Key facts
- Human rights conditions in Myanmar have reached a new low, according to a UN report.
- Widespread abuses against the Rohingya minority and a booming illicit economy, including illegal rare-earth mining, are deepening civilian suffering.
- Both the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army are accused of systematic violations against Rohingya communities.
- The UN report documented at least 8,075 civilian deaths since the 2021 coup.
- Internal displacement has reached 3.6 million people, with 12.4 million facing acute hunger.
- Illegal rare-earth mining has expanded rapidly, financing conflict and peaking at an estimated $1.4 billion in trade flows in 2023.
Human rights conditions in Myanmar have deteriorated to a new low, marked by extensive abuses against the Rohingya minority and a burgeoning illicit economy fueled by illegal rare-earth mining, according to a United Nations report released on Tuesday. The report, covering the period from June 2025 to May 2026, highlights how relentless conflict, military violence, and a growing 'conflict economy' are inflicting severe hardship on civilians.
Both the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, which controls significant parts of Rakhine State, are implicated in widespread and systematic violations against Rohingya communities. These abuses include killings, torture, forced recruitment, forced labor, arbitrary detention, and displacement. The Rohingya continue to face systematic discrimination, nine years after a mass exodus in 2017 and following further abuses since the 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi.
The UN report indicates that the military has continued to employ air strikes, arson, and aid restrictions to maintain control, resulting in the deaths of at least 8,075 civilians since 2021, including 1,774 women and 1,074 children. The UN suggests this death toll is likely significantly higher. The Myanmar military has previously stated that its airstrikes were in response to insurgent actions and what it terms terrorist groups.
Internal displacement has surged to 3.6 million people, with 12.4 million facing acute hunger and approximately 400,000 mothers and children suffering from acute malnutrition. In northern Rakhine, the Arakan Army is accused of arbitrary arrests, torture, sexual violence, forced labor, and land seizures targeting the Rohingya. Witnesses describe children as young as six being used for labor, and former detainees reporting torture and deaths in custody.
The report also draws attention to the rapid expansion of illegal rare-earth mining in Kachin and Shan states, where a collapse in the rule of law has empowered illicit industries that finance ongoing conflict. Satellite imagery reveals a substantial increase in mining sites since 2021. The trade in rare earths peaked at an estimated $1.4 billion in 2023, primarily supplying China's market. The toxic runoff from these mining operations has polluted waterways and farmland, contributing to local health issues and contaminating rivers that flow into Thailand.