UN Turns to Smartphones to Build Myanmar War Crimes Case

CJ

In a quiet Geneva office, UN investigator Nicholas Koumjian is leading one of the most ambitious war crimes investigations of the digital age. His team is compiling millions of videos, photos, and social media posts to document atrocities in Myanmar, where the military junta stands accused of systematic torture, sexual violence, and airstrikes on civilians.

The Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), created by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018, has amassed a vast archive of digital evidence—much of it filmed by survivors themselves. “Even as impoverished as they were, the Rohingya had phones,” Koumjian notes. “We’ve collected thousands of videos showing villages being burnt.”

This flood of footage is both a breakthrough and a burden. Analysts must sift, verify, and geolocate each item, often using open-source tools to pin crimes to specific times and places. A specialised unit tracks hate speech, command responsibility, and even deepfakes. Artificial intelligence is poised to accelerate this work, though Koumjian warns it may also blur the line between truth and fabrication.

With no access to Myanmar, the IIMM relies on remote interviews and civil society networks. Detention-related crimes have become a priority, offering clearer paths to prosecution. Survivors often name their torturers, and health workers corroborate injuries from rape and beatings.

The ultimate challenge lies in linking field atrocities to Myanmar’s top brass. The mechanism’s evidence has already supported arrest warrants against Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, but justice remains elusive. “We don’t want to wait 40 years,” Koumjian says, referencing Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge trials. “But it’s very hard to predict when and where justice will come.”

Despite funding shortfalls threatening key units, the IIMM presses on. Its growing archive—600 eyewitness accounts and millions of digital files—serves not only future tribunals but a present warning: perpetrators are being watched, and accountability may yet arrive.

-2025-08-28