On Saturday 521 civil society organisations from Myanmar, the Myanmar region and internationally, signed a petition calling on the UN Security Council to urgently convene a meeting on the escalating attacks in Chin State in Myanmar’.

The petition calls on the UN Security Council to urgently address the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian and human rights crisis in Myanmar. It further calls on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution to consolidate international action to ‘stop the military’s violent assault on the people of Myanmar.

In the nine months since the attempted coup by the Myanmar military  in February, 1 236 people have been killed and 9 667 arbitrarily detained from 3 November 2021.

Chin State has been at the forefront of some of the strongest resistance to the Myanmar military junta. After the attempted coup, the resistance has been met with fierce attacks by the military, including use of fighter jets and heavy artillery used against civilians while hundreds have been arbitrarily detained, and dozens killed.

In early October, amid increasing deployment of heavy weapons and troops by the military junta, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights warned of human rights catastrophe and further mass atrocity crimes amid the deployment of tens of thousands of troops. He stated:  ‘These tactics are ominously reminiscent of those employed by the military before its genocidal attacks against the Rohingya in Rakhine state in 2016 and 2017.’

The petition states: ‘The Security Council has failed to take any effective actions beyond statements. As the offensives escalate in Chin State, the UN Security Council must act before it is too late.’

The petition ends with the words: ‘The UN must not continue to fail the people of Myanmar.’