Myanmar military in Chin State since 2021.
This includes cases of mass killings, arbitrary arrests, and the forced displacement of over half of the state’s estimated 540,000 population into Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in Myanmar or across the border into India as refugees.
CHRO claims that it has verified more than 1,000 airstrikes since 2021 — averaging nearly one per day — targeting civilians and infrastructure, which could be considered war crimes under international law.
At least 140 religious buildings in Chin State, including 78 churches as well as Buddhist monasteries and pagodas have also been destroyed, according to CHRO.
The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), a group of three human rights experts on Myanmar who formerly worked with the U.N., said in a statement on Feb. 22 that Timor-Leste has shown “immediate leadership” in its first few months of ASEAN membership.
Timor-Leste became the regional bloc’s newest member on Oct. 26. On Feb. 2, Dili announced that it had appointed a prosecutor to explore the legal proceedings filed by CHRO and MAP against 14 Myanmar military officials.
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) expressed concern over the expulsion, describing it as a retaliatory measure linked to Timor-Leste’s lawful pursuit of accountability in Myanmar.
It called on ASEAN to reject attempts to retaliate against Timor-Leste for pursuing lawful accountability efforts.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also condemned the expulsion of Timor-Leste’s top diplomat from Myanmar for the second time in three years.
The regime in Naypyidaw expelled Dili’s Chargé d’Affaires in Yangon following meetings in 2023 between President José Ramos-Horta and National Unity Government (NUG) Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung in the Timor-Leste capital.
Universal jurisdiction provides an important pathway to hold perpetrators of grave international crimes to account, according to HRW, which added that the case sends a message of regional solidarity with survivors of the Myanmar military’s crimes.
The SAC-M added that ASEAN now faces a test of its commitment to justice and human rights, urging member states to support efforts to pursue accountability rather than shield Myanmar from international justice mechanisms.
