Letter to Philippine President on Upcoming ASEAN meetings and Myanmar

November 5, 2026

Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
President of the Republic of the Philippines
Malacañang Palace
Manila, Philippines

Re: Upcoming ASEAN meetings and Myanmar

Dear President Marcos,

We are writing on behalf of Human Rights Watch concerning the upcoming meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the East Asia Summit, and associated ASEAN partner summits, in Manila. We urge you, as the chair and host of those meetings, to strengthen ASEAN's response to the human rights and humanitarian crises in Myanmar.

Human Rights Watch is an independent, non-governmental organization that reports on and advocates for human rights in over 100 countries around the world. We have promoted respect for international human rights and humanitarian law in Myanmar for more than three decades.

Nearly six years since the February 2021 military coup, the human rights situation in Myanmar remains dire. The Myanmar military continues to commit atrocities that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity throughout the country.

Airstrikes against civilians have escalated since the junta organized sham elections that led to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing installing himself as president earlier this year. Between the announcement by the polls in August 2025 and the closure of phased polling in January 2026, more than 700 civilians died, 476 in airstrikes. Midday on September 28, 2026, the military dropped two bombs on a market in Kyauktaw town, Rakhine State, killing 50 people, including children. The attack was the deadliest airstrike in Rakhine State since the coup. Strikes on civilian targets have continued throughout 2026.

Junta authorities have arrested more than 32,000 people for opposing military rule since the coup, and nearly 15,000 remain in detention. More than 2,300 people have reportedly died in junta custody, although the actual figure is likely higher. Detainees face torture and ill-treatment in interrogation centers and prisons and are tried in closed courts without due process. Over 6,600 of those arrested since the coup have been women, and Human Rights Watch recently documented that many have experienced sexual violence and the dangerous and sometimes deadly denial of prenatal and obstetric medical care in prison.

More than four million people are internally displaced, many of them repeatedly, sheltering in makeshift camps, forests, and open fields with little access to food, clean water, or health care. Skyrocketing prices, foreign aid cuts, and restrictions on medical care and humanitarian supplies have exacerbated malnutrition, waterborne illness, and preventable deaths.

Yet in recent months, several governments in ASEAN and the region have hosted Min Aung Hlaing, who during his tenure as commander-in-chief directed abusive military operations across the country, both before and after the 2021 military coup. We also note that your ‌foreign secretary, Ma. Theresa Lazaro, met a senior official in the junta-led authorities in Naypyidaw in late October.

We support ASEAN's decisions as a bloc to not endorse Myanmar's sham elections, which were essentially an attempt by the junta to crush all political opposition, obtain democratic legitimacy, and derail hopes for genuine democratic civilian rule. We urge you as chair of ASEAN to maintain the bloc's position by continuing to bar junta officials-including Min Aung Hlaing-from representing Myanmar at ASEAN meetings.

Allowing Min Aung Hlaing and other senior junta leaders to attend ASEAN meetings and represent Myanmar would severely undermine the credibility of ASEAN and its members on issues of regional and international security and human rights.

On November 19, 2026, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, will deliver its judgment in the landmark case brought by Gambia against Myanmar for alleged violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. As you know, as the military's commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing oversaw the sweeping campaign of massacres, rape, and arson against the ethnic Rohingya in northern Rakhine State that, in the ICJ case, Gambia alleged constitute genocide. His public statements and actions during the violence in 2017 were introduced to the court as evidence of genocidal intent during merit hearings earlier this year.

Regardless of the outcome, this is a historic case. The Myanmar military's well-documented crimes against the Rohingya and other ethnic minority groups in Myanmar span decades, but until now, the government's atrocities had largely been beyond the reach of justice. Although this is not a criminal case, it represents a critical step to crack the wall of impunity that surrounds the Myanmar military.

Min Aung Hlaing is also implicated in crimes being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC). In November 2024, the then-ICC prosecutor requested the court's judges to issue an arrest warrant against Min Aung Hlaing for his role in the alleged crimes against humanity of deportation and persecution of the Rohingya in 2017. ICC judges have yet to issue a public decision on the arrest warrant request.

Since the 2021 coup, the United Nations Security Council and Human Rights Council, the European Union, and concerned governments around the world have asked ASEAN to lead the response to the ever-deepening human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.

A decision by the bloc to re-admit junta leaders to represent Myanmar would have a devastating effect on ASEAN's credibility, whose charter commits members to "respect for and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms." It would also sow deep mistrust between the people of Myanmar and the region's leaders and jettison an approach championed by previous ASEAN chairs to ensure a solution to the crisis that is "Myanmar-owned" and "Myanmar-led."

During ASEAN meetings, we urge you to focus the attention of governments on better addressing Myanmar's dire humanitarian and human rights situation and protecting the rights of Myanmar's people, including those who have fled to neighboring countries.

We propose the following key actions:

Advocate for humanitarian access and provide humanitarian aid

ASEAN should press the junta not to impede access to aid for groups at risk. Myanmar is obligated under international humanitarian law to not withhold consent for relief operations on arbitrary grounds. ASEAN should channel its own assistance through independent local groups, rather than only through junta authorities, given the military's track record of corruption and misuse of disaster assistance funding and materiel. Effective aid delivery hinges on engaging local partners that have the networks and experience to navigate a difficult environment and reach those most in need.

Protect refugees from Myanmar

Conditions for safe, dignified, and voluntary return to Myanmar do not currently exist for refugees who have fled the country. In May 2024, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) issued guidance stating that people fleeing Myanmar "are likely in need of international refugee protection." ASEAN members and other countries should affirm not to forcibly return refugees to Myanmar. They should explore ways of allowing refugees to regularize their status, including through the granting of work rights. Refugees should be allowed to seek work opportunities to help support themselves and their families.

Comply with sanctions targeting the Myanmar military

ASEAN members should commit to complying with targeted sanctions against junta officials and junta-controlled companies that have been imposed by ASEAN partners, including the European Union, United Kingdom, and United States, including by freezing assets and blocking transactions to sanctioned entities, both in Myanmar and in other ASEAN jurisdictions.

Ensure accountability for the Myanmar military's atrocities

The Myanmar junta's continuing war crimes and crimes against humanity have been fueled by decades of impunity and insufficient global efforts to end its violations and hold perpetrators to account. ASEAN should support the work of international accountability mechanisms, and its members should be ready to take necessary steps to facilitate the implementation of the upcoming ICJ judgment. Members of the bloc that are states parties to the Rome Statute (Cambodia and Timor-Leste), while supporting the ICC in the face of the US government's unprecedented attack against the court, should commit to fulfilling their obligation to execute the ICC's arrest warrants, regardless of whom they target. The Philippines should rejoin the ICC. ASEAN members whose courts are considering legal cases against the Myanmar military under the principle of universal jurisdiction-Indonesia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste-should allow judicial authorities to make their determinations free from any political interference.

Thank you for your attention to these important matters.

Sincerely,
Elaine Pearson
Asia Director
Human Rights Watch

Cc: Philippines Foreign Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro