Myanmar’s military junta announced it would hold a national election on 28 December 2025, the first since it seized power in a coup in February 2021. The move is part of the junta’s effort to legitimize its claim on power through what the United Nations, the National Unity Government, and other domestic and international observers agree is a sham election. Given the lack of international legitimacy and the limited control the junta exercises over the country, the impact on the country’s politics and security are highly unpredictable and potentially volatile. While the junta announced an end to the national state of emergency, which it had used to rule by emergency decree since the coup, it also announced 63 local states of emergency, and there are no public indications of a meaningful return to constitutional rule. An additional law passed on 30 July punishes any ‘disruption’ of the electoral process, broadly defined to include speech or distributing critical texts, with three to ten years imprisonment.

Sources: France24, The Diplomat (1), The Irrawaddy, British Broadcasting Corporation, The Diplomat (2), Associated Press, International IDEA 

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on 28 March, with an epicentre in the northern Sagaing region. At least 3,700 people died across the country and thousands more were injured. The total number of casualties remains uncertain, as the military junta has obstructed aid workers and humanitarian assistance from reaching areas not under its control and restricts the entry of international journalists to the country. The National Unity Government and some ethnic armed organizations announced humanitarian ceasefires on 29 March to ensure aid and relief efforts could reach those affected. The junta initially reciprocated on 2 April but began carrying out airstrikes and artillery attacks within 24 hours, killing dozens in the week following the earthquake.

Sources: British Broadcasting Corporation, The Guardian, The Irrawaddy, The Diplomat, International IDEA

 Myanmar’s military junta enacted a new cybersecurity law on 1 January, which ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights described as “draconian legislation [that] is a calculated attempt by the junta to suppress dissent, stifle free expression, and violate the privacy of Myanmar’s citizens.” The law includes a wide range of penalties for digital platforms and users who circulate “disinformation” or “rumours” and requires the former to keep the names and personal details of users on file for authorities. It allows the junta to shut down any internet services on the grounds of state security, mandates up to six months in prison for distributing “inappropriate” information or for installing or using an “unauthorized” virtual private network (VPN), and specifies that it applies to Myanmar citizens abroad.

Sources : The Diplomat, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, The Irrawaddy

Myanmar is now home to the highest number of lethal accidents related to landmines and other so-called explosive remnants of war (ERW) in the world, according to a new report by Landmine Monitor. In 2023, 1,003 people are confirmed to have been killed, accounting for more than one sixth of worldwide landmine and ERW casualties and almost tripling the number of the previous year. These figures are on pace to rise further in 2024, with almost 700 casualties recorded in the first half of the year. This is the result of decades of civil war and, in particular, an increase of landmine use by the military junta since the 2021 coup. Beyond the immediate danger of landmines and ERWs to any individual, they can also impede access to food, water, and critical infrastructure and can be a hinderance to refugees of war safely returning to their homes.  

Sources: Landmine Monitor, Human Rights Watch, Myanmar Now