STATEMENT AT THE AFRICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN & PEOPLE’S RIGHTS ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONVENTION

 

On 24 October, the Asia Justice Coalition endorsed the statement delivered by the International Commission of Jurists at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. The statement called upon African States to meaningfully engage in the negotiation process for an international Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity to ensure “a trauma-informed, gender-competent and intersectional approach to access to justice and accountability and provide tools and mechanisms for its effective implementation to promote protection of marginalized groups and the interests of victims and survivors”.

 

CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONVENTION SIDE EVENT IN NEW YORK

 

On 22 October, the Asia Justice Coalition co-sponsored a side event organized by the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations and the International Commission of Jurists on 'Facilitating implementation of obligations under the Crimes Against Humanity Convention: Gaps and Opportunities'. AJC’s Aakash Chandran (Legal Advocacy and Communications Manager) made an intervention at the event calling on Member States to ensure and effectuate meaningful participation of the civil society, including non-ECOSOC-accredited NGOs, during all phases of the diplomatic negotiations, including the Preparatory Committee, Working Group sessions, and the regional and country-focused workshops.

AJC PARTICIPATION AT THE PACIFIC JUST ANNUAL MEETING

 

From 30-31 October, AJC’s Jennifer Keene-McCann attended the second annual meeting of PacificJust in Brisbane, Australia. PacificJust is the sister network to the European Union’s Genocide Prosecution Network; its mandate is to bring together a community of practice focused on accountability for core international crimes across the Pacific Rim. Jen spoke about opportunities stemming from positive developments across Southeast Asia and Australia to support accountability efforts.

 

DR. PILLAI’S PARTICIPATION AT THE NUREMBERG FORUM

 

Asia Justice Coalition Executive Director Dr. Priya Pillai participated at the Nuremberg Forum 2025 (“Strengthening International Criminal Law: 80 Years since Nuremberg") organised by the International Nuremberg Principles Academy from 10 to 12 October. Dr Pillai served as the panelist on the session 'Legitimacy, Prevention, and Universality' along with Pablo Gavira Díaz, Louise Chappell, Juan E. Méndez, and Natia Navrouzov. The recording of the full panel discussion is available here.

 

BLOG POST ON AUSTRALIA’S ROLE IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

 

On 13 October, Asia Justice Coalition's Jennifer Keene-McCann (Senior Law and Policy Advisor) co-authored a blog post with Aruni Jayakody entitled 'Australia’s role in bringing international criminals to justice,’ calling on the Australian government to take concrete actions domestically to combat atrocity crimes while supporting international mechanisms and institutions.

GJC: ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION WITH THE IIMM

 

On 29 October, the Global Justice Center, Women’s Peace Network, and other partners co-organised an in-person roundtable discussion with Nicholas Koumjian (Head, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar) at the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations in New York. Following the Third Committee Interactive Dialogue on Myanmar, Mr. Koumjian briefed on the progress of the IIMM’s work and engaged with civil society representatives.

 

AI: ‘ASEAN SUMMIT MUST ADDRESS DETERIORATING CRISIS IN MYANMAR AND ONGOING SCAM COMPOUND ACTIVITY’

 

On 24 October, Amnesty International called on ASEAN to put human rights at the centre of regional discussions and decision-making during the 47^th ASEAN Summit in Malaysia. According to AI, “ASEAN’s approach to the situation in Myanmar has failed to prevent grave human rights violations, let alone hold perpetrators accountable, with the humanitarian crisis in the country worse than ever, compounded by a devastating earthquake in March that killed thousands. ASEAN must urgently intensify efforts to exert maximum influence on the military and other armed groups to comply with international humanitarian law and free all arbitrarily detained prisoners.”.

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: JOINT LETTER TO TIMOR-LESTE PRESIDENT TO REFER MYANMAR TO THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

 

On 23 October, Fortify Rights and 35 civil society organisations wrote a joint letter to President José Ramos-Horta and urged Timor-Leste to use its Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) membership to push for accountability in Myanmar, including by referring the situation to the International Criminal Court under Article 14 of the Rome Statute. According to Patrick Phongsathorn (Senior Advocate, Fortify), “Timor-Leste has an opportunity to kick-start genuine and inclusive efforts for peace, truth, and justice in Myanmar. By referring the Myanmar crisis to the ICC, Timor-Leste would be demonstrating its commitment to human rights and democracy in Myanmar and to the rule-based international order.”

 

HRW URGES MALAYSIA TO SEEK RELEASE & REOPEN INVESTIGATION OF AN ABDUCTED REFUGEE DETAINED IN MYANMAR

 

On 22 October, Human Rights Watch called on the Malaysian government to press Myanmar’s junta for the immediate release of a refugee family abducted from Kuala Lumpur in July 2023. More than two years after her disappearance, Myanmar junta authorities announced on October 17, 2025, that they were detaining Thuzar Maung, a Myanmar pro-democracy activist, along with her husband and three children. According to HRW, “The Malaysian government is failing to protect refugees at risk, including children, and the role of Myanmar’s junta and possibly other governments needs to be fully explored and brought to light.”

AI: FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS ON CONVENTION ON PREVENTION AND PUNISHMENT OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

 

On 20 October, ahead of the January 2026 Preparatory Committee session, Amnesty International published a new set of recommendations for the upcoming negotiations on the Crimes Against Humanity Convention. These further recommendations reflect that, cutting across the future Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity, victims and survivors’ rights are robustly protected; gender justice is advanced; crimes against humanity against children are effectively recognized; and attempts to weaken the effectiveness of the future Convention through procedural or other caveats are rejected.

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: ARAKAN ARMY SUBJECTING ETHNIC MINORITIES TO FORCED LABOR

 

On 22 October, Fortify Rights called on the Arakan Army (AA) in Myanmar’s Rakhine State to immediately stop using forced labor of ethnic minorities—including Rohingya, Hindu, and other civilians—warning that the practice may constitute war crimes under international law. According to Fortify, “The AA has also exacted forced labor from arbitrarily detained Rohingya civilians, some for periods of up to a year…Survivors described being forced at gunpoint to porter ammunition, build fortifications, and perform unpaid labor for months under the threat of beatings, detention, and execution….The AA also launched a forced recruitment drive, with conscripted minorities forced to take up military training and engage, simultaneously, in hard labor.”

 

HRW, FORTIFY RIGHTS: JOINT LETTER TO BANGLADESH CHIEF ADVISER YUNUS

 

On 19 October, AJC members Human Rights Watch, Fortify Rights, and others published a joint letter to Chief Adviser Yunus. Amongst other things, the letter called on the Bangladesh Interim government to prevent forced repatriation of the Rohingya to Myanmar while the situation does not allow for voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable returns and reduce camp restrictions impeding freedom of movement and access to livelihood opportunities and formal education. Further, the letter also urged the Interim government to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation of the International Criminal Court into the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar, including through the arrest and transfer to the court of any individuals wanted by the ICC who are on Bangladeshi territory.

 

BHRN: INTERVIEW ON MYANMAR CIVIL WAR

 

On 15 October, Burma Human Rights Network’s Executive Director Kyaw Win was interviewed by Al Jazeera English News on Myanmar’s civil war. Kyaw Win denounced the elections proposed by the military junta in Myanmar and called for transitional justice and accountability for atrocity crimes.

GCR2P MYANMAR ATROCITY ALERT

 

On 8 October, Asia Justice Coalition member Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect released its Atrocity Alert, sharing reflections from the High-Level Conference on the Situation of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar. According to GCR2P Myanmar expert Sarah Hunter, “While last week’s conference is a welcome step, timely action is necessary to utilize momentum and make real progress for the Rohingya and other minority populations. Member states must commit to fully funding response plans for Rohingya refugees, including through providing opportunities to regain livelihoods, access to education, and other opportunities. Member states must also continue isolating the junta, especially ahead of elections, to ensure the legitimacy sought by the junta is not won.”

 

HRW: ‘OPEN LETTER ON THE MYANMAR CRISIS’

 

On 17 October, Asia Justice Coalition member Human Rights Watch urged ASEAN to focus attention on the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. HRW called on ASEAN and ASEAN partners to categorically reject the idea that free and fair elections can currently be held in Myanmar and deny support for the elections and also signal that if elections are held, any supposed results will not be considered credible. Further, HRW urged governments to discuss tangible, timebound consequences for the junta’s disregard of the Five-Point Consensus and its continuing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. 

 

AI: ‘DEADLY ATTACK’ ON FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS PARAGLIDER THREAT TO CIVILIANS’

 

On 7 October, Amnesty International reported an aerial attack by the Myanmar military that is said to have killed upwards of 20 civilians, including children, when multiple bombs were dropped from motorized paragliders in Sagaing Region’s Chaung-U Township. According to AI, “As the military attempts to solidify power with a stage-managed election later this year, it is intensifying an already brutal campaign against pockets of resistance” and called on ASEAN to increase pressure on the junta and revise an approach that has failed the Myanmar people for almost five years, since the coup deposed the country’s democratically elected government.

BHRN RELEASES NEW REPORT ON ‘THE GENOCIDAL PROCESS AND THE PLIGHT OF MYANMAR’S MUSLIMS’

 

On 2 October, the Burma Human Rights Network published a new report entitled "You will have to draw pictures to describe us: The Genocidal Process and the Plight of Myanmar’s Muslims" documenting a state-engineered campaign of persecution against Muslim populations across Burma spanning from the 1962 Ne Win coup to the present day. Through extensive field documentation and analysis of military publications, the report demonstrates how successive governments have implemented laws, policies, and propaganda campaigns designed to isolate and destroy Muslim communities. The report release also included a panel discussion, including AJC members Kyaw Win (Executive Director, BHRN) and Tun Khin (President, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK).

 

BROUK: ‘UN HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON ROHINGYA: CALLS FOR ACTION MUST NOW BE MATCHED BY POLITICAL WILL’

 

On 1 October, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK published its dispatch based on the High-Level Conference on Rohingya and other Minorities in New York. According to BROUK, “While the conference brought renewed attention to the crisis, it fell short of the decisive commitments needed. The Joint Response Plan for Rohingya refugees remains severely underfunded…. Calls for a Security Council referral to the ICC and for aviation-fuel sanctions were left without follow-up”. Amongst other things, BROUK called on UN Member States to increase international pressure on the military, including through the UN Security Council, with concrete steps to restrict aviation-fuel supplies that enable attacks on civilians.

UN SR ON MYANMAR SEEKS INPUT FOR A NEW CONFERENCE PAPER

 

The UN Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, is seeking input (approx. 3000 words) for his upcoming Conference Room paper on accountability for grave human rights violations in Myanmar. The Conference Room paper will focus on pathways to accountability for grave human rights violations in Myanmar. The deadline for submission is 15 December 2025.

 

IIMM: ‘PROGRESS IN IDENTIFYING PERPETRATORS’

 

On 28 October, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar published a bulletin outlining the Mechanism’s progress in identifying perpetrators of crimes committed in detention facilities and those who benefited from the 2017 destruction and dispossession of Rohingya land and property. It also highlights the Head of the Mechanism’s recent high-level engagements, the use of Artificial Intelligence, and digital tools in investigations and explains how the denial of humanitarian aid can constitute a serious international crime.

 

ASEAN LEADERS’ REVIEW AND DECISION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FIVE-POINT CONSENSUS

 

On 26 October, the ASEAN Leaders reviewed and adopted a decision on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar. ASEAN denounced the continued acts of violence in Myanmar against civilians, public facilities, and civilian infrastructure and urged all parties involved to take concrete action to immediately halt indiscriminate violence, denounce any escalation, exercise utmost restraint, ensure the protection and safety of all civilians, and create a conducive environment for the delivery of humanitarian assistance and inclusive national political dialogue.

 

ICC SEVENTH ASIA PACIFIC FORUM 2025

 

The International Criminal Court will hold its 7th Asia-Pacific Forum (online) on 4 November (Thursday) at 9:00 - 11:00 CET. The Asia-Pacific Forum aims to increase awareness about the Rome Statute system and the ICC within the Asia-Pacific region, encourage students and young professionals from the region to consider a career in international criminal justice, and promote broader engagement with international justice in the region. To attend the Forum, kindly RSVP here.

UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR PUBLISHES A NEW REPORT ON MYANMAR

 

On 25 October, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, published and presented his latest report to the UN General Assembly's Third Committee. According to him, “The polls, which are slated to begin in December, will be neither free nor fair. A free and fair election is not possible when opposition leaders are arrested, detained, tortured or executed; when it is illegal to criticize the junta or the election; when journalists are in prison for having reported the truth”. He called on UN Member States and world leaders to denounce the junta’s fraudulent election plans for what they are—a sham, take steps to isolate the junta and weaken its ability to attack civilians, and provide robust support for those displaced or otherwise impacted by the coup. Every day of inaction and inertia costs countless lives. The press conference with Tom Andrews can be viewed here.

 

‘UN EXPERT URGES ASEAN NOT TO STEP BACKWARD BY RECOGNISING JUNTA’S ‘SHAM ELECTIONS’ AT ITS 47TH SUMMIT’

 

On 22 October, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called on ASEAN leaders to firmly reject plans by Myanmar’s military junta to hold illegitimate elections designed to entrench military rule and ease international pressure. According to Andrews, ASEAN’s well-meaning Five Point Consensus had failed to move Myanmar forward on the path toward peace and stability. To recognise the junta’s fraudulent election would be to move Myanmar backward and defend the indefensible.

 

IIMM ADDRESS TO THE UNGA THIRD COMMITTEE

 

On 28 October, Nicholas Koumjian, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, addressed the 80th Session of the Third Committee of the General Assembly. He raised alarms about the budget cuts at the UN and its impact on the mission of the Mechanism. According to him, “Unfortunately, given today’s difficult regular budget environment and decrease in pledges of voluntary funding from donors, we risk losing over one-third of our personnel by early next year. This includes experts in sexual and gender-based crimes and crimes against children, and open-source specialists who forensically validate publicly available information that has proven to be valuable evidence.”