Persons with disabilities in Myanmar are facing execution, torture, and sexual assault at the hands of pro-military forces, according to a new report released by the U.N.
“Dozens of persons with disabilities have been burned alive in their own homes as junta forces carried out campaigns of mass arson throughout the country,” Tom Andrews, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, said in a press release on Nov. 13.
The U.N. report titled “The Hidden Crisis: Disability Rights in Post-Coup Myanmar,” details how the 2021 military coup has decimated the lives of one of the country’s most vulnerable populations.
“The widespread belief that impairments result from misdeeds in a past life not only fuels discrimination but is also internalized by persons with disabilities, leading many to withdraw from community life out of shame and an erosion of personal dignity,” Andrews explained in his U.N. report.
Prior to the 2021 coup, Myanmar had made tentative progress toward protecting disability rights, according to Andrews. However, the military crackdown on civil society post-coup has halted these reforms and forced many rights advocates into exile.
Despite the repression, the U.N. report spotlights a resilient network of organizations—many led by persons with disabilities—that continue to provide services and defend rights under dangerous conditions.
Andrews characterized the situation as a “hidden crisis within a forgotten humanitarian catastrophe” as the international community remains distracted by other global conflicts.
He concluded with a call to action for the international community: deny the military the resources used to commit violence and form direct partnerships with disability rights organizations to deliver aid.
“It is critical that the world pay attention,” Andrews added.
