A/HRC/39/CRP.2 June 2011. She fled to an IDP camp because of the fighting and, when she returned to her village in 2012 to gather some belongings, she found: Nothing was left in our village. There were parts of my village that were entirely burned down. The school was destroyed and so were most of the houses. I was not able to recuperate any of our belongings from our village.195 136. Similarly illustrative, although falling outside the reporting period, a victim reported that her village, Hoktai in Mongkaung Township, Shan State, was completely destroyed in 2009 by the Tatmadaw who had made a foray in the area in search of members of the Shan ethnic armed groups. As they could not find any armed men, they burned all huts in the village, starting with the village administrator’s home. 196 She said: For the houses that could not burn easily, Tatmadaw soldiers poured gasoline all around the house and then set it on fire. They used a stick with dry grass on the top, poured gasoline onto it, set it on fire, and then threw the burning stick onto the houses. There were 50 to 60 homes in my village, and these were all set on fire. It took the soldiers only two to three hours to burn the entire village. Some villagers died in the fire.197 137. Another victim reported that the Tatmadaw attacked his village near Waingmaw, Kachin State in June 2011, and more specifically that: The Tatmadaw attacked and destroyed the village - no one has lived there since. I heard from other villagers that the inside of the houses are a mess after the soldiers ransacked them. I also heard that our village was burned down and there were many bullet holes in the houses. Some houses were burned, and there are landmines in the village. Villagers had to leave everything when they fled, including the livestock. These were probably eaten by the military. We had only taken a few items when we left, as we thought that we would leave only for a short while. But now all our possessions are gone or destroyed.198 138. The Mission received credible accounts that over 200 churches have been attacked, ransacked or destroyed since June 2011 in Kachin and Shan States. While some of these churches may have been used by EAOs, thereby losing their protected status, it was not possible to verify whether this applies to all 200 churches. The subsequent erecting of pagodas on compounds of some churches suggests that the motives of these attacks may have been different.199 2. Unlawful killings 139. The Mission amassed a consistent and credible body of information establishing a pattern of violations of the right to life, with numerous unlawful killings. These mostly occur in the context of military operations, as a consequence of indiscriminate attacks, attacks directed at civilians, or the murder or extrajudicial execution of persons in Tatmadaw custody. Unlawful killings also occurred in other contexts, without an immediate or apparent link to hostilities, for example in the context of forced labour. (a) Legal framework 140. Under international human rights law, the right to life is a non-derogable right which forms part of customary international law.200 The prohibition of the arbitrary deprivation of life is a rule of jus cogens. This right protects individuals against killings by security forces. It is a violation of the right to life when State officials deliberately kill a person when it is not 195 196 197 198 199 200 PI-024. DI-069. DI-069. QI-094. K-134, PI-039, PI-104, SI-003, V-116, V-125. The right to life is protected under ICCPR, art. 6(1); CRC, art. 6; CRPD, art. 10; as well as in UDHR, art. 3 and ASEAN Declaration, art. 11. It is also protected under the Constitution of Myanmar, s. 353. 37