The state of religious freedom in Myanmar is worsening since the 2021 military coup, according to a report by the independent research institute Asia Centre.
The report, which was launched on June 13, outlined how the 2021 Military coup created an environment that threatens the religious rights in the country.
It highlighted the impact of the military junta’s “Burmanisation and Buddhisation policies” on religious minorities, emphasizing the need for urgent action from the international community, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), and local civil society organizations (CSOs).
Asia Centre reported that the military junta has reversed the previous government’s engagement with international human rights covenants, hindering the protection of religious rights.
The report identified a historical pattern of promoting Bamar culture and Buddhism, known as Burmanisation and Buddhisation, which has severely restricted the religious rights of non-Buddhist and non-Bamar individuals and communities.
“Successive governments, both military and non-military, since colonial independence, have prioritised and promoted Bamar culture and Buddhism, known as Burmanisation and Buddhisation. However, this has severely limited the religious rights of non-Buddhist and non-Bamar individuals and communities,” the report said.
After the 2021 military coup, Myanmar’s State Administration Council has intensified pressure on the rights of ethnic and religious minority groups.
The report said the policies are pursued through the use of the pre-coup legislation that is “oppressive in nature and undermines the rights of ethnoreligious minorities”, “ignoring existing constitutional provisions that ensure the protection of freedom of religion or belief”, and “refusing to implement the recommendations made via UN human rights mechanisms by member states.”
“As a result, the military has not only stalled the democratization process but regressed the country into an accelerated deterioration of human rights, including religious rights,” the report said.
The report said there are four key ways in which religious rights are being undermined in Myanmar: “targeting pro-federalism ethnoreligious communities”, “damaging and occupying religious sites”, “arbitrary detentions and killings of minority groups”, and “the persecution of the Muslim Rohingya population.”
Asia Centre urged the international community to utilize its mechanisms to monitor, engage, and denounce religious rights violations in Myanmar.
The report underscored that diplomatic measures should be explored to engage with regional allies like China and India to end religiously motivated persecution, arbitrary detentions, attacks on religious sites, and other forms of persecution.
The report stressed that the erosion of constitutional provisions and the withdrawal from international human rights mechanisms have created an environment of impunity in Myanmar.
Asia Centre said without significant intervention, the decline in religious rights is expected to worsen in the coming months.
