II. International Legal Framework and Analysis 60 International Criminal Law The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) identifies specific acts that amount to grave breaches of international humanitarian law, i.e., war crimes, which incur individual liability under international criminal law. Under Article 8(2)(e)(i) of the statute, “intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities” in a non-international armed conflict constitutes the war crime of attacking civilians.155 Under Article 8(2)(c)(i)-4 of the Elements of Crimes, inflicting “severe physical or mental pain or suffering upon one or more persons” in a non-international armed conflict, when committed against civilians for purposes of punishment, intimidation, or discrimination and with knowledge of their protected status, constitutes the war crime of torture.156 Under these standards, the Myanmar military’s attack on Munglai Hkyet on October 3, 2023— which killed dozens of civilians without seemingly satisfying any reasonable military objective— may amount to a war crime. Similarly, the attacks on civilians in Kachin State, like the airstrike on the church sheltering displaced persons in junta-controlled Konlaw village in Momauk Township, Kachin State, may constitute severe violations of international humanitarian, criminal, and human rights law. Those responsible can be investigated and possibly held accountable for war crimes. In Karenni State, the junta has consistently targeted internally displaced person camps, civilian homes, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities in violation of the laws of war. As this report documents, on September 5 and November 18, 2024, junta aircraft carried out attacks on “Bangkok” IDP camp in Pekon Township, located on the border of Karenni and Shan states. The first attack killed nine people, including six children, and injured 19 others, and the second attack killed one woman.157 The military junta’s attacks on two schools in Daw Si Ei and Loi Nan Pha villages on February 2, 2024, resulted in the tragic deaths of four schoolchildren and one other civilian, with at least 20 others, including schoolchildren and teachers, sustaining injuries.158 Fortify Rights documentation shows that medical facilities in Demoso Township, whose locations are well known to the military junta, have been repeatedly targeted, with airstrikes indicating that these are deliberate attacks against civilian populations. Noting that the junta has carried out a campaign of violence against civilians through shelling of villages and airstrikes on civilian targets, among other violations, in his October 2023 report, U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews concluded that the military junta’s actions “likely constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes” and “that the number of probable international crimes has increased dramatically since the coup and that the volume and severity of crimes has continued to rise in recent months.”159 Corporate Complicity in International Crimes Corporate liability for complicity in international crimes is a long-established principle under international criminal law.160 Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute states that a person can be held 155 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), adopted July 17, 1998, 2187 U.N.T.S. 90, U.N. Doc. A/ CONF.183/9 (2002), Art. 8(2)(e)(i). 156 International Criminal Court (ICC), Elements of Crimes, 2011, Art. 8(2)(c)(i)-4. 157 Fortify Rights interview with C.C., Pekon Township, Karenni State, Myanmar, September 24, 2024. See also, Fortify Rights, “U.N. Security Council: Impose an Aviation Fuel and Arms Embargo on Myanmar Junta,” and Fortify Rights, “Children Among Victims of Myanmar Junta Airstrike Attack on Displaced Civilians in Pekon Township,” film, October 24, 2024, https://www.fortifyrights.org/our_films/mya-inv-vdo-2024-10-24/. 158 Fortify Rights interview with A.A., Demoso Township, Karenni State, Myanmar, February 22, 2024; Fortify Rights interview with C.D., Demoso Township, Karenni State, Myanmar, February 24, 2024. 159 U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, U.N. Doc. A/78/527, para. 22. 160 See, Trial of Bruno Tesch and Two Others (The Zyklon B Case), British Military Court, Law Reports of Trials of War Criminals, Vol. 1, 1947, p. 93.