On this International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) acknowledges and sheds light on the deep pain and suffering caused by sexual violence, especially against women and girls, by armed actors in Southeast Burma and across the country. We urge the international community and all relevant stakeholders to address the worsening human rights crisis in Burma and take concrete action to stop violence against civilians, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).

Throughout Burma's ongoing conflict, the military has repeatedly and systematically used sexual violence against women and girls as a weapon of war. These acts are part of a broader strategy of terror, carried out with total impunity. Between 1988 and 2004, the Karen Women Organization (KWO) and its partners, including KHRG, documented 125 cases of sexual violence by Burma Army soldiers in Karen State - though the real number is likely far higher due to entrenched impunity and systemic barriers that prevent survivors from reporting. Half of these cases involved high-ranking army officers and according to KWO, 40% of the cases were gang rapes.[1] Since the 2021 military coup, the State Administration Council (SAC) has significantly intensified its attacks on civilians, with a sharp increase in the use of sexual violence as a tool of repression across the country. According to an October 2024 report by the Burmese Women’s Union (BWU), the SAC has perpetrated CRSV not only in conflict zones, but also in prisons, detention and interrogation centers, and at military checkpoints.[2] The systematic use of sexual violence by SAC soldiers causes deep physical and psychological harm to survivors, traumatizing families and destabilizing entire communities. KHRG’s documentation shows that the presence of SAC troops near villages forces many female villagers, especially adolescent girls, into hiding due to the threat of sexual violence, disrupting daily life and exacerbating existing inequalities.[3]

In one of the incidents reported to KHRG, SAC soldiers entered a village in Daw Hpa Hkoh Township, Taw Oo District, in November 2023, during which one soldier sexually assaulted an elderly woman in her home, where she was unable to escape due to her advanced age. Following the incident, the woman did not report the case to SAC authorities due to the lack of a safe, impartial, and effective justice system under SAC control in the area. She subsequently reported the case to local resistance groups (PDF and KNLA); however, the KNU justice system lacked the capacity or authority to take legal action against the SAC soldier. As a result, the woman was effectively denied both justice and access to necessary support services.[4] The complete absence of the rule of law, weak justice systems, and persistent barriers - including stigma and insecurity - prevent most survivors of sexual violence in Southeast Burma from reporting abuses. As a result, impunity thrives, enabling continued violations without accountability or justice.

The SAC’s continued perpetration of sexual violence represents a severe violation of international legal protections for civilians in armed conflict. Common Article 3(1)(a)(c) of the 1949 Geneva Conventions is judicially interpreted to encompass rape and other forms of sexual violence, while Article 4(2)(e) of Additional Protocol II expressly forbids “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, rape (…) and any form of indecent assault” in non-international armed conflicts. [5] UN Security Council Resolution 2686 (2023) further stresses that sexual violence used as a method of war or as part of systematic attacks against civilians exacerbates and prolongs conflict, undermines peace and security, and demands accountability. Under international human rights law, Article 1 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) defines discrimination as any practice that impairs women’s rights based on sex, including sexual violence. Article 2(e) CEDAW requires states to eliminate such discrimination by any public actor such as the SAC[6]. On a regional level, the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on Women, Peace and Security (2022) commits member states to prevent and address gender-based violence in conflict. Under international criminal law (ICL), the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court classifies various forms of sexual violence as war crimes in non-international armed conflicts under Article 8(2)(c)(i)(ii) and Article 8(2)(e)(vi). These acts also constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7(1)(g)(k) when committed as part of a systematic attack on a civilian population. Taken together, these provisions make clear that the SAC’s use of sexual violence in conflict constitutes a grave breach of international legal obligations, underscoring the urgent need for accountability and survivor-centered justice.

KHRG unequivocally condemns all forms of sexual violence and stands in unwavering solidarity with all survivors. The SAC’s continued use of sexual violence as a weapon of war will only end when those responsible are held accountable. On this day, KHRG calls on international and regional actors, NGOs, and local authorities to take urgent, concrete action to end impunity, deliver justice, and ensure comprehensive support for survivors:

• To confront the root causes of sexual violence - namely, its entrenchment in patriarchal power structures and the systemic devaluation of women’s bodies - by adopting more robust and transformative prevention measures grounded in international feminist and human rights frameworks on gender-based violence in local contexts.[7]  
• To take immediate and decisive legal action against all perpetrators of sexual violence, including members of the military junta, through all available avenues - such as universal jurisdiction and ICC referral via UN Security Council referral (Article 13(b)) or Prosecutor-initiated investigation (Article 15) - to ensure justice for survivors.
• To provide feminist, trauma-informed safe spaces and education through community hubs and awareness initiatives that support CRSV survivors and challenge stigma.
• To strengthen local justice systems through training and reform for timely, survivor-centered accountability.
• To reject any recognition of the SAC as Burma’s legitimate representative in international bodies (e.g., ASEAN, the UN), making explicit that the junta lacks democratic mandate, and flagrantly violates international norms.
• To recognize political obstacles to justice and support local civil society in delivering sustainable legal, financial, and psychosocial assistance to survivors.

Media contacts:

Naw Paw Lah, KHRG Advocacy Officer: nawpawlah@khrg.org (Karen and English)
Saw Albert, KHRG Field Director: albert@khrg.org (Burmese)