This is happening as foreign actors continue to transfer arms, parts, ammunition and munitions as well as jet fuel and other dual-use items to the military, which risks facilitating violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. 

The report warned that reductions and suspensions in foreign aid are threatening locally led civilian protection efforts aimed at saving lives and ensuring a minimum level of access to essential services despite continuous military attacks on civilians. 

 “Predictable funding is essential to strengthen civilian protection initiatives,” it said. 

Violations, violence and denial of aid 

Myanmar has been mired in conflict since the military seized power in February 2021.   

The report covers the period from the announcement of elections in August 2025 through the end of the voting period in January 2026. 

It details serious human rights violations amid ongoing conflict-related violence, lack of respect for the rule of law, denial of humanitarian assistance and the impact of the military-controlled elections. 

Civilian deaths linked to airstrikes 

Credible sources verified a minimum of 702 civilian deaths during the reporting period, mostly in the central regions and Rakhine state.  

Of this number, 476 deaths were due to airstrikes with 111 occurring before voting began in December 2025.   

Local groups under strain 

The reduction in international support has increased civilian exposure to harm, the report said. 

It has forced civil society groups to implement deep programme cuts, closures and layoffs, with ethnic media and women’s organisations impacted disproportionally. Assistance to displaced people, education initiatives and psychosocial support have been curtailed or halted altogether. 

Emergency healthcare has also deteriorated due to military blockades and the funding cuts, creating difficulties in maintaining medicine supply chains and health facilities. 

Furthermore, safe houses for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence have closed or operate at a reduced capacity, while boarding facilities, education and women-focused programmes have been scaled down or sustained only by re-allocating limited emergency resources.  

Myanmar’s people seemingly forgotten: UN rights chief 

“As if the people of Myanmar have not suffered enough at the hands of the military, they have now seemingly been forgotten by those outside the country,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk. 

“Funding for localised protection efforts was in many areas the only solace from the suffering caused by constant targeting and indiscriminate attacks by the military. This pullback just compounds that injury,” he added.  

The report stressed that local protection mechanisms remain fragile and constrained, but have shown that some level of protection is possible when rooted in community trust, legitimacy and collective action. 

The High Commissioner repeated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Myanmar and facilitation of humanitarian access to all civilians urgently in need of food, clean water, medicines and basic services.