Tavoyan Women Expose Abuses Linked to Dawei Deep Sea Port, Call for Project to be Suspended

A new video launched today by the Tavoyan Women’s Union (TWU) exposes how the Thai and Burmese developers of the Dawei deep sea port project are abusing local villagers’ rights. They are calling for an immediate suspension of the project.

The 15- minute video shows how the pristine beauty of the Tavoyan coast is being ravaged and the cultural heritage of the Tavoyan people being threatened by the port and industrial zone […]

Burma Refuses To Sign Sexual Violence Declaration

On Tuesday 24th September 115 countries signed a new declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict. Despite high level lobbying by the British government, the government of Burma failed to support the declaration.

The declaration of commitment to end sexual violence in conflict was launched by British Foreign Secretary William Hague and Zainab Hawa Bangura, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, at the United Nations in New York […]

Statement on the Situation of the Rohingya in Burma

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum today expressed its deep concern about the worsening situation of the Rohingya in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

Long considered one of the world’s most persecuted peoples, the Muslim Rohingya have no legal status in Burma and face severe discrimination, abuse, and escalating violence. Last year, violent attacks, fanned by a campaign of virulent anti-Muslim hate speech that continues today, destroyed numerous Rohingya communities and displaced well more than 100,000 people […]

Statement on International Day of Peace

In order to establish long-term peace-building in Republic of Union of Myanmar, monks, public, ethnic nationalities and civil societies who long for peace collaborated and participated peace-making activities in various approaches across the country on September 21, 2013 as International Day of Peace […]

New Film Calls for Political Dialogue for Lasting Peace in Burma’s Kachin State

To coincide with the International Day of Peace, Burma Partnership launched a new documentary film today entitled, “Guns, Briefcases and Inequality: The Neglected War in Kachin State.” The film demonstrates the need for the government of Burma to engage in meaningful political dialogue with all ethnic nationalities on equal terms, including discussing amendments to the 2008 Constitution. These are necessary in order to address the underlying causes of armed conflict: self-determination, the lack of ethnic rights, and inequality, and to move towards lasting peace throughout the country […]

Your Stories Are Ours

Today, in commemoration of the International Day of Peace, we, members of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict in Southeast Asia (GPPAC-SEA) express our solidarity to all the peace-loving peoples of the region particularly in Myanmar/Burma.

We come from Aceh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mindanao, Thailand and the Philippines and together with our partners in Myanmar visited Kachin State this week to see, listen and feel for ourselves– however briefly– the situation there following the collapse of a 17-year ceasefire between the Myanmar government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) two years ago […]

Update: Multiple Charges Filed Against Detained Human Rights Defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw

According to the information received on 17 September 2013 from the Movement for Democracy Current Force (MDCF), human rights defender Mr Ko Htin Kyaw is currently facing multiple charges as a result of his human rights work. Ko Htin Kyaw is the Director of the MDCF, a community-based organisation working to promote development and democracy in Burma […]

Letter to President Obama on GSP Trade Benefits for Burma

Dear President Obama,

We are writing about the ongoing review to reinstate trade benefits for Burma under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Promoting trade with Burma creates human rights risks, particularly in problem sectors such as extractive industries and plantation agriculture, that could undermine the careful economic reengagement policy your Administration has charted thus far. Therefore, if GSP benefits are restored to Burma, we urge your Administration to take the steps outlined in this letter to manage the human rights impacts of that decision […]

Rice Rations Being Changed for Refugees from Burma/Myanmar in November

After November, rice rations will be needs-based and community-managed in refugee camps in Thailand

Rice rations are being revised in refugee camps in Thailand following reductions in funding for humanitarian food aid and a transition to needs-based and community-managed humanitarian relief. These changes are being introduced by The Border Consortium (TBC), which provides humanitarian relief and development assistance to refugees and conflict-affected people from Burma/Myanmar […]

Burma Partnership to Launch Documentary Film: “Guns, Briefcases and Inequality: The Neglected War in Kachin State”

While President Thein Sein is being applauded internationally for his efforts to build peace in Burma, this new documentary film by Burma Partnership questions whether the government’s current process will really lead to sustainable peace and national reconciliation […]