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The human rights situation in Myanmar has reached what UN Special Rapporteur Kelley Anne Eckels-Currie described as “catastrophic.” According to UN News, she warned at a press conference on Thursday that the war continues to worsen with no sign of ending. As the formal economy contracts, illegal activities have also grown into a source of conflict financing.
Civilian death toll continues to rise
Myanmar has been engulfed in civil war since the military overthrew the democratically elected government in February 2021. The takeover triggered widespread armed resistance across the country.
Eckels-Currie's latest report recorded that at least 8,384 civilians were killed by the military between the coup and September 15, 2026. Special Rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council who serve in their personal capacities and are not paid for their work.
The military launched what it called a “100-day peace plan” from April 20 to July 31, 2026. However, according to the independent expert's findings, the situation instead grew worse. About 753 civilians were killed during that period, with Myanmar's military and paramilitary forces said to be responsible for 89 percent of civilian deaths.
Civilian infrastructure targeted
The military reportedly continues to use weapons of war, including airstrikes and artillery, against civilian infrastructure. Schools, healthcare facilities, religious buildings, markets, and displacement camps are among the locations that have been targeted and destroyed.
Eckels-Currie said the attacks were not accidents. In her assessment, the violence was deliberately intended to inflict suffering, terrorize civilians, and force them into submission.
The military's strategy is said to be rooted in the “Four Cuts” doctrine, which seeks to cut off food, resources, humanitarian access, and support networks from areas opposing the regime. Aid operations have also been obstructed through telecommunications blackouts, movement restrictions, and checkpoints. As a result, food, medicine, fuel, and other essential supplies have struggled to reach displaced communities.
Humanitarian workers face threats
In addition to operational restrictions, humanitarian workers face harassment, arbitrary detention, torture, and killing. In July 2026, three humanitarian workers were reportedly tortured and killed in the city of Dawei in southeastern Myanmar.
Threats against aid workers increase the risks facing communities that depend on humanitarian support. Communication and movement restrictions also make delivering essential supplies increasingly difficult amid the continuing conflict.
Illegal economy sustains the war
The UN Special Rapporteur assessed that the growth of Myanmar's illegal economy is no longer merely a consequence of the war but has become a major driver of the conflict. As the formal economy contracts because of the war and economic mismanagement, online scam centers, illegal mining, human trafficking, and forced labor are increasingly filling the void.
Profits from black markets are said to help finance military arms purchases, including from China and Russia, while maintaining loyalty within the junta's ranks. Eckels-Currie also said that Chinese transnational criminal networks form the backbone of many of these criminal enterprises. Cryptocurrency platforms such as Tether and social media platforms such as TikTok, Meta, and X are said to be used to facilitate their operations. According to her, corruption in neighboring countries also enables cross-border trade to continue.
Efforts to dismantle these networks face another challenge because they can affect civilians. Restricting scam centers' access to Starlink internet services, for example, has also caused humanitarian organizations and local communities to lose connectivity they urgently need.
