{"id":1282,"date":"2025-12-23T12:32:21","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T12:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282"},"modified":"2025-12-29T12:35:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:35:45","slug":"myanmar-elections-marked-by-fear-as-un-warns-civilians-are-coerced-from-all-sides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282","title":{"rendered":"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>As Myanmar heads toward elections scheduled for <strong>28 December<\/strong>, the United Nations has warned that civilians are being <strong>coerced and intimidated from multiple directions<\/strong>, leaving no space for free or meaningful political participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, <strong>Volker T\u00fcrk<\/strong>, said the military-controlled vote is taking place in a climate of <strong>violence, repression, and fear<\/strong>, with civilians pressured by the authorities to participate while armed opposition groups threaten those who do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThese elections are clearly taking place in an environment of violence and repression,\u201d T\u00fcrk said, stressing that conditions do not exist for the exercise of <strong>freedom of expression, association, or peaceful assembly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Vote Under Military Control<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The first phase of voting is being organised by Myanmar\u2019s military authorities more than <strong>four years after the 2021 coup<\/strong>, which dismantled the elected government, dissolved major political parties, and jailed thousands of political opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Senior political figures remain imprisoned, including former State Counsellor <strong>Aung San Suu Kyi<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the coup, Myanmar has descended into <strong>widespread armed conflict<\/strong>, mass displacement, and economic collapse\u2014conditions further aggravated by <strong>powerful earthquakes in March 2025<\/strong>, which intensified humanitarian needs across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Dissent Criminalised<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the <strong>Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights<\/strong> (OHCHR), dozens of people have been detained in recent weeks under a new <strong>\u201celection protection law\u201d<\/strong> aimed at silencing criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the most severe cases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Three young people<\/strong> in Yangon\u2019s Hlaingthaya Township were sentenced to <strong>42\u201349 years in prison<\/strong> for hanging anti-election posters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prominent cultural figures\u2014including film director <strong>Mike Tee<\/strong>, actor <strong>Kyaw Win Htut<\/strong>, and comedian <strong>Ohn Daing<\/strong>\u2014were each jailed for <strong>seven years<\/strong> after criticising a pro-election propaganda film.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Displaced communities face additional pressure. OHCHR reports that internally displaced people in areas such as Mandalay Region were warned their <strong>homes could be seized<\/strong> or <strong>airstrikes would continue<\/strong> if they failed to return to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cForcing displaced people to undertake unsafe and involuntary returns is a human rights violation,\u201d T\u00fcrk said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Threats From Armed Opposition Groups<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, armed groups opposing the military have issued their own warnings against participation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In mid-November, <strong>nine women teachers<\/strong> travelling to ballot-training sessions in Mon Region were reportedly abducted and later released with threats not to engage in the election process. In Yangon, a group calling itself the <strong>\u201cYangon Army\u201d<\/strong> carried out bomb attacks on local administrative offices involved in election preparations, injuring election staff and vowing further assaults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>UN officials have also raised alarm over the introduction of <strong>electronic-only voting<\/strong>, combined with expanded surveillance systems using <strong>artificial intelligence and biometric tracking<\/strong>, warning these tools could further erode trust and facilitate repression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Diplomatic Efforts Continue<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At UN Headquarters, spokesperson <strong>St\u00e9phane Dujarric<\/strong> said the UN Special Envoy for Myanmar, <strong>Julie Bishop<\/strong>, recently completed her third visit to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the visit, she again met with junta leader <strong>Senior General Min Aung Hlaing<\/strong>, urging an end to violence to allow humanitarian access and recovery. She also briefed the <strong>UN Security Council<\/strong> in closed consultations on the deteriorating situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Fears of Deepening Instability<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>UN officials have repeatedly cautioned that the planned vote is unlikely to restore democracy. Instead, they warn it may <strong>entrench instability and prolong conflict<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In October, the Secretary-General cautioned that elections held under current conditions risk <strong>\u201cfurther exclusion and instability\u201d<\/strong>\u2014a warning that UN human rights officials say remains highly relevant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Myanmar heads toward elections scheduled for 28 December, the United Nations has warned that civilians are being coerced and intimidated from multiple directions, leaving no space for free or meaningful political participation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker T\u00fcrk, said the military-controlled vote is taking place in a climate of violence, repression, [&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-topics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides - Brussels for Human Rights and development<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides - Brussels for Human Rights and development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As Myanmar heads toward elections scheduled for 28 December, the United Nations has warned that civilians are being coerced and intimidated from multiple directions, leaving no space for free or meaningful political participation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker T\u00fcrk, said the military-controlled vote is taking place in a climate of violence, repression, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Brussels for Human Rights and development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-23T12:32:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-29T12:35:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mahmoud gaber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mahmoud gaber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"mahmoud gaber\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a59b565cceb82f71602a3036ed1ab920\"},\"headline\":\"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-23T12:32:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-29T12:35:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282\"},\"wordCount\":571,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/ec9aeb7be7c76a012c170103032049c6.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Topics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282\",\"name\":\"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides - Brussels for Human Rights and development\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/ec9aeb7be7c76a012c170103032049c6.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-23T12:32:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-29T12:35:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a59b565cceb82f71602a3036ed1ab920\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/ec9aeb7be7c76a012c170103032049c6.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/ec9aeb7be7c76a012c170103032049c6.avif\",\"width\":862,\"height\":485},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?p=1282#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/\",\"name\":\"Brussels for Human Rights and development\",\"description\":\"Human Rights &amp; development\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a59b565cceb82f71602a3036ed1ab920\",\"name\":\"mahmoud gaber\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.brhrd.be\\\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides - Brussels for Human Rights and development","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides - Brussels for Human Rights and development","og_description":"As Myanmar heads toward elections scheduled for 28 December, the United Nations has warned that civilians are being coerced and intimidated from multiple directions, leaving no space for free or meaningful political participation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker T\u00fcrk, said the military-controlled vote is taking place in a climate of violence, repression, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282","og_site_name":"Brussels for Human Rights and development","article_published_time":"2025-12-23T12:32:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-29T12:35:45+00:00","author":"mahmoud gaber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mahmoud gaber","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282"},"author":{"name":"mahmoud gaber","@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/#\/schema\/person\/a59b565cceb82f71602a3036ed1ab920"},"headline":"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides","datePublished":"2025-12-23T12:32:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-29T12:35:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282"},"wordCount":571,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ec9aeb7be7c76a012c170103032049c6.avif","articleSection":["Topics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282","url":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282","name":"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides - Brussels for Human Rights and development","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ec9aeb7be7c76a012c170103032049c6.avif","datePublished":"2025-12-23T12:32:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-29T12:35:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/#\/schema\/person\/a59b565cceb82f71602a3036ed1ab920"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ec9aeb7be7c76a012c170103032049c6.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ec9aeb7be7c76a012c170103032049c6.avif","width":862,"height":485},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?p=1282#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Myanmar Elections Marked by Fear as UN Warns Civilians Are Coerced From All Sides"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/","name":"Brussels for Human Rights and development","description":"Human Rights &amp; development","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/#\/schema\/person\/a59b565cceb82f71602a3036ed1ab920","name":"mahmoud gaber","url":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1282"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1284,"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1282\/revisions\/1284"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brhrd.be\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}