Calling on UN To Stop Christians Being Slaughtered in Myanmar

The rise in innocent civilian deaths in Myanmar (Burma) continues at an alarming rate. According to the World Watch List, the country is ranked as the 14th worst place in the world for Christians, as the believers face intense persecution from Buddhists, Muslims, and other tribal groups. The ranking has improved by two spots from 2022, but not because of declining persecution. Rather, religious persecution has only worsened in other parts of the world.

We submitted our eighth written report to the U.N. Human Rights Council (U.N. HRC) in May 2023, detailing the inhumane acts being carried out against innocent civilians in Myanmar. We also just appeared before the U.N. HRC, asking the international community to recognize the atrocities in Myanmar and to act immediately by providing aid to innocent civilians.

The horrors in Myanmar began after a military coup in February 2021. Since this violent overthrow, the Burma Army has restricted civilians from communicating with the outside world and has attacked and killed those who resist the coup. Our oral intervention shared:

[I]nnocent civilians in Myanmar have endured countless raids, bombings, and the destruction of homes, churches, and schools. An estimated 3,662 civilians have been killed and millions more have been displaced from their homes.

Chaos reigns supreme under the Myanmar Army. For the past two years, we’ve recounted numerous horror stories of the violence, and similar accounts continue today. As we explained to the U.N. in our oral intervention:

Between June 6–8 of this year, 26 civilians were killed by the Myanmar military. Of those killed, 14 were shot to death, and the other 12 were killed as a result of mortar fire. Villagers even found that three of those killed had been forced to kneel before being shot point-blank in the back of the head. In addition to those killed, 20 villagers were wounded.

On April 11, 2023, the Myanmar military carried out one of the deadliest airstrikes since the coup, killing at least 171 people in the central Sagaing region. Of those killed, 24 were women and 38 were children.

Our written submission further catalogs a shocking number of violent acts and human rights violations that have occurred in Myanmar in 2023 alone.

We concluded our plea to the U.N. HRC with this call to action:

This conflict will continue to result in further loss of life if meaningful action is not taken by the international community. We urge that the United Nations take immediate measures to provide aid and protection for the people of Myanmar. The people of Myanmar cannot wait another day.

Unless world leaders intervene, the atrocities in Myanmar will likely continue for the foreseeable future. Our hearts break for the daily loss of life in Myanmar at the hands of the murderous Myanmar Army. We also mourn for the Christians being killed and displaced because of their faith. As a result, we will not stop advocating on behalf of Myanmar until the U.N. HRC takes meaningful action to save lives.