Destination Unknown: Hope and Doubt Regarding IDP Resettlement in Mon State

The growing optimism surrounding Burma’s political and social transitions has begun to be accompanied by ambitions to resettle displaced communities along the country’s border with Thailand. As the notion and its attendant proposals continue to proliferate, it seems timely to assess how the communities directly affected by this prospect feel about resettlement […]

Not in Theory, Not in Practice: Freedom of Assembly and Association in Burma

The rights of peaceful assembly and association in Burma are fragile at best. The Burma government has enacted reforms to address this gap in human rights protection. Sadly the reforms are lacking and citizens are regularly denied any semblance of protection in relation to international human rights standards.

The Unlawful Associations Act1 and the NGO Registration Law haven’t been repealed; these remain large obstacles if Burma is to have freedom of assembly and association […]

Land Grabbing in Dawei (Myanmar/Burma): An (Inter)National Human Rights Concern

Land grabbing is an urgent concern for people in Tanintharyi Division, and ultimately one of national and international concern, as tens of thousands of people are being displaced for the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ). Dawei lies within Myanmar’s (Burma) southernmost region, the Tanintharyi Division, which borders Mon State to the North, and Thailand to the East, on territory that connects the Malay Peninsula with mainland Asia […]

Concerns and Recommendations Regarding Peace Funds

While peace funds are well intentioned, the governance of them has some shortcomings. Burma groups are concerned that they have the potential to undermine the agenda for a comprehensive peace process and engender more harm than the projected benefits.

This position paper outlines a collective message to the Peace Donor Support Group, especially to Norway and the World Bank given that they are moving ahead with their peace fund initiatives, as well as other proponents including the Burma government and its concerned agencies, the implementing NGOs, private firms and consultants […]


“We Have Seen This Before”: Burma’s Fragile Peace Process

This paper seeks to outline and analyze the peace processes initiated by President Thein Sein’s government in the last year in both ceasefire and non-ceasefire areas […]

From Persecution to Deprivation: International Donors Neglect 60,000 Displaced Kachin on China-Burma Border

About 60,000 Kachin villagers fleeing Burma Army attacks and persecution, who are sheltering in Kachin-controlled territory along the China-Burma border, have received almost no international aid since conflict broke out in June 2011.

Data compiled from local relief groups shows that international aid agencies, including the UN, have provided only 4% of basic food needs of this displaced population, who have been kept alive almost entirely by private donations from local and overseas compatriots […]

Arbitrary Arrests in Burma: A Tool to Repress Critical Voices

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) is highly concerned that the government of Burma continues to use arbitrary arrest as a tool to hold members of the democracy and human rights movement behind bars often without formal charges […]

Louder Than Words: An Agenda for Action to End State Use of Child Soldiers

The report “Louder than words: An agenda for action to end state use of child soldiers” is published to mark the tenth anniversary year of the entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. It examines the record of states in protecting children from use in hostilities by their own forces and by state-allied armed groups. It finds that, while governments’ commitment to ending child soldier use is high, the gap between commitment and practice remains wide. Research for the report shows that child soldiers have been used in armed conflicts by 20 states since 2010, and that children are at risk of military use in many more […]

Freedom on the Net 2012

While the military junta that ruled Burma for decades was interested in expanding information and communication technologies (ICTs) for business and propaganda purposes, it also made aggressive attempts to restrict access to digital media and control online content. Elections in November 2010 changed this dynamic […]

The Decree on the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession

The Decree on the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession is one of the first laws governing civil and political rights to be adopted since the election of a quasi-civilian government in November 2010. ARTICLE 19’s analysis of the law finds the law to be inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression and the right to assembly.

In the analysis, ARTICLE 19 appreciates the Decree’s recognition of the state’s duty to protect assembly participants. However, the requirement for permission to hold an assembly, the grounds for denying permission, the lack of a court appeal and the absence of guarantees for media access to assemblies are problematic and must be urgently revised […]