A/HRC/57/18 I. Introduction 1. The present report covers the activities carried out by the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024. 2. The Human Rights Council, by its resolution 39/2, created the Mechanism and mandated it to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes and violations of international law committed in Myanmar since 2011 and to prepare files to facilitate and expedite fair and independent criminal proceedings in national, regional or international courts or tribunals. In its resolution 73/264, the General Assembly welcomed the establishment of the Mechanism. Subsequently, in its resolution 43/26, the Council specifically called upon the Mechanism to engage in close and timely cooperation on any future investigations, including those conducted by the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. 3. During the reporting period, the conflict in Myanmar significantly intensified. The Myanmar military lost territory in outlying regions to ethnic armed organizations and the People’s Defence Force, increasingly relying on aerial and artillery bombardments of populated areas, resulting in numerous injuries and fatalities among the civilian population. People of various ethnicities and religions have been injured and killed in their homes, schools and places of worship. Villages have been burned and houses destroyed. Thousands have been arrested and killed or tortured in detention. In the past six months, it is estimated that over three million people have been forced to flee their homes. The number, complexity and geographic scope of serious crimes committed in Myanmar have expanded on a substantial scale. No one has yet been held accountable for these crimes, which continues to deepen the culture of impunity in the country. Additional restrictions recently placed by the Myanmar military on access to digital communications and Internet connectivity could make interaction with the outside world and access to information even more difficult. 4. In this context, the Mechanism believes that its efforts to collect evidence that can be used to hold perpetrators to account is ever more critical. Despite operating in an increasingly complex environment, including lack of access to Myanmar and other locations where witnesses are located, the Mechanism has made important progress during the past year across its various investigations. The Mechanism continues to closely monitor the deteriorating situation as it relates to the growing number of alleged violations and incidents throughout Myanmar and to collect information and evidence regardless of the ethnicity or affiliation of the perpetrators or the victims. The Mechanism has accumulated and analysed a diverse range of evidence probative of serious international crimes committed in Myanmar, including evidence bearing on the criminal responsibility of specific individuals. II. Progress on investigations 5. The clearance operations carried out by the Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State in 2017 forced almost three-quarters of a million Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. Nearly all remain in refugee camps today, awaiting conditions that would allow their return to Myanmar. While the plight of the Rohingya was undoubtedly a major motivation for the creation of the Mechanism, the Human Rights Council recognized that the Rohingya were not the only civilians in Myanmar targeted in the many internal conflicts in the country and that progress in resolving conflicts and achieving justice depended upon breaking the cycle of impunity for military leaders that had long plagued the country. Accordingly, the mandate of the Mechanism covers the entire territory of Myanmar and includes the most serious international crimes committed since 2011, regardless of the race, ethnicity, religion or affiliation of the victims or the perpetrators. 6. Since the military coup in February 2021, the number of serious international crimes in Myanmar has continued to increase in frequency and scale. These crimes occur throughout the country, including almost all border regions and within areas of the central lowlands. Access to victims in those areas is extremely difficult. However, the evolution of the political/military situation has also brought new opportunities. A significant number of 4 GE.24-11995