On August 30th, the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) commemorates the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances by strongly condemning this grave human rights violation and expressing solidarity with all victims and their families in the pursuit of truth and justice. Enforced disappearances are deliberate and heinous human rights abuses, prohibited under customary international law, yet this crime continues to be systematically employed around the world —including in Southeast Burma, extensively by the Burma Army. KHRG remains firm in its commitment to exposing and opposing all acts that violate the dignity, safety, and rights of individuals, including enforced disappearances. We urge international mechanisms to act decisively to stop perpetrators, support victims’ families to locate missing loved ones, and prevent such crimes from continuing to happen.
Since the military coup in February 2021, the human rights situation in Burma has dramatically worsened, with accountability structures collapsing and impunity thriving. KHRG has documented widespread abuses and violations in locally-defined Karen State (Southeast Burma), including the enforced disappearance of villagers by armed actors, particularly by members of the Burma Army under the command of the State Administration Council (SAC)[1]. Since the publication of KHRG’s report on enforced disappearances in November 2023,[2] we continue to receive multiple incidents of civilians being forcibly taken by Burma Army soldiers without warning, detained without due process, and held incommunicado in military camps or prisons. In Southeast Burma, young men (aged 15-25) have been particularly targeted, accused of being affiliated with resistance groups. Fearing for the safety of young people to be arrested and disappeared, a woman from Maung Ma Ywa Thit village tract, Kaw T’Ree Township, Dooplaya District, expressed to KHRG: “After the [2021] coup, we do not allow them [sons] to travel anywhere anymore because everywhere entails a high security risk to travel and [SAC] checkpoints on the road are checking people, motorcycles, and phones so we worry for their safety. We have to worry about one thing [type of violation against] for our sons and one thing [different type of violation] for our daughters; parents do not allow their sons to go to Kaw T’Ree Town anymore, but parents allow their daughters to travel to town sometimes.”[3]
Families are systematically denied any information regarding the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones and are forced to depend on informal community networks to piece together fragments of truth, often at great personal risk. In several reported instances, the bodies of killed disappeared victims were also not returned to family members. Our documentation further reveals incidents where disappeared individuals were arrested by Burma Army soldiers and forced to serve as porters, human shields, navigators, and minesweepers —actions that constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law. These civilians endure weeks of inhumane conditions, forced marches through conflict zones, and are denied any contact with their families, deepening the suffering of both victims and their communities.[4]
Although the majority of incidents documented by KHRG are attributed to the Burma Army, KHRG has also received some reports about other armed groups operating in locally-defined Karen State being perpetrators of enforced disappearance. These instances often involved accusations of villagers spying (being “da-lan”) and were similarly masked in secrecy and lack of accountability. KHRG firmly insists that all parties to the conflict be held fully accountable for these grave violations.
Customary international humanitarian law (IHL) -applicable in non-international armed conflicts such as the one in Southeast Burma- prohibits enforced disappearance. Under Rules 98, 105 and 117, enforced disappearance is prohibited as it violates the obligation to respect family life - stressing that all parties to the conflict are required to account for missing persons.[5] Under international criminal law, enforced disappearance committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population constitutes a crime against humanity.[6] Enforced disappearances further constitute multiple serious violations of international human rights law, including under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)[7] and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)[8], ratified by Burma in 2017. These include the right to life, the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the right to liberty and security and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
The consequences of enforced disappearances are devastating and far-reaching for local communities in Southeast Burma. Victims suffer unimaginable abuse, while their families endure relentless psychological torment, trapped in fear, grief, and uncertainty. This crime causes great harm and damages to the communities, spreading terror, forcing displacement, and unravelling the social fabric that binds people together. The economic toll is also severe, especially when the disappeared are primary income earners. Families of disappeared villagers in Southeast Burma reported needing help to look for their loved ones, negotiating for their release, and getting practical support to cope with many challenges. Justice requires more than condemnation –it demands collective action, transparency, and the amplification of survivors’ voices, along with adequate support and assistance for them. KHRG is committed to ensuring victims of enforced disappearance are remembered and perpetrators held accountable.
To end enforced disappearances in Burma and secure justice for victims and families, KHRG calls on the international community and relevant stakeholders to:
Media Contacts
Naw Paw Lah, KHRG Advocacy Officer: nawpawlah@khrg.org (Karen and English)
Saw Albert, KHRG Field Director: albert@khrg.org (Burmese)