Myanmar: Authorities Must Protect Communities at Risk of Violence

Violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Myanmar that reportedly left several people dead demonstrates an urgent need for Myanmar authorities to protect people at risk, Amnesty International said.

On Wednesday 20 March, violent clashes broke out between Muslim and Buddhist communities in Meiktila, a town in Myanmar’s Mandalay Division, following a dispute at a Muslim-owned gold shop […]

Myanmar: Independent Human Rights Monitoring Still Needed

As Myanmar President Thein Sein concludes his visit to Europe, the United Nations Human Rights Council is scheduled to discuss the situation of human rights in Myanmar and the need for continued international human rights monitoring in the country. Considering remaining human rights concerns in the country, it is critical that international human rights monitoring mechanisms are maintained in Myanmar […]

Myanmar: Protect Civilians Caught in the Kachin State Conflict, Investigate Attacks

Myanmar must take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties in Kachin state, Amnesty International said after three people were killed in air strikes which were reportedly carried out by the armed forces in the region […]

Urgent Action: Doctor Held Incommunicado in Myanmar

Dr Tun Aung was arrested on 11 June in Rakhine state, western Myanmar and has been held in incommunicado detention since. He is a practicing medical doctor and the chairman of the Islamic Religious Affairs Council in Maungdaw. He suffers from […]

Myanmar: Abuses Against Rohingyas Erode Human Rights Progress

Six weeks after a state of emergency was declared in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, targeted attacks and other violations by security forces against minority Rohingyas and other Muslims have increased, Amnesty International said today.

Communal violence in the state has also continued […]

Letter to the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting from International NGOs on the Draft ASEAN Human Rights Declaration

The International Commission of Jurists, International Federation for Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Dignity International, and Article 19, write to you today to express our grave concerns regarding the process of drafting the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD). We understand that the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) will be transmitting to you a draft of the Declaration during your meeting with them on 8 July 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia […]

Myanmar: Release Remaining Prisoners of Conscience

The Myanmar authorities should immediately and unconditionally free all prisoners of conscience, Amnesty International said as 80 inmates, including some 24 political prisoners and 34 foreigners, were released from prison on Tuesday.

Among the 80 released on “humanitarian grounds” were three members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Myanmar’s leading opposition party, but the largest group is affiliated with All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) […]

Myanmar: Meet Immediate Humanitarian Needs and Address Systemic Discrimination

As the situation in northern Rakhine State remains very tense, Myanmar authorities should ensure full and unfettered humanitarian access to displaced people, and conduct an independent and impartial investigation into recent communal violence, Amnesty International said in a statement today […]

Revisiting Human Rights in Myanmar

On 23 May 2012, Amnesty International concluded its first official visit to Myanmar since 2003. This report illustrates Amnesty’s general impressions of the current human rights situation, and looks at five specific topics: political imprisonment, rule of law, ethnic minorities, accountability, and economic, social and cultural rights.

Annual Report 2012: Myanmar

The government enacted limited political and economic reforms, but human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in ethnic minority areas increased during the year. Some of these amounted to crimes against humanity or war crimes […]