The Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA) can now reveal that it has concluded a four year investigation inside Myanmar, where it focused on collecting linkage evidence.

CIJA had been conducting criminal investigations into the Syrian armed conflict and IS atrocities in Syria since 2012, collecting more than one million documents pertaining to crimes by the Syrian Regime, and considered that its model of investigations could bridge a critical evidence gap, by conducting a targeted criminal investigation into the Tatmadaw.

However, before fully committing to the challenge CIJA first wanted to assess the situation, to be sure it would not be duplicating investigations by other actors, that linkage evidence was available to be collected, that risk factors could be mitigated with thorough investigative planning and that any collected evidence would ultimately be admissible and useful in the wider justice system.

Evidence of the crimes against the Rohingya was abundant: large numbers of NGOs, academics and journalists flocked to Cox's Bazaar, a coastal fishing town in Bangladesh which has become home to almost one million Rohingya refugees, to interview survivors, leading to concerns of re-traumatisation and over-documentation.

But a number of local human rights defenders, activists and ethnic organisations within Myanmar were committed to seeking criminal accountability for those responsible and were looking to find ways to investigate those who organized and ordered the violence.

The resulting feasibility study showed that linkage evidence was indeed available but not being collected at the time. With appropriate oversight and training, CIJA concluded that discreet investigations could be conducted in Rakhine, Shan and Kachin states.

Over the next four years CIJA created and supported teams of Burmese investigators and analysts who worked in country to identify, collect and verify evidence from within the perpetrating institutions. The teams underwent intensive training on criminal investigation standards and techniques and were mentored daily by a team of forward-deployed international investigators, analysts and lawyers. Together they worked in an already challenging environment before contending with two additional hurdles that threatened to derail the investigation: first by the Covid-19 pandemic - which threatened to halt all work and safe movement; and then the February 2021 military coup which further increased the physical risks facing the team.

Despite this, CIJA collected tens of thousands of pages of documents and other written materials, including internal military administrative letters; instructions; appointments, assignments and postings; personnel lists; lists of unit compositions and locations; telephone lists; staff duties; codes of conduct; and training books, manuals, and presentations. They also interviewed witnesses, including insiders and defectors, gathered open source materials, photographs and video recordings. Once collected, the evidence was verified and meticulously archived, ensuring its admissibility in criminal proceedings and preserving it for the future.