Secretary-General Calls for End to Lawlessness in Myanmar’s Rakhine State Following Latest Violence

In the wake of renewed violence, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urgedthe authorities in Myanmar to take action to bring an end to the lawlessness currently affecting the north of the Asian country’s Rakhine state […]

AHRC Expresses Solidarity with Protesting Farmers

The Asian Human Rights Commission on Wednesday sent a message of support to farmers and their allies gathering for a “people’s conference” to oppose land confiscation and degradation for a copper mining project […]

Calls for Better Working Conditions in Burma

As Burma’s political, economic and social spheres continue to gradually open up there has been increasing dissatisfaction among workers and those who have been denied a voice for the past several decades. This is evident by the recent case where workers rallied for improved working conditions in a wood furniture factory in Rangoon […]

New Report Highlights Mon IDP Perspectives on Resettlement

This week, the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) released a report featuring the voices of 61 Mon internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled from human rights violations in southern Burma, also known as Myanmar. The report analyzes testimonies regarding perspectives of resettlement and the current situation in their IDP communities, and revealed that just under half of interviewees who discussed relocation were willing to move (47%), while the others wanted to remain in their current villages (53%) […]

A Community Leader Jailed in Burma – Free Tun Aung

Burma Campaign UK today called for the immediate release of Tun Aung and all remaining political prisoners in Burma. Tun Aung is a 65-year-old medical doctor and a respected community leader who has been arrested and jailed for political reasons. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison under Section 24 (1) of The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act for having 100 Chinese Yuan in his wallet, which was given to him by his daughter as a present. He is suffering from a pituitary tumor and needs regular medication but he has been denied medical treatment […]

U.S. State Department Must Hold U.S. Companies in Burma to International Standards

New investors in Burma should be required to publicly report on their human rights and environmental impacts, land acquisitions, security arrangements, and government payments – as well as those of their subsidiaries and business partners […]

Burma Groups Release Concerns and Recommendations on Peace Funds

Burma’s ethnic community and civil society organizations released a position paper today welcoming peace fund initiatives but expressing concerns and recommendations to encourage the funds to support the country’s nascent peace process.

“There are many elements that successful peace funds must include, namely inclusive consultations, engagement with full organizations rather than individuals, equitable natural resource management and land rights, and addressing anxiety over the return of refugees and internally displaced persons,” described Paul Sein Twa […]

Unannounced Visit of Burmese Foreign Minister to Canada

Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB) learned an unannounced but ‘official visit’ of Burmese Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung to Canada from Oct. 2 to 4.

“U Wunna Maung Lwin, Union Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, paid an official visit to Canada,” The state-run newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, reported on Saturday Oct. 6., 2012 […]

Rights Groups Express Strong Concern About Weak Requirements for U.S. Investment in Burma

After submitting a detailed comment to the U.S. Department of State expressing concern over weak reporting requirements for U.S. companies considering investing in Burma, EarthRights International, Freedom House, Physicians for Human Rights, U.S. Campaign for Burma and United to End Genocide issued the following statement […]

Burmese Government and Aid Donors Should Not Seek To Divide Karen

Recent developments in Karen State have raised serious questions about the Burmese government’s sincerity in its peace negotiations with the Karen National Union (KNU) […]