30 JANUARY 2026
CIVICUS, a global civil society
alliance, calls on the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and the international community to step up
and do more to resolve the human rights crisis in Myanmar as
well as reject the sham election results. Five years after
the 1 February 2021 coup, there has been a serious failure
to take effective action to deter the ongoing repression of
activists in the country, attacks on civilians by the junta,
and to restore democracy and civilian rule.
Over the
last five years, the CIVICUS Monitor has documented a
systematic assault on civic space by the junta. Thousands of
human rights defenders and activists are detained on
fabricated charges of ‘incitement’ or ‘terrorism’
and sentenced to lengthy prison terms after unfair trials.
Many activists have experienced torture and ill-treatment in
detention leading, in some cases, to deaths in custody, with
no one held to account.
The junta has also targeted
journalists and media outlets and imposed restrictions on
internet access, internet shutdowns and online censorship.
It has also targeted civilian populations with airstrikes,
artillery bombardments and other forms of violence and
committed widespread abuses against the Rohingya community
with impunity.
While several UN member states have
spoken up and imposed sanctions on the junta and associated
enterprises, there has been a lack of political will by
ASEAN leaders to act. The five-point consensus agreement
among ASEAN leaders in Jakarta in April 2021 to address the
Myanmar crisis has seen no tangible progress.
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“ASEAN
member states – especially the Philippines which is chairing
the group – must exert more effort to implement the
five-point consensus and go beyond it including pushing for
the end to the severe repression of activists, journalists
and civilians in Myanmar. It must speak up and act –
together with the international community – to end serious
human rights violations, release political prisoners and
push for justice and accountability”, said Rajavelu
Karunanithi, Advocacy & Campaigns Officer, Asia at
CIVICUS.
The junta held elections in three phases
since December 2025 which civil society groups have called a
sham and an effort by the military to ensure victory for the
junta’s proxy party, the Union Solidarity and Development
Party. Major opposition parties have been barred from
participating, democratic leaders are jailed and an ongoing
civil war has kept many from voting.
In July 2025, the
junta imposed harsh new penalties for protesting against its
planned election, with critics potentially facing years in
prison for dissent. Since then, more than 300 people have
been charged. Autocratic countries like Russia, Belarus, and
China have expressed support for the junta’s election as
well as ASEAN members, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. The
junta’s information blockade continued to impose severe
restrictions on civilians, including international reporters
that covered the sham polls.
“The junta’s sham
elections are a desperate bid for legitimacy. It is
therefore essential that the international community
outright reject this façade of an election and instead
engage with the civilian government and civil society, cut
off weapons and funds to the junta and bring them before the
International Criminal Court for the serious crimes they
have committed ,” added Karunanithi.
Myanmar’s
civic space is rated as ‘closed’ by the CIVICUS
Monitor
About CIVICUS
CIVICUS is a global civil
society alliance of over 15,000 members in 175 countries
dedicated to strengthening citizen action and civil society
throughout the
world.
