Campaigners Around the World Call to Postpone Destructive Chinese Pipelines in Burma

130 organizations over 20 countries today held demonstrations and submitted letters calling on Burma’s President Thein Sein to postpone China’s trans-Burma oil and gas pipelines project. The letter expressed serious concerns over human rights abuses as well as […]

Philippine Activists Call to Postpone Gas and Trans-Burma Pipeline Projects; Urge Thein Sein Regime to Exercise Social and Environmental Responsibility

Philippine solidarity activists today joined the Global Day of Action against the construction of oil and gas pipelines in Burma called the Shwe Gas and Trans-Burma Pipelines Project led by Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and the Chinese state-owned China National Petroleum Company […]

ASEAN Should Support and Promote a Credible and Transparent Process of Peace and Reconciliation in Myanmar and Mechanism of Human Rights Protection

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today welcomed the upcoming visit of ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan to Myanmar on 20 February but noted its continued […]

Head of HR Commission Rules Out Conflict-Zone Inquiry

The chairman of Burma’s National Human Rights Commission said on Tuesday that it was premature for the newly established body to investigate allegations of human rights abuses in ethnic minority areas.

“The national reconciliation process is political,” said Win Mra, the chairman of the NHRC, speaking at a press conference at Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday afternoon. He added that “to investigate into conflict areas would not be appropriate at this time” […]

Visit to Thailand of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission

Mr. Win Mra, Chairman of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC), accompanied by Mr. Nyunt Swe, Member of the MNHRC, is on a visit to Thailand during 12 – 15 February 2012 as guests of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The objective of this visit is to exchange views on human rights promotion and protection as well as bilateral cooperation. The visit is also part of the MNHRC’s tour to meet with the National Human Rights Commissions in ASEAN member countries […]

CSW Returns from Kachin State with Evidence of Continuing Grave Human Rights Violations

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) returned this week from a three-week fact-finding visit to Rangoon and Kachin State on the China-Burma border, where the CSW team recorded evidence of grave human rights violations […]

Statement of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar

… During the mission, I met with the Minister of Home Affairs, the Minister of Defence, the Minister of Border Affairs, the Attorney-General, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Union Election Commission, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs […]

Burmese Army Shoots Pregnant Teacher In Kachin State

Burma Campaign UK has confirmed reports that a pregnant ethnic Kachin woman was shot and killed by Burmese Army soldiers on 11th January 2012 […]

Burma Rights Body Lays into HRW Report

Burma’s government-formed rights commission says a recent report spotlighting ongoing abuses by the Burmese army is “unreasonable” and fails to acknowledge progress in the country over the past nine months.

Human Rights Watch said in its annual global report yesterday that troops “[continue] to violate international humanitarian law through the use of anti-personnel landmines, extrajudicial killings, forced labor, torture, beatings, and pillaging of property” […]

Arakanese Take to the Streets to Demand Gas be Used for Arakan Electricity

Today over 250 Arakanese took to the streets in the state capital of Sittwe and across two townships, wearing t-shirts, pasting stickers and posters, demanding that natural gas from Arakan coastal waters be used to generate 24-hour electricity throughout the state before any is exported to China […]