"Myanmar: Allow Immediate Aid to Quake-Stricken Areas", 1 April 2025

Myanmar’s military junta should allow immediate unfettered access to humanitarian aid for earthquake survivors and lift restrictions that impede the emergency response, Human Rights Watch said...

“Myanmar’s military junta still invokes fear, even in the wake of a horrific natural disaster that killed and injured thousands,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The junta needs to break from its appalling past practice and ensure that humanitarian aid quickly reaches those whose lives are at risk in earthquake-affected areas.”…

Local journalists, humanitarian organizations, and social media report that many affected areas are without electricity and clean water. There are reported shortages of gasoline in both Mandalay and Sagaing cities. Food and other essential goods are in short supply because shops and markets have been closed. Across central Myanmar, people are sleeping outside and are in urgent need of shelter…

Information from these areas is limited due to military restrictions, including internet shutdowns, bans on VPNs, and popular social media platforms, including Facebook…

In Sagaing, local media have reported restrictions imposed by local junta authorities, the military, and affiliated militia, requiring community members to seek authorization to respond to the earthquake by submitting lists of volunteers and items to be donated…

The junta is obligated under international human rights law to uphold the rights to life, health, and shelter…

Donors should rapidly support the earthquake response while seeking ways to channel aid 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…, Human Rights Watch said.

“Myanmar’s junta cannot be trusted to respond to a disaster of this scale,” Lau said. “Concerned governments and international agencies need to press the junta to allow full and immediate access to survivors wherever they are.”