Freedom for One People Cannot Come at the Cost of Another

9 August 2025

On the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) expresses grave concern over the serious and escalating violations of Indigenous rights in Paletwa Township, southern Chin State. Under the effective control of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA), Chin communities are facing systematically enforced actions that threaten their identity, livelihoods, and survival as distinct peoples.

Reports from the ground point to an alarming pattern of cultural and political domination, including the redefinition of Chin territory as part of an “Arakan Nation” and the suppression of Chin identity through compulsory Arakan language imposition, and the removal of Indigenous curricula from local schools, actions with the aim or effect of depriving Chin communities of their integrity as distinct peoples, cultural values or ethnic identity. Such practices amount to forced assimilation and erosion of the cultural and linguistic heritage of Chin communities.

At the same time, widespread customary land seizures and property appropriations—often linked to the settlement of Rakhine migrants—are depriving Indigenous families of their lands and resources. Compounding the situation for Chin communities are reports of forced labour, movement restrictions, and strict curfews that make traditional livelihoods impossible. Reports of sexual violence against women, arbitrary detention of community leaders, and coercion of local officials into enforcing harmful practices, such as conscription and labour quotas, highlight a climate of fear and repression.

CHRO stresses that the fight against the Myanmar military junta—while legitimate and necessary—cannot be used to justify the domination, assimilation, or uprooting of other Indigenous communities. Such actions run counter to the very principles of freedom, dignity, and justice that this struggle claims to uphold and violate the rights guaranteed to Indigenous Peoples under international law, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).

We urgently call for:
• An immediate end to all acts of forced assimilation, cultural suppression, and dispossession in Paletwa.
• Full respect for the cultural, political, and economic rights of Indigenous Chin communities.
• Protection of women, children, and community leaders from violence, exploitation, and intimidation.
• Recognition of the Chin people’s right to self-determination and governance over their own affairs.

The survival of Indigenous Chin communities in Paletwa is at a critical juncture. The international community must act now to ensure that these rights are upheld and that no struggle for justice becomes an excuse for violating the rights of others.