A/HRC/39/CRP.2 Myanmar in 1997. In 2005, the Security Council decided to hold a first, closed-door briefing on the situation in Myanmar. 97. The four Special Rapporteurs serving between 1992 and 2011 all concluded that the patterns of human rights violations they had identified were widespread and systematic and linked to State and military policy. Special Rapporteur Rajsmoor Lallah, in 1998, stated that human rights violations “have been so numerous and consistent over the past years as to suggest that they are not simply isolated or the acts of individual misbehavior by middle- and lower-rank officers but are rather the result of policy at the highest level, entailing political and legal responsibility”.118 Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana, in 2010, similarly concluded that, “[g]iven the gross and systematic nature of human rights violations in Myanmar over a period of many years, and the lack of accountability, there is an indication that those human rights violations are the result of a State policy that involves authorities in the executive, military and judiciary at all levels”. He added that “the possibility exists that some of these human rights violations may entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes”.119 All four Special Rapporteurs also noted serious abuses committed by nonState armed groups.120 98. The Special Rapporteurs identified the following contexts in which these patterns of abuse mainly occurred: suppression of calls for democracy and voices critical of the regime; imposition of oppressive measures towards minority groups; security forces’ responses to (ethnic) insurgencies, often directly targeting and impacting on the civilian population; the military’s continued presence in ceasefire areas; and the Government and military’s role in large-scale development projects. Specific types of human rights violations frequently reported included the arbitrary deprivation of life, torture and inhuman treatment, forced labour, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced displacement, restrictions on the freedoms of expression and association, and various oppressive measures directed in particular at ethnic and religious minorities. The impact of the regime’s policies on the realization of economic and social rights was also frequently highlighted. 99. The Special Rapporteurs have often highlighted large-scale internal displacement and significant refugee movements into neighbouring countries, mainly Bangladesh and Thailand, as a consequence of armed conflict, human rights abuses and lack of protection. Special Rapporteurs noted that between 1996 and 2010 up to 1 million people had been displaced, half of them in the eastern part of the country, 121 and – for example – that in November 2006 the total number of internally displaced persons who had been forced to leave their homes and had not been able to return or resettle and reintegrate into society was estimated to be at least 500,000.122 The various Special Rapporteurs identified several main causes of this displacement: counterinsurgency operations, the practice of forced labour and portering, restrictions placed on farmers, and land confiscation policies. 123 They emphasized that the role and conduct of the army was paramount to understanding the issue.124 In 2010, Special Rapporteur Quintana stated that humanitarian and human rights groups had documented the destruction and forced relocation of over 3,500 villages and sites in eastern Myanmar since 1996.125 100. All United Nations Special Rapporteurs who have held the mandate, as well as other human rights mechanisms, have expressed grave concern at the situation of the Rohingya in Rakhine State. On 16 October 1992, then Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief informed the Government that he had received information that “since late 1989, the Rohingya citizens of Myanmar … have been subjected to persecution based on their religious beliefs involving extrajudicial executions, torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 28 A/53/364, para. 59. Ibid., para. 121. E.g. A/65/368, para. 64. See A/HRC/13/48, paras. 61-63; for similar figures, A/HRC/4/14, para. 54. A/HRC/4/14, para. 54. E.g. E/CN.4/1997/64; E/CN.4/1999/35. E/CN.4/1997/64; E/CN.4/1999/35; A/HRC/13/48, para. 61-63. A/HRC/65/368, para. 49; for similar figures, A/61/369, para. 44 and A/HRC/4/14, para. 54.