A/HRC/60/18 accused of being informers were summarily executed. Several of these incidents were recorded and disseminated online by perpetrators, demonstrating the perpetrators’ confidence that they would never be held to account for these crimes. The Mechanism collected evidence on the identity of perpetrators and their superiors and will continue to work to break the impunity of those responsible for such crimes in Myanmar. 14. The Mechanism continued to compile and review credible evidence of sexual and gender-based crimes against civilians of different ages and genders related to the various armed conflicts in Myanmar. This includes evidence of rape (including with objects and gang rape), sexual slavery, sexualized torture, sexual mutilation, sexual assault at military checkpoints and forced nudity. However, the Mechanism faces severe challenges in collecting evidence from primary sources. Survivors of sexual and gender-based violence often lack adequate support services and frequently suffer from severe psychological trauma, and/or cultural and social stigma. Victims’ fear of further harm and distrust in authorities and others often results in delayed reporting and/or underreporting. Despite these difficulties, the Mechanism has advanced its investigations in identifying persons within military units and affiliated militias, as well as People’s Defence Forces and other non-State armed groups, who are implicated in the commission of sexual and gender-based crimes. 15. During the reporting period, the Mechanism also received reports and collected eyewitness testimony concerning crimes against or affecting children, an area of investigation that the Mechanism prioritizes. This includes evidence of the enlistment, conscription or use in hostilities of children below the age of 15. Crimes related to unlawful imprisonment since the military coup in 2021 16. The Mechanism continued to investigate crimes against those who have been detained by the military since the coup and the targeting of those perceived as opponents of the military regime. The Mechanism has collected significant evidence, including first-hand witness testimony, of systematic torture, killing and other serious abuses during interrogations and in detention facilities operated by the security forces of Myanmar. These include beatings, electric shocks, strangulations, and torture by pulling out fingernails with pliers. 17. The Mechanism has made important progress in its analysis of the systematic commission of sexual and gender-based crimes against individuals of different ages and genders in detention settings. Crimes include rape (gang rape and multiple rapes), including through the insertion of objects into anal and genital openings; sexual slavery; burning of sexual body parts with cigarettes or burned objects; sexualized touching or forced full or partial nudity; invasive body searches intended to humiliate; the use of sexualized, misogynistic or homophobic slurs, threats of sexual violence, or violence based on gender or sexual orientation; and reproductive violence, particularly against women and girls, because of inadequate access to menstrual hygiene, to maternal or postnatal healthcare or to nutrition. Moreover, the Mechanism has gathered evidence from eyewitnesses indicating that children – ranging from 2 to 17 years of age – have been detained, often as proxies for their parents. Some of the detained children have been subjected to torture, ill-treatment or sexual and gender-based crimes. 18. The Mechanism continues to make progress in identifying specific members and units of security forces involved in operations at identified detention facilities, including direct perpetrators of sexual and gender-based crimes as well as high-level commanders. B. Current situation in Rakhine State 19. Due to the significant deterioration of the situation in Rakhine State, the Mechanism has opened dedicated lines of inquiry into serious international crimes committed since early 2024. This includes crimes targeted at Rakhine, Rohingya and other civilian communities affected by the armed conflict between the opposing parties. 20. The Mechanism is investigating incidents against different civilian communities, related to: (a) detention, torture and forced transfer of civilians from several villages; (b) indiscriminate killing of civilians, including women, children and elderly people; 6 GE.25-10777