By 
August 22nd, 2025
Alexa Sporner
Asia Team Human Rights Researcher,
Global Human Rights Defence.
The most recent report of the United Nations mandated Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) shows significant evidence for systematic torture and sexual violence in the country.
Since the 2021 coup d’état in Myanmar, the country has been under mass protests that resulted in violence that eventually escalated into a civil war (UN News, 2025).
The IIMM’s annual report discusses the one-year time period between the 1st of July 2024 and the 30th of June 2025. The report includes investigations of armed attacks against and/or killings of civilians, as well as crimes of sexual violence and gender based crimes. The investigators reported that civilians and children are heavily traumatised by the ongoing civil war, and live together with the fear of being attacked.
The IIMM’s investigators conducted several interviews with witnesses and victims of atrocities. The IIMM collected evidences for torture during interrogation in detention facilities that are operated by the Myanmar military. According to the investigation, many forms of torture are present in these facilities, including beatings, electric shocks and pulling out fingernails.
There have also been significant progress in monitoring and gathering evidence for sexual and gender-based crimes. These crimes include among others rape, burning of the genitalia, and sexual slavery, as well as the not providing basic hygienic tools and circumstances for women.
The report also showed crimes committed against children, stating that children between 2 and 17 years old are being detained along with their parents, and often being subjected to torture, ill-treatment or sexual violence (IIMM Annual Report, 2025).
The IIMM keeps investigating the responsible people and military commanders to be able to hold them accountable for the crimes committed. Although the United Nations has asked the Myanmar government to provide more information on the human rights situation in the country, it has not responded to these requests, nor did they grant access to the country. Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the IIMM, said that the Mechanism focuses on convicting the perpetrators individually with the help of victims, because they are able to identify those committing the crimes against them. Myanmar’s military government did not respond to the United Nations’ requests and claims directly, but in an email sent to Reuters they stated that the government only implemented necessary security measures, and the tortures are not committed by them, but by terrorist groups in the country (Reuters, 2025).
It has been only a couple of weeks since, in July 2025, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing announced an end to the state of emergency in Myanmar, and started to prepare for the new elections in Myanmar at the end of this year. Many critics are worried that the elections will not be fair, as most of the opposite politicians are arrested and detained. They fear the government will create a “fake election” to legally claim their leadership over Myanmar (Euronews, 2025).
Sources and further readings:
Blackburn, G. (2025, July 31) Myanmar ends state of emergency and junta chief switches roles ahead of December elections. Euronews, accessed on the 22nd August 2025 <https://www.euronews.com/2025/07/31/myanmar-ends-state-of-emergency-and-junta-chief-switches-roles-ahead-of-december-elections>
Frage, E. (2025, August 13) Myanmar security forces involved in systematic torture, UN report says. Reuters, accessed on the 20th August 2025 <https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/myanmar-security-forces-involved-systematic-torture-un-report-says-2025-08-12/>
Mishra, V. (2025, August 12) Myanmar: Rights investigators reveal ‘systematic torture’, sexual violence. UN News – Global Perspective Human stories, accessed on the 19th August 2025 <https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/08/1165630>
United Nations General Assembly (2025, July 14) Report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, accessed on the 20th August 2025 <https://iimm.un.org/en/annual-reports>
