A/HRC/32/18 57. In the context of armed conflict, allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law involving the military have included the deliberate targeting of and indiscriminate attacks against civilians, the use of child soldiers, forced displacement, the summary execution of civilians and captured fighters, forced labour, arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and ill-treatment, and sexual violence. Credible reports detail practices that include military personnel ordering civilians to walk before them as “human mine sweepers”; a policy of categorizing certain zones as “black areas”, giving the military free rein to target anyone in that area, including civilians, contrary to the principle of distinction; and the “live off the land” policy, resulting in the confiscation by the military of land, livestock or harvested crops from civilians. 58. In Kachin and Northern Shan States, where fighting has intensified, there are ongoing reports of violations by all parties to the conflicts (see A/70/412, para. 50 and A/HRC/31/71, para. 52). In June 2011, the breakdown of a 17-year ceasefire in Kachin State caused significant displacement; 96,000 people remain internally displaced. Fighting in 2015 caused the displacement of an additional 100,000 people, including 80,000 from the Kokang Self-Administered Zone. Credible reports of violations of international humanitarian law by the military include a lack of distinction between civilians and fighters and indiscriminate firing. 59. The reported abuses by ethnic armed groups against civilians include the forced recruitment and use of children in hostilities, forced displacement of the population, torture, ill-treatment and the summary execution of captured Tatmadaw personnel and ongoing reports of harassment, arbitrary detention, and extortion by some of these groups (A/HRC/31/71 para. 52). There are also ongoing reports of the use by both the military and ethnic armed groups of civilians as porters, sentries, guides and human shields, and also the use of anti-personnel mines in civilian areas (A/HRC/28/72, para. 31). 60. Cases of sexual and gender-based violence against women of ethnic minority communities perpetrated by Myanmar security forces have been documented for many years. Such violence continues to be reported, and is particularly prevalent in conflictaffected areas, such as Kachin and Shan States, with credible reports of rape, sexual slavery, and forced and servile marriages. According to reports, victims include women and men, girls and boys, including children as young as 7 years of age (S/2014/181, paras. 3739). The risk of sexual violence appears to be greater during home invasions, movements of populations and forced portering. Some reports by civil society sources allege that rape and sexual torture are committed on military bases and in prisons. Reports of sexual violence increase for communities living in close proximity to areas with a large military presence. 61. The confiscation of land by the military for barracks and military camps, crop confiscation, the production of food for soldiers, and designation of forbidden “high security areas” have consistently been reported in areas where ethnic communities reside (A/66/365, para. 64). Violations of housing, land and property rights, including through development-induced displacement, have also been increasingly documented since 2012. Private local commercial interests, often with strong links to the military, have allegedly engaged in land grabbing and forced evictions. Years of continuing conflict and military campaigns in ethnic areas have resulted in extensive displacement in eastern Myanmar and along the border with Thailand. Many of the long-term displaced, including more than 100,000 refugees in Thailand, are reportedly reluctant to return out of fear for their safety owing to the outbreak of sporadic skirmishes, the continued military presence, and the presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance. 62. A significant disparity in access to education persists. In ethnic minority areas, especially conflict-affected areas, many schools are either not operational or inaccessible. Under the policy of previous military Governments, the use and teaching of minority languages in schools was prohibited, and informal community schools providing learning in 14