14-20 March: Burma’s Military Regime Refuses to Address Human Rights Abuses at UN Human Rights Council

March 21, 2011

Last week, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, held an interactive dialogue with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) following the submission of his progress report to the United Nations General Assembly. Quintana painted a stark picture of Burma’s human rights situation, including the deprivation of social, economic, and cultural rights. Burma’s military regime representatives were once again unwilling to face facts and address widespread human rights violations, credible allegations of crimes against humanity, and criticisms of current political reforms.

Quintana reiterated calls for genuine national reconciliation through an inclusive process and the immediate of release of all political prisoners. He noted that the situation of grave human rights violations remains ongoing today in Burma. Quintana made clear that the new military dominated parliament needed to address urgently the widespread and systematic abuse of human rights: “This new government must sooner rather than later confront the need for truth, justice and accountability.” This makes it “essential for investigations of human rights to be conducted in an independent, impartial and credible manner, without delay.”

Burma’s UN Ambassador Thant Kyaw continued the military regime’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge or engage the truth about human rights in Burma at the UNHRC. At Burma’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in January 2011, the SPDC delegation disputed allegations of widespread and systematic human rights abuses. Last week, Thant Kyaw noted the military regime’s belief that Quintana’s mandate was “inappropriate.” He ignored calls for credible and independent investigations into these abuses. He repeated claims that the November 2010 elections were free and fair and within the bounds of the law and challenged the evidence of speech restrictions against MPs. Despite recent reports that next year’s budget allocates nearly 24% of spending for the military with just 4.13% to education, Thant Kyaw claimed that criticisms of the SPDC’s education policy were “misleading.” Thant Kyaw restated the regime’s willingness to continue to work in cooperation with the Special Rapporteur, even though authorities last granted him access to the country in February 2010.

Civil society representatives at the dialogue challenged the Burma delegation’s empty assertions with hard facts and targeted recommendations. Human Rights Watch noted the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians into Thailand as a result of post-election armed conflict in Karen State. The Asian Legal Resource Centre noted their continued documentation of cases of arbitrary detention, torture, and forced disappearance. The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development and Amnesty International called for steps to establish an international Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate credible allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma.

Many state representatives made strong statements that stood in stark contrast to the military regime’s assertions of democratic progress and denials of abuses. Representatives of Canada, France, Japan, and the UK were among those expressing concern that the 2010 elections were not free and fair and lacked credibility. The United States representative noted the Burma delegation’s rejection of UPR recommendations, including steps to combat impunity and increase cooperation with the United Nations. Countries repeated the need to release all prisoners of conscience. France’s representative, noting the ongoing occurrences of massive human rights violations, expressed the importance of a credible and independent investigation.

The UNHRC interactive dialogue, as well as January’s UPR process, illustrates the military regime’s ongoing refusal to acknowledge evidence of abuses and take the steps necessary to improve the human rights situation in Burma. The regime’s new parliament, comprised of 80% military backed candidates and military appointees, cannot and will not promote and protect the human rights of the people of Burma. The international community must continue to combat the military regime’s false claims by thoroughly investigating and documenting human rights violations through a UN-led commission of inquiry, and by pressing for national reconciliation and the democratic reforms required to ensure the lasting promotion and protection of human rights in Burma.