Nobel Laureates to Host International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma

By Women's League of Burma, Nobel Women's Initiative • March 1, 2010

On March 2, 2010, Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams will host the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma in New York City. This quasi-legal event will feature the compelling testimony—for the first time ever—of 12 women from Burma who have suffered rape, torture and other crimes at the hands of the military junta. A few of these women are colleagues of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition, still under house arrest.

Below is an excerpt from one of the women, who sent us in advance some of her testimony:

They raped us all without a second thought, until we finally escaped their drunken grasps. News spread quickly throughout my village… The shame I brought to my family, my school, my village was so difficult to bear. I was caned by my teacher in front of the entire school and expelled from my school and community for bringing shame upon it. Left without a home, a school, friends or a family, I was arrested by the police for “defaming” the same soldiers that raped me.

The day after the Tribunal, on March 3, 2010, the ‘judges’ will present their findings and recommendations to the international community—in advance of the Burmese elections this year.

The event will also be broadcast live on the internet. See http://www.nobelwomensinitiative.org/ for details.

The International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma:
March 2, 2010: 9 am – 6 pm
Proshansky Auditorium, The Graduate Center
City University of New York
365 Fifth Avenue (at 34th Street)

PRESS CONFERENCE:
March 3, 2010: 10 am – 11 am
The Church Center (across from the United Nations)
777 United Nations Plaza, Drew Room (lower level)
New York NY 10017

For more information, please contact us:

Rachel Vincent: Mobile: + 1-613-276-9030, [email protected]
Kimberley MacKenzie: +1-908-342-0160, [email protected]
Kieran Bergmann: +1-613-569-8400 ext. 115, [email protected]

This post is in: Press Release

Nobel Laureates to Host International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma

About Burma Partnership

Spotlight

Campaigns