Post-Nargis Analysis: The other side of the story

A report that explores the obstructions to aid and human rights abuses committed by Burma’s military regime and corruption that have occurred in the cyclone-hit region.

Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril

This is the first biodiversity survey of the Salween River in Karen State, and documents 194 plant species and 200 animals, including 42 endangered species. Based on surveys conducted for three months at Khoe Kay, a bend in the river near the Weigyi dam site, it includes comprehensive charts and unique photographs. Download the report.

Forgotten Future: Children Affected by Armed Conflict in Burma

“The top generals in the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) insist that Burma is a safe place for children, where all young people are “regarded as precious gems.” But many children in Burma, particularly those affected by armed conflict, do not have access to education, healthcare, or other child protection services. They are exploited for their […]

2008 Constitution

The full text of the State Peace and Development Council’s (SPDC) 2008 Constitution in English and Burmese.

Crimes Against Humanity in Eastern Myanmar

This report focuses on violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed by the military in Karen State and Pegu Division between 2005 through 2007. Download the report in English and Spanish.

Vote to Nowhere: The May 2008 Constitutional Referendum in Burma

A report that shows how the 2008 constitutional referendum was carried out in an environment of severe restrictions on access to information, repressive media restrictions, an almost total ban on freedom of expression, assembly, and association, and the continuing widespread detention of political activists. It highlights government arrests, harassment and attacks on activists opposed to […]

ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint

This Blueprint is the coherent master plan guiding the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, which will transform ASEAN into a region with free movement of goods, services, investment, skilled labour, and freer flow of capital. Download

Courage to Resist: Women Human Rights Defenders of Burma

A report that details how women activists have been hunted down, assaulted, tortured and framed with false charges, and their family members threatened and held hostage in the crackdown in Burma following the Saffron Revolution protests in 2007. […]

Opportunities and Pitfalls: Preparing for Burma’s Economic Transition

The Burma Project/Southeast Initiative has published Opportunities and Pitfalls: Preparing for Burma’s Economic Transition, a report by Yuki Akimoto.

Opportunities and Pitfalls covers key topics addressed at the conference regarding Burma’s prospective economic transition and the role of IFIs. The report contains case studies of other countries that have dealt with IFIs and their prescriptions for development, highlighting issues and circumstances that Burma shares with those countries.

Forward-looking and accessible, this report promises to stir practical debate about how Burma should manage the challenges of working with IFIs when these institutions become fully engaged there […]

Assessing the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Commissions

In 2000, the International Council published Performance & Legitimacy: National human rights institutions. National institutions had multiplied during the 1990s and the report looked at what made them effective and successful.

Five years later, despite unfavourable developments in the international human rights environment, the growth of national institutions is unchecked. The present report revisits the issue of effectiveness and examines how national institutions might improve their performance and impact by using benchmarks and indicators to assess their work […]