Civil Society Organisations Meet ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights on the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, Call for Universal Standards to be Upheld

Representatives of Civil society organisations (CSOs) have today met the AICHR for the first time for a consultation on the drafting of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration. The organisations have welcomed the Consultation as a positive step in the right direction. They also welcome the constructive and friendly atmosphere in which the Consultation was held, and the openness of AICHR representatives to the comments and suggestions by CSO representatives.

We nevertheless regret that the Consultation was short, late, without a draft to comment on and with civil society only partially represented and some organizations rejected […]

ASEAN Human Rights Declaration Draft Ignores Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) express deep regret that there was no specific reference concerning the collective rights of the Indigenous Peoples as enshrined in the UNDRIP in the drafting of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD) draft during the national consultation held at Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations in Kuala Lumpur on June 12, 2012 […]

Statement on Foreign Investment in Burma

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi made a very important statement today that I call on the Administration and our European allies to heed. She urged foreign governments not to allow their companies to enter into new partnerships at this time with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise […]

Support for Rights of the Child and Human Rights in Myanmar

Foreign Minister Bob Carr today announced a new $3 million package of Australian assistance for human rights initiatives in Myanmar. Senator Carr said the package would assist the Government of Myanmar to meet human rights commitments […]

Parallel Battles for Burma and Asean’s Human Rights Commission

The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) will meet in Rangoon starting this Sunday to finalize the draft of the long-awaited Asean Human Rights Declaration (AHRD). Held in a country that has for the past year made headlines in the international media for its reforms, this event might be seen by some as evidence of a “new” Asean and a “new” Burma. However, looking at it as an Asean citizen and a longtime activist for democracy and human rights in Burma, I see something entirely different.

While the AICHR will be discussing a human rights document that is supposed to protect our fundamental rights, I will be thinking of my Kachin brothers and sisters. For the past year, they’ve seen their villages burnt, fathers and brothers tortured or killed, and had mothers, sisters and daughters raped by Burma Army soldiers.

I will also be thinking of my colleagues still languishing in prisons for the simple reason that they decided to speak up for people’s rights and for a better Burma. There are still hundreds of them behind bars, forgotten by the international community.

That Burma is changing is hard to deny, but for activists, ethnic people or myself, Burma is still a long way from being a country where people’s human rights can be respected and protected […]

ASEAN Human Rights Declaration Cannot Move Forward Without Genuine Consultation of Civil Society

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today called on ASEAN to delay the putting of its draft declaration on human rights before the foreign ministers of members states next month pending a fully inclusive, meaningful and transparent consultation of civil society and other stakeholders […]

Indian NHRC Asks Myanmar Counterpart to Take up Persecution Issue

The NHRC has asked its Myanmar counterpart to take up with their government the issue of migration from their country to India due to reported fear of systematic persecution at the hands of the ruling junta […]

Launch of “Uncertain Ground: Landmine Use in Eastern Burma”

Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) today released a major new report documenting the continued challenges posed by widespread use of landmines in eastern Burma and called for urgent humanitarian mine action that addresses the priorities and concerns […]

China Power Investment Seeks Backing of Global Dam Industry to Push Ahead with Myitsone Project

Chinese media last week revealed that the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) is currently conducting an “independent” inspection of the Irrawaddy Myitsone dam, being built by China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), to prove that the dam is completely safe and beneficial. Such a study would be a major boost in CPI’s bid to push ahead with the suspended project […]

APF Discusses Myanmar NHRI’s Founding Legislation

As part of its program of support for Myanmar’s newly established national human rights institution, the APF recently travelled to Yangon to take part in discussions on the development of legislation to formalise the NHRI through an Act of Parliament […]