United States Commission on International Religious Freedom – Burma: 2016 Annual Report

By United States Commission on International Religious Freedom • August 15, 2016

In 2015, peaceful elections ended more than 50 years of military-controlled government in Burma, yet the new government faces myriad human rights chal-lenges. Throughout the year, Burma’s government and non-state actors continued to violate religious freedom; these violations became a defining element of the campaign season. The abuses were particularly severe for Rohingya Muslims, whose persecution became even more apparent when the magnitude of their flight from Burma captured international media attention. Instead of protecting those most in need, like the Rohingya, Burma’s government intensified its isolation and marginalization of vulnerable groups, leaving hundreds of thousands internally displaced and without basic necessities. The government allowed expressions of hatred and intolerance toward religious and ethnic minorities to continue unchecked and shepherded the passage into law of four discriminatory “race and religion bills.” Based on these systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations, USCIRF continues to recommend in 2016 that Burma be designated as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The Stat Department has designated Burma a CPC since 1999, most recently in July 2014.

Download full report in English here.

အစီရင္ခံစာ ျမန္မာဘာသာကုိ ဤေနရာတြင္ ရယူႏုိင္သည္။

Tags: Arakan State, Freedom of Religion, International Religious Freedom Act, Laws, Rohingya Muslims, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom

This post is in: Children and Youth, Displacement, Health, Human Rights, Human Trafficking, International Relations, Law, Military Regime, Women

United States Commission on International Religious Freedom – Burma: 2016 Annual Report

About Burma Partnership

Spotlight

Campaigns