Myanmar women's groups call on ASEAN to act five years after military coup

A coalition of 43 Myanmar civil society organisations and networks has released a position paper calling on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to enforce its commitments to women's rights and security, five years after the military's failed coup of February 2021 plunged the country into sustained armed conflict.

The paper, titled Collective Voice, Shared Security, was published on 2 March 2026.

It was developed by Myanmar civil society organisations focused on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda.

One of the endorsing organisations, which works with persons with disabilities, chose to remain anonymous.

Scale of the crisis

The document draws on the lived experiences of women, girls, and gender-diverse people to outline what it describes as the brutal cost of inaction by regional and international bodies. It details a humanitarian crisis of severe proportions.

According to the paper, over 3.6 million people in Myanmar are currently internally displaced. Close to one-third of the country's entire population now requires humanitarian assistance.

The United Nations' 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan estimates that more than 16 million people — including five million children — are in urgent need of lifesaving assistance and protection. Food insecurity has worsened considerably. Over 400,000 children and mothers are currently suffering from acute malnutrition.

The World Food Programme projects that approximately 12 million people in Myanmar will experience acute hunger in 2026. Emergency hunger levels are expected to affect at least one million people.

Armed conflict and atrocities

The position paper describes how armed conflict has expanded dramatically since 2021. By 2025, fighting had engulfed nearly two-thirds of the country.

The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project's (ACLED) Global Conflict Index ranked Myanmar as the second most dangerous and violent country in the world, after Palestine. The military has conducted widespread armed offensives, including airstrikes, artillery shellings, and ground operations against civilian populations.

Resistance to military rule has taken several forms. Mass civil disobedience has occurred alongside armed confrontation between the military and Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs), newly formed People's Defence Forces (PDFs), and Local Defence Forces (LDFs).

The paper characterises the military's actions as amounting to international crimes, citing systematic human rights violations, forced mass displacement, and grave sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) disproportionately affecting women and girls.

Situation of Rohingya women

The position paper gives particular attention to Rohingya women and girls, who, it states, face parallel systems of persecution. Despite surviving the mass atrocities of 2017, they are described as currently trapped between junta repression and the armed conflict between the Arakan Army and the military in Rakhine State.

The paper notes ongoing human rights violations and mass atrocities attributed to the Arakan Army as well. It describes the marginalisation of Rohingya women as reflecting the intersection of ethnicity, religion, gender, and legal exclusion.

Economic collapse and trafficking

Myanmar's economy has contracted sharply since the coup. The paper states that cumulative losses in gross domestic product (GDP) have exceeded 20% compared to pre-coup projections from 2019.

Formal employment has collapsed as businesses have closed and foreign investment has withdrawn. Persistent military attacks on civilian sites have increased the risk of commercial activity, and electricity outages continue to disrupt economic life.

The paper identifies economic deterioration as a driver of out-migration, particularly among young people and displaced communities. While some migrants reach safety, others are trafficked into scam compounds where conditions the paper describes as amounting to crimes against humanity prevail.

These conditions include forced criminality, forced labour, and sexual abuse. The Myanmar military, along with affiliated Border Guard Forces and militias, is alleged to profit from Myanmar's role as a regional centre for scam operations.

Calls on ASEAN

The position paper is directed primarily at ASEAN member states. It calls on them to meet their obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the WPS Framework — centred on United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1325 and related resolutions — and the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action (RPA) on WPS.

The paper's authors argue that the strides made on the WPS agenda over the preceding decade were abruptly dismantled following the coup. They contrast the ASEAN WPS RPA's stated strategic objectives with the current reality in Myanmar, and conclude that urgent action is needed.

The coalition characterises existing policy commitments as insufficient and calls for a shift from policy rhetoric to concrete, accountable measures that protect women, girls, and gender-diverse people from ongoing violence and insecurity.

The paper also acknowledges the role of women's groups operating within Myanmar, describing them as providing lifesaving humanitarian support and demanding accountability despite the dangers they face.