UN Experts: Myanmar Amputees Forced Into Hiding

11/22/2024 3:04:35 PM

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) GENEVA, Nov 22 (KUNA) -- Amputees in Myanmar are being forced into hiding as missing limbs are increasingly seen as evidence of involvement in resistance movements, UN experts warned on Friday.
In a joint statement issued from Geneva Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews and Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities Heba Hagrass condemned the junta's actions which include blocking access to medical care and prosthetics for landmine victims.
"The junta's use of landmines to crush resistance is devastating. Forcing civilians into mine-affected areas and denying them critical assistance violates international law," the experts said citing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The experts called for an immediate halt to the use of landmines and urged the international community to take action against the junta's abuses.
Their call follows the release of a new report by the International Campaign to Ban Landmines on 20 November which showed that there were more than 1,000 new landmine victims in Myanmar in 2023, more than in any other country.
The experts said the report findings were horrific but the reality for landmine victims and their families in Myanmar was even worse. (End)
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