A/HRC/39/CRP.2 1277. The arbitrary arrests and, in some cases, enforced disappearances of Rohingya in Rakhine State during the “clearance operations” violated the right to liberty and security of the person and to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, as well as Myanmar’s obligation to ensure that people arrested or detained are informed of the reasons for arrest or detention, are brought before a court promptly, and are afforded a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law. Enforced disappearance, whereby the authorities have refused to acknowledge the arrest, or concealed the detention, of Rohingya, taking them outside the protection of the law, put Myanmar in breach of the customary law prohibition on enforced disappearances, and the Declaration on the Protection of Persons from Enforced Disappearances. The torture that often accompanied these arbitrary arrests is also prohibited, the prohibition against torture being absolute under international human rights law. 1278. The destruction and burning of Rohingya homes and the obliteration of their former villages violate the right to adequate housing as provided for under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Myanmar is a party. The destruction of entire Rohingya villages, which was often preceded by wide scale looting, and the subsequent endemic terrain clearance and rebuilding, also violates the rights to own property and not to be arbitrarily deprived of it.2836 1279. The ICESCR also protects the right to adequate food and housing. 2837 Following the ARSA attacks of October 2016, access to agricultural land, forests, and fishing was severely limited, which denied Rohingya access to food, livelihoods and income. Lack of access to adequate food and housing was also a notable feature of the journey to Bangladesh, with many in Bangladesh continuing to suffer, having lost all ability to support themselves. The severity of the restrictions from November 2017 onwards for those who remained in Rakhine State, has led many of the remaining Rohingya to leave Myanmar, including as a result of food deprivation. 1280. The ICESCR also protects the right to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health.2838 The total absence of any medical assistance for those wounded, who then had to walk days or weeks through forests, across rivers and over mountains, led to further casualties. In addition to the wide-scale arbitrary deprivation of Rohingya life, a large number of villagers were left with significant physical injuries, many life-changing and permanent, as well as deep and enduring psychological trauma. 1281. Reports also estimate that 30,000 non-Rohingya civilians were displaced from their homes and villages as a result the violence in Rakhine State. The rights of these people to adequate food, housing, and the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health were also violated. 1282. Some of ARSA’s conduct also constitutes human rights abuses, notably where they have killed suspected Rohingya informants or burned the Rakhine village of Ah Htet Pyu Ma. (b) International humanitarian law 1283. The Mission considers, from the patterns described in this report, that the Tatmadaw and other security forces have not distinguished between civilians and civilian objects, on the one hand, and fighters and military objectives, on the other. They have readily engaged in attacks that may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects, or a combination thereof, that is clearly excessive to any concrete and direct military advantage that could be anticipated. No efforts have been made to take any feasible precautions to avoid and minimize incidental loss of civilian life, injury and damage to civilian objects. On the contrary, the Mission has concluded that civilians, including children, were deliberately targeted. Rohingya villages were burned, and now in many cases cleared, to leave no trace of having once existed. Through this conduct, the 2836 2837 2838 314 UDHR, art. 17. ICESCR, art. 11. ICESCR, art. 12(1).