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A/HRC/56/CRP.8 information on the resolution of cases involving alleged human rights violations by resistance forces. 21. Many of the organizations and individuals who shared information with the Special Rapporteur requested confidentiality because of security concerns. In many cases, the Special Rapporteur withheld source information and redacted identifying details from testimony to address those concerns. 22. This paper focuses specifically on the period following the 1 February 2021 coup, though the Special Rapporteur acknowledges that human rights issues related to gender and sexual orientation are not a new phenomenon in Myanmar. Many of the patterns and trends described are the result of decades of military and state-sponsored violence and discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation. Due to the broad scope of the topic, the Special Rapporteur focuses particularly on the gendered impacts on vulnerable populations who are invisible, who tend to receive less attention before the international community, and who have specific and unique concerns, including women, girls, and LGBT people. He acknowledges that there are also gendered dimensions of the crisis in Myanmar that uniquely impact men. 23. The Special Rapporteur recognizes and seeks to emphasize that human rights issues related to gender and sexual orientation can be heightened as a result of intersecting forms of discrimination based on ethnicity, citizenship, geography, age, disability, education, income, and other factors. While the Special Rapporteur highlights various examples of intersecting discrimination and violence, this paper is not a comprehensive accounting of the myriad ways in which women, girls, and LGBT people are uniquely affected by the coup and conflict. 24. This paper largely focuses on the situation of those inside of Myanmar as well as highlighting the situation of Rohingya who are inside and outside of Myanmar. It also considers gendered protection risks that extend across borders. The Special Rapporteur will continue to look for opportunities to report on gender-based human rights issues facing Myanmar people outside of the country, including Myanmar’s refugees and exiles in neighboring countries. III. International legal framework A. International human rights law 25. Myanmar acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997.3 Under CEDAW, States parties agree to use all appropriate means to eliminate discrimination against women, including by embodying equality in their national constitutions and legislation, adopting antidiscrimination legislation, establishing legal protection of women’s rights on equal basis with men, and eliminating discrimination in law and institutions. CEDAW requires States parties to ensure women enjoy equal rights in employment, political participation and representation, voting, public association, marriage, education, economic and social life, and access to health care. States parties must act to prevent the trafficking of women and child marriage. 26. CEDAW prohibits sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls as a form of discrimination.4 States parties must prevent sexual and gender-based violence by 3 4 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, 3 September 1981, https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/cedaw.pdf. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/35, para. 1. 7

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Courage amid crisis: gendered impacts of the coup and the pursuit of gender equality in Myanmar

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Human Rights Council

Date Published: Aug 1, 2024

Abstract: The 1 February 2021 military coup precipitated an unprecedented human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Armed conflict, displacement, economic collapse, hunger, and the junta’s gross human rights violations threaten the lives and well-being of people in every corner of the country. Women, girls, and LGBT people are severely and uniquely impacted by this crisis, yet these impacts are all too often obscured and ignored by the international community. This conference room paper seeks to shed light on the gendered impacts of the coup and the Myanmar military junta’s gross human rights violations. It has been made possible by the guidance, testimony, and insights of those who are working courageously and tenaciously to address these challenges. They have made it clear that while women and LGBT people have suffered enormously, they are playing a critical role as human rights defenders and leaders in the resistance movement. The threat of sexual and gender-based violence is a dark shadow that follows women, girls, and LGBT people throughout Myanmar. Junta forces have committed widespread rape and other forms of sexual violence, often characterized by the utmost cruelty and dehumanization. Members of resistance forces have also been responsible for abuses against women, girls, and LGBT people. Accountability for sexual and gender-based violence is extremely rare, and survivors struggle to access the support they need. Displacement, financial distress, and the lack of access to education and health care have caused many women and girls to adopt negative coping strategies, increasing their vulnerability to violence, human trafficking, early or forced marriage, and sexual exploitation. Rohingya women, girls, and LGBT people face heightened risks rooted in the systematic denial of citizenship and basic human rights. The Special Rapporteur urges the international community to significantly increase support for women, girls, and LGBT people in Myanmar and work to ensure accountability for crimes committed against them.

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Courage amid crisis: gendered impacts of the coup and the pursuit of gender equality in Myanmar

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