A beautiful stone pulled from the earth, examined by the same military leader accused of atrocities
From the red earth of Mogok, a gemstone of extraordinary size and quality has emerged — and with it, an ancient moral question that the modern world has yet to answer. Myanmar's military leadership, accused before the International Court of Justice of genocide against the Rohingya people, has long drawn sustenance from the country's near-monopoly on the world's rubies. The discovery of an 11,000-carat stone is not merely a geological event; it is a mirror held up to the conscience of every jeweler, consumer, and government that has chosen commerce over accountability.
- An 11,000-carat ruby pulled from the ground near Mogok has reignited urgent debate about whether the global gem trade is quietly bankrolling a military accused of genocide.
- UN investigations have directly named Myanmar's top military figures — including coup leader Min Aung Hlaing — as beneficiaries of jade and ruby mining enterprises linked to forced labour and sexual violence.
- The Rohingya crisis casts a long shadow: hundreds of thousands fled mass atrocities, and the International Court of Justice is now weighing genocide charges that Myanmar continues to deny.
- Control of Mogok's mines has itself been a battlefield — briefly seized by ethnic armed group the TNLA in 2024 before being returned to the military through a China-brokered ceasefire, leaving the region deeply unstable.
- Human rights organisations are pressing jewellers worldwide to boycott Myanmar gems entirely, but the stone's journey from the mine to Min Aung Hlaing's own hands suggests the international community's leverage remains painfully limited.
In mid-April, miners near the town of Mogok in upper Myanmar unearthed an 11,000-carat ruby — a 2.2-kilogram stone of purplish-red hue and superior quality that quickly drew attention in state media. Though lighter than a record-breaking stone found in 1996, experts consider it more valuable for its colour and clarity. But the discovery arrives weighted with a question that has shadowed Myanmar's gem trade for decades: who profits, and at what human cost?
Myanmar supplies roughly 90 percent of the world's rubies, making gemstones a vital and enduring revenue stream for its military leadership. A 2019 UN Human Rights Council report tied two major military-linked conglomerates — and senior figures including coup leader Min Aung Hlaing — directly to jade and ruby mining operations across Kachin and Shan states. The UN's fact-finding mission documented forced labour and sexual violence connected to those operations, and called on businesses and consumers to scrutinise their supply chains carefully.
The human toll reaches well beyond the mines. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar after the army and Buddhist militias carried out what the Gambia has characterised before the International Court of Justice as genocide. Survivors described mass rape, arson, and murder. The ICJ case is ongoing; Myanmar denies all allegations. The UN's outgoing Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar recently concluded that ending the crisis demands both dismantling the military's capacity for oppression and genuine accountability — neither of which, he observed, the international community has yet delivered.
The geography of the ruby's origin adds another layer of complexity. Mogok was briefly captured in mid-2024 by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army before being returned to military control through a China-mediated ceasefire. Gemstone revenues fund not only the junta but also the ethnic armed groups contesting its authority, entrenching a cycle of conflict that has persisted for generations. Global Witness and allied organisations continue to urge a full jewellery-industry boycott of Myanmar gems. That Min Aung Hlaing personally examined the newly found ruby at his Naypyidaw office speaks to how directly the stone's value flows toward the centre of power — and how much remains unresolved in the world's response.
In mid-April, miners working near the town of Mogok in Myanmar's upper Mandalay region pulled from the earth an 11,000-carat ruby—2.2 kilograms of stone with a purplish-red hue and yellowish undertones, its surface highly reflective, its transparency moderate but its quality superior. The discovery made headlines in Myanmar's state media. But the find arrives at a moment when human rights organizations are sounding alarms about where the money from such stones actually goes.
Myanmar produces roughly 90 percent of the world's rubies, a dominance that has made gemstones a crucial revenue stream for the country's military leadership across decades. The newly discovered ruby, though lighter than a 21,450-carat stone unearthed in 1996, is considered more valuable because of its superior color and quality. But its emergence from the earth raises an old and troubling question: who profits, and at what cost?
In 2019, the United Nations Human Rights Council published a report directly linking two major enterprises—Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation—to senior military figures, including Min Aung Hlaing, who led the 2021 military coup and has recently returned to power through elections that human rights groups dismissed as a sham. The same report found that at least 26 subsidiaries of these companies hold licenses for jade and ruby mining across Kachin and Shan states. The UN's Independent International Fact-Finding Mission documented that Myanmar's military, the Tatmadaw, had committed widespread human rights violations in connection with these mining operations, including forced labor and sexual violence. Radhika Coomaraswamy, a mission expert, called on businesses and consumers to conduct heightened scrutiny to avoid purchasing gems produced or influenced by military-controlled enterprises.
The human toll extends far beyond the mines themselves. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled Myanmar after the army and Buddhist militias launched what the Gambia has accused before the International Court of Justice as genocide. Survivors reached Bangladesh with accounts of mass rape, arson, and murder. In December 2019, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution condemning these abuses. The ICJ case opened in January, with Myanmar denying all allegations. Last month, Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, released his final report documenting decades of attacks on civilians, persecution of ethnic minorities, and widespread sexual violence. He wrote that ending the crisis would require not only dismantling the military's capacity to oppress but also holding those responsible accountable—something, he noted, the international community had failed to do.
The ruby's discovery also illuminates the volatile geography of Myanmar's gem trade. Mogok itself was captured in July 2024 by the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, a guerilla force representing the Palaung ethnic minority. Though the TNLA operated the mines briefly, control was transferred back to Myanmar's army late last year as part of a China-mediated ceasefire. The region remains unstable, and gemstone mining serves as a primary funding source not only for the military but also for ethnic armed groups fighting for autonomy—a dynamic that has fueled internal conflict for decades.
Global Witness and other human rights organizations have long urged jewelers to stop purchasing Myanmar gems. Min Aung Hlaing recently examined the giant ruby at his office in Naypyidaw. The stone's journey from the earth to the hands of power illustrates a persistent problem: the international community's limited ability or willingness to sever the link between precious stones and the funding of those accused of atrocities.
Notable Quotes
Ending the crisis will require not only dismantling the military's capacity to attack and oppress the people of Myanmar, but also holding those responsible for grave human rights violations to account. The international community has done far too little to support those seeking justice and accountability.— Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar
Businesses and consumers should conduct heightened due diligence to ensure that they are not purchasing, selling, trading or otherwise using gems produced or sold by enterprises owned or influenced by the Tatmadaw.— Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a ruby discovery in Myanmar matter beyond the gem trade itself?
Because Myanmar's military has built its power partly on controlling these mines. The stones fund the government directly, and the UN has documented that the same military leaders profiting from rubies are accused of genocide and crimes against humanity.
So buying a Myanmar ruby could mean funding people accused of genocide?
That's the concern human rights groups are raising. The UN traced the ownership of major mining enterprises directly to Min Aung Hlaing and other senior military figures. It's not indirect—it's documented.
Has anyone tried to stop this trade?
Global Witness and other organizations have called for boycotts. But enforcement is weak. Gems can be smuggled, laundered through other countries, and resold without clear origin. The international community hasn't done much to actually cut off the money.
What about the people actually mining these stones?
The UN found evidence of forced labor and sexual violence connected to military mining operations. The mines are also contested territory—ethnic armed groups and the military fight over control, which destabilizes entire regions.
Is there any accountability happening?
The Gambia brought a genocide case to the International Court of Justice. Myanmar denies it. But a UN expert just released a report saying decades of impunity have created a human rights catastrophe, and the international community hasn't done nearly enough to support justice.
So this ruby—what does it represent?
It represents a system that hasn't changed. A beautiful stone pulled from the earth, examined by the same military leader accused of atrocities, sold into a market that few question. Until the supply chain breaks, the cycle continues.