On September 12, 2015, about 100 Burmese government troops attacked Nawng Pa Deb village in Mong Pawn township, southern Shan State. They fired shells indiscriminately into the village, injuring four men and two women; one of the men later died from his wounds […]
• • •In the lead-up to the 2015 elections in Burma, religious minorities, especially the Muslim population, have been consistently subjected to state sponsored discrimination and violent abuse, while simultaneously denied representation in the political sphere or in civil society […]
• • •This booklet captures the stories of 29 women from Myanmar former political prisoners from Yangon, and ethnic women from the conflict zones of Karen and Kachin State.
• • •There is no sign of the Government of Myanmar/Burma backing down from its hostile policies against the Rohingya and other Muslim community in Myanmar […]
• • •The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), as the Secretariat of the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), is glad to present the 2015 ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia. Our sincere appreciation goes to all 30 ANNI member organisations from across 17 countries in Asia for their participation and commitment to ANNI and continued advocacy towards the strengthening and establishment of NHRIs in Asia. Similarly, we would also like to extend our sincere thanks to the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) that have contributed valuable inputs and feedback to the concerned country reports […]
• • •On August 25, 2015, about 30 villagers in Kunhing township, southern Shan State, were forced by Burma Army troops to be human shields during clashes with the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army-South (RCSS/SSA-S) […]
• • •The sweep led to the arrest of 155 Chinese nationals who had been recruited from neighbouring Yunnan Province to cross the border to cut trees and transport timber. The case caused diplomatic tensions between Myanmar and China when the Chinese labourers were given life sentences in July. Just a few days later, all were freed under a general presidential pardon […]
• • •After more than six decades of internal armed conflict, the next four weeks could be decisive for Myanmar’s peace process. The process, which was launched in August 2011, enjoyed significant initial success, as bilateral ceasefires were agreed with more than a dozen ethnic armed groups […]
• • •There have been few empirical studies on flight capital and illicit trade flows to and from Myanmar. This may be due in part to significant challenges with obtaining reliable data and statistics on the country. The statistical database is weak, with gaps in data availability, and the methodology used to compile the statistics has not been reviewed for quite some time. Hence, there is a risk that compilers may not have adhered to international guidelines for the compilation of economic statistics […]
• • •Myanmar/Burma is heading to the polls in November 2015, in what will be
a closely watched election. Provided that they are free and fair, the polls
are likely to have a major influence over the future political direction of the
country, with an expected shift in power from the old elite to the opposition
National League for Democracy (NLD) […]