Continued conflict leaves Myanmar mired in crisis: UN

Human suffering at unprecedented levels and criminal networks ‘out of control’, UN special envoy warns.

Myanmar is mired in crisis as conflict escalates, with criminal networks “out of control” and human suffering at unprecedented levels, a United Nations report has warned.

UN special envoy for Myanmar, Julie Bishop, told the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee on Tuesday that “Myanmar actors must move beyond the current zero-sum mentality”.

Bishop called for an end to the violence, stressing that there can be little progress on addressing the needs of people while armed conflict continues across the Southeast Asian country, causing rising civilian casualties.

The conflict has “so severely undermined” the rule of law that “transnational crime emanating from Myanmar is proliferating,” she added.

“The sheer scale of arms productions and trade, human trafficking, drug manufacture and trafficking, and scam centres means Myanmar now ranks highest among all member states for organised crime,” she said. “The criminal networks are out of control.”