Myanmar’s Conflict Death Toll Surpasses 100,000, Third Committee Hears, as South Sudan’s Elections Risk Triggering War
Myanmar’s military has intensified attacks on civilians as the country’s death toll since the 2021 coup surpassed 100,000, United Nations experts warned the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) today, while a separate investigation cautioned that South Sudan’s approaching elections risk triggering another war.
‘Myanmar Presents a Test’; UN Envoy Calls for Action
“Will the United Nations act before the crisis becomes permanently insoluble?”, asked Julie Bishop, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, describing starkly competing accounts of the country’s political and humanitarian crisis.
Military authorities in Naypyidaw claim that the 2020 elections, in which the National League for Democracy won over 80 per cent of the vote, were fraudulent, requiring military intervention. The resistance maintains that the results reflected the legitimate will of the people.
“Naypyidaw claims its continuing aerial bombardment targets terrorist groups. The resistance says aerial attacks are targeting civilians, including women and children,” she said.
Yet, amid these conflicting narratives, one fact remains indisputable: “Rohingya have fled Rakhine, seeking protection in Bangladesh and elsewhere.” Naypyidaw claims to be committed to the return of some 326,000 verified former residents, while Bangladesh reports hosting 1.3 million Rohingya from Myanmar. Those remaining in Rakhine, where the Arakan Army controls 14 of 17 townships, face armed conflict, landmines and forced recruitment.
“Conditions for safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return do not exist,” she warned, cautioning against attempts to repatriate refugees. Supporting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Five-Point Consensus, she called for measurable benchmarks, an immediate cessation of violence and the release of arbitrarily detained persons.
‘The Crimes Being Inflicted upon Them Will Not Go Unpunished’
“The situation in Myanmar has further deteriorated with a growing number of its people falling victim to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” warned Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.
As the military intensifies aerial attacks, the Mechanism has intensified investigations into indiscriminate or targeted attacks — including by drones and paramotors — hitting civilians in their homes, hospitals, displacement camps and schools.
“Just two weeks ago, planes bombed a monastery in Sagaing Region and a church complex in Chin State,” he reported, recalling another bombing at a market in Rakhine State that killed over 50 people.
Investigators are also identifying commanders and interrogators implicated in torture at military-run detention facilities. Witnesses have provided “horrific accounts of sexual and gender-based crimes, torture, strangulation and electrocution”, he added.
Turning to the approximately 1.2 million Rohingya who have fled to Bangladesh, he recalled meeting a father whose five children had been killed in Rakhine and a woman whose husband had disappeared after being abducted by the Arakan Army. “Everyone I met carried pain from their experiences,” he said, noting that refugees hoped justice would hasten their safe return.
The Mechanism has collected videos, geospatial imagery and financial records from over 1,600 sources, alongside over 750 witness testimonies. It has also shared information supporting proceedings before international courts and preliminary investigations by several States.
“Member States must send a message that the people of Myanmar are not forgotten and the crimes being inflicted upon them will not go unpunished,” he declared.
‘The Greatest Source of Civilian Death and Suffering’, Expert Says of Myanmar’s Military Regime
Kelley Anne Eckels-Currie, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, denounced military leader Min Aung Hlaing’s assumption of the presidency. “Nobody should be fooled: he may have changed his outfit, but he’s still the same ruthless dictator using the same ruthless tactics,” she asserted.
During his announced 100-day plan to restore peace and prosperity, the military intensified attacks and Myanmar passed “a grim milestone: more than 100,000 conflict-related deaths since the coup, the vast majority of which were civilians”.
While the regular economy continued to collapse, online scams, trafficking and resource extraction expanded, she reported. “And during those 100 days, the regime deployed new technologies of coercion and surveillance — gifts from its Chinese and Russian allies — to shut down dissent,” she said.
She criticized regional efforts to normalize relations with the military authorities, warning that diplomatic engagement and a “performative transition” risk prolonging suffering and intensifying the conflict.
Citing deliberate attacks on civilians, obstruction of humanitarian assistance, telecommunications blackouts, torture and extrajudicial killings, she reported that three humanitarian workers were reportedly tortured and killed in Dawei in July for assisting local communities.
Nevertheless, she pointed to grass-roots governance in areas outside military control, including community-focused resource management in Karenni State and education and health services for displaced people in Karen State.
“The Min Aung Hlaing regime remains the greatest source of civilian death and suffering, instability, impoverishment, corruption and gross violations of human rights in Myanmar,” she stressed.
Responding to questions about her impartiality, she invoked Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
‘Do Not Fail Them Anymore’, Myanmar’s Representative Pleads
During the ensuing dialogue, Myanmar’s representative condemned the military junta’s air strikes, forced conscription and continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, dismissing its proposed peace talks as “a fake promise”.
Holding up a scarf bearing the names and ages of civilians killed in the conflict, he struggled to contain his tears. “The youngest was just two months old. The oldest was 105,” he said.
“I do not want to read any more names added to this scarf,” he pleaded, urging States to stop supplying jet fuel, weapons and money to the military. “Do not fail them anymore,” he said.
Thailand’s representative highlighted humanitarian assistance delivered through ASEAN channels and the repatriation of over 13,700 people rescued from scam centres in Myanmar. Japan’s delegate called for an end to attacks on civilians and the release of political detainees.
The Russian Federation’s representative rejected “seriously imbalanced” UN assessments, stressing that “it is unacceptable to brand Naypyidaw as being to blame for the current crisis”.
Similarly rejecting the Special Rapporteur’s claims, China’s speaker cautioned her against misleading the public. “The international community should focus on helping bridge differences and resolving problems, rather than intensifying tensions and aggravating turbulence,” he said.
The European Union, in its capacity as observer, rejected the legitimacy of the military’s elections, declaring that “rebranding of the military rule under a nominally civilian administration” could not confer legitimacy.
Bangladesh’s representative warned of sexual violence and forced recruitment in Rakhine, stressing that “prolonged displacement cannot become a permanent solution” and calling for predictable international funding and burden-sharing.
South Sudan: Elections ‘Risk Triggering a Wider War’
Turning to South Sudan, Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, warned that the political settlement designed to prevent another war is being dismantled ahead of the country’s first elections.
The Government’s abandonment of the permanent Constitution in July and the President’s dissolution of the transitional Government in September, followed by the appointment of a caretaker administration “answerable to him alone”, amounted to a constitutional coup through legislative means, she pointed out.
Former Vice-President Riek Machar remains detained, opposition actors remain excluded and fighting has resumed, with tens of thousands of fighters outside unified command. “Elections under these conditions risk triggering a wider war,” she warned.
With the incumbent President standing for election under institutions he controls, “de facto one-party rule” has emerged before a single vote, she said. Elections risk “giving democratic cover to the destruction of the peace agreement”.
Meanwhile, civilians continue to bear the consequences of renewed military operations. She cited military orders for civilians, peacekeepers and aid agencies to leave Akobo ahead of operations, noting that the area hosted an estimated 270,000 people. Recalling an attack on a Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Old Fangak that killed seven people in 2025, she added: “The harm endures long after the aircraft leave.”
Children continue to be recruited by armed groups, women and girls face conflict-related sexual violence and commanders implicated in grave violations have joined State forces without vetting. Such “appointments reward men under Security Council sanctions”, she stated.
Calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities, electoral safeguards, humanitarian assistance and accountability through the African Union Hybrid Court, she stressed: “South Sudanese want to live without fear and determine their own future.”
Central African Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: Abuses Persist despite Limited Progress
Aristide Nononsi, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Central African Republic, acknowledged progress in elections, disarmament and reintegration, but warned of persistent violence against civilians.
Between October 2025 and June 2026, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) documented 1,639 human rights violations and abuses affecting 2,812 victims, he reported. He highlighted conflict-related sexual violence, abuses against children and the need to prevent child recruitment.
He also welcomed the International Criminal Court’s September conviction of former Séléka commander Mahamat Said Abdel Kani, stressing the importance of justice and reparations.
Elizabeth Salmón, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, warned of intensifying surveillance, ideological control, food insecurity and restrictions on fundamental freedoms.
“Recent developments in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regrettably indicate an expansion, rather than a restriction, of the death penalty,” she said, reporting that the number of offences punishable by death had reportedly doubled since 2015.
Citing concerns over due process and allegations of executions of forcibly repatriated women, she urged Pyongyang “to establish a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolition of the death penalty”.
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