CIVICUS discusses the conflict in Myanmar with Kyaw Win, founder and executive director of the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN). Based in the UK, BHRN is the only civil society organisation that systematically monitors and reports on human rights abuses against Burma’s six Muslim minority groups.

Myanmar’s military has waged a violent campaign against Rohingya people and other Muslim minorities for several years. The violence has worsened since the February 2021 military coup, with an estimated 5,726 people killed and 21,006 detained. Ethnic armed groups allied with pro-democracy groups are resisting and recently launched a counter-offensive. In a regional effort to address the conflict, Indonesia recently hosted a meeting on Myanmar that included members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union and the United Nations. This came shortly after an ASEAN summit in Laos, where Myanmar’s military government sent a representative for the first time since the coup.

What’s the status of the conflict and how are Muslim communities being affected?

Since the military coup, the junta has waged a systematic and violent campaign against civilians, targeting ethnic and religious minorities, democracy protesters and any group perceived to oppose its rule. This has resulted in widespread crimes against humanity and war crimes, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, torture and mass killings.

The military’s actions are part of a wider strategy to eliminate Muslim communities. While the Rohingya remain the most visible victims of this genocide, all other Muslim groups –Kaman, Myaydu, Panthay, Pashu and Pathi people –suffer from the junta’s oppressive policies. These communities have long been denied basic rights and full citizenship and experienced systemic discrimination, with the coup exacerbating these abuses.

Military offensives have displaced hundreds of thousands of Muslims, forcing them to flee their homes and leaving many trapped in conflict zones with no access to humanitarian aid. They are in a precarious situation in Burma and as refugees in neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Thailand.

In Rakhine State, Rohingya civilians continue to live in conditions of apartheid-like segregation, with limited access to education, employment and healthcare. Clashes between the military and armed groups such as the Arakan Army have worsened the situation. In regions such as Sagaing and Tanintharyi, Muslim-majority villages have been destroyed, mosques desecrated and civilians arbitrarily arrested.

As long as the military leaders responsible for the 2017 genocide against the Rohingya remain in power, the genocidal campaign against Muslim minorities will continue. The junta’s reliance on violence and repression makes the prospect of a peace agreement impossible. Genuine peace cannot be achieved as long as the military remains in control and is unaccountable for its crimes.

How is civil society supporting displaced communities?

BHRN focuses on documenting human rights violations and producing evidence-based reports. We systematically monitor the situation of all six Muslim minority groups in Burma and engage in national and international advocacy. Our work extends throughout Burma and into refugee settlements in Bangladesh and along the Thai-Burma border .

Civil society is working to address the immediate humanitarian needs and long-term human rights challenges facing these communities. Many organisations, including BHRN, ensure that displaced Muslim communities receive food, hygiene kits and medical supplies, particularly in conflict zones where humanitarian access is severely restricted. We’ve also provided essential items such as blankets, mosquito nets and trauma kits to refugees along the Thai-Burma border.

In addition to providing humanitarian aid, we aim to build long-term resilience, so we also provide capacity-strengthening support to religious minority leaders and young people, equipping them with skills in human rights advocacy, media literacy and countering hate speech.

What challenges do you face in assisting Muslim communities?

Our local staff face extreme security risks. The military junta views civil society organisations as enemies of the state and labels human rights defenders and local researchers as insurgents or traitors to justify abuses against them. Our staff are at constant risk of arbitrary arrest, harassment and violence.

To protect them, we have adopted strict security protocols, including encrypted communications and the use of pseudonyms. In some cases, team members have had to move to safe houses to avoid arrest or harm. The risks are particularly high in areas where the military has intensified its operations, such as Rakhine, Sagaing and Tanintharyi. Despite our precautions, the risks make it incredibly difficult for our staff to carry out their work.

Another major challenge is access to conflict-affected areas where Muslim minorities most need humanitarian assistance and human rights protection. The junta routinely prevents humanitarian agencies from entering these areas, and those who attempt to deliver aid face severe reprisals. This increases risk and limits our reach.

It is also difficult to work outside Burma, particularly along the Thai-Burma border, because the Thai authorities have close ties to the junta. They have arrested people and restricted access for organisations like ours, putting our staff and partners working with refugees at risk of detention. Similarly, in Bangladesh, government restrictions limit our access to refugee camps where over a million Rohingya people live in appalling conditions. However, we remain cautiously optimistic that recent political changes in Bangladesh may result in improved access.

What should the international community do to protect Myanmar’s Muslim minorities?

The international community must act more decisively. ASEAN should reject the legitimacy of the military junta and cease all engagement with it as a governing body. Instead, it should support the National Unity Government, which represents the elected politicians ousted in the coup, along with ethnic resistance groups and civil society groups working to protect Burma’s diverse communities.

ASEAN should develop a regional protection framework in line with international human rights standards. This framework must ensure that Muslim minorities and other persecuted groups are not forcibly returned to Burma under the principle of non-refoulement. Countries such as Malaysia, which will chair ASEAN in 2025, have a crucial role to play in leading these efforts and ensuring humanitarian assistance reaches those most in need.

The international community as a whole should expand its targeted sanctions to cut off the junta’s access to military resources and financial support. They must also support ongoing efforts to hold the junta accountable for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court and other international legal mechanisms. The time for action is now. Anything less will only prolong the suffering of Burma’s Muslim minorities and other persecuted communities.