February 1, 2024 marks the third anniversary of the military coup d'état, which led to political instability, social and humanitarian crises in Myanmar. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates that 2.6 million** people are currently displaced from Myanmar and more than 18 million are in need of humanitarian assistance, including food, water, sanitation, health, education and protection. In response to this dire situation, humanitarian organizations are seeking a record 9US$9.4 billion to support aid to Myanmar in 2024.
The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar stems from the military's illegal seizure of power by elected people, as well as the brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators and armed resistance against the coup. Since the February 1, 2021 coup, the military has made more than 130,000 politicians, activists, journalists, artists, and ordinary citizens, many of whom remain held in secret prisons, tortured and ill-treated. The military also carried out indiscriminate attacks on civilians across the country, using live ammunition, tear gas, rubber bullets, grenades, rockets, artillery shells, and air strikes, killing at least 1,400 people and injuring thousands. The military has also carried out ethnic cleansing and war crimes against people in ethnic minority areas, including atrocities such as killings, burning, looting and deportations, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes and seek refuge.
The humanitarian crisis in Myanmar has not only affected Myanmar itself, but has also had a negative impact on neighboring countries and regions. Due to the military's violence and oppression, many Burmese have chosen to flee across borders, especially to neighboring Thailand, India, and Bangladesh. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), more than 230,000 Burmese refugees and asylum seekers are currently living in these countries, most of them Rohingya, who suffered genocide by the military in 2017. These countries face enormous challenges in providing humanitarian assistance and protection to these refugees, while also fearing that conflict and instability in Myanmar will affect their interests and interests. In addition, the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar has also dealt a severe blow to its economic and social development, leading to poverty, famine, disease, disruption of education and destruction of infrastructure, further deteriorating the living conditions of the people.
In the face of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, the international community has expressed concern and condemnation, calling on the military to stop the violence, respect human rights, release all detainees, restore democracy and constitutional order, engage in dialogue with elected ** and ethnic minority representatives, and achieve a peaceful and inclusive political solution. Many countries and regions have imposed sanctions and diplomatic pressure on the Myanmar military to weaken its economic and military capabilities and support the just demands of the Myanmar people. The U.N. Security Council has also held several meetings on Myanmar and issued statements urging the military to implement the five-point consensus of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is to immediately stop the violence, start dialogue between the parties concerned, appoint a special envoy, provide humanitarian assistance through ASEAN, and facilitate the special envoy's visit to Myanmar to engage with all parties. However, the military has turned a deaf ear to the calls and demands of the international community, refusing to negotiate with the democratically elected and National Unity Government (NUG), insisting that its so-called "State Administration Council" (SAC) be recognized as legitimate, otherwise it will not stop its armed operations.
On the third anniversary of the coup d'état, the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar shows no signs of abating, but threatens to worsen. The military's stubbornness, as well as the resistance and persistence of the Burmese people, plunged Myanmar into a protracted civil war and stalemate. Under such circumstances, the international community should strengthen cooperation and coordination, take more resolute and effective measures, provide more humanitarian assistance and political support to the people of Myanmar, exert greater pressure and punishment on the military, promote the process of peace and democracy in Myanmar, and prevent the crisis in Myanmar from causing greater threats and damage to peace and stability in the region and the world.