Kachin Civilian Sentenced to 2 Years in Jail on False Charges

On Thursday 18th July Brang Shawng was sentenced to two years in jail, just three days after Burma’s President Thein Sein visited the UK and repeated a past promise of releasing all political prisoners by the end of the year. The British government has failed to secure any new concrete commitments […]

Kachin Organizations and Civil Society Groups Urge the United States Government to Renew the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act

We, Kachin civilians and activists from 30 organizations are calling on President Obama, Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Reid to renew the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, which will expire at the end of July 2013.

It is urgently needed to maintain pressure on the Burmese government to stop its policies of military aggression, and to begin a political dialogue to end the civil war in Burma […]

Burma Army Shows Contempt of Buddhism During Latest Attacks in Shan State

During attacks last week violating the ceasefire with the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), the Burma Army shelled a Buddhist temple in central Shan State, displacing dozens of monks, and turned the temple into a military base […]

Arm Conflict in Kutkai Township Creates More Internal Displacement

On 18th June 2013, in Kutkai Township, Northern Shan state, there was a conflict between the TNLA Battalion (112) and the Burmese military Infantry Battalion (IB) 145 which resulted in over one hundred villagers fleeing their homes […]

Two Years On, Kachin People Push for Genuine and Just Peace

On Sunday, 9 June, sixty Kachin community organizations and Burma campaign groups in 21 countries around the world took part in a Global Day of Action today to mark the 2nd anniversary of resumed fighting between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army that broke a 17-year ceasefire. Read the statement by these groups here.

Simultaneously in Rangoon, eighteen organizations came together and held a briefing that included the background and political and economic reasons for the conflict throughout the country and in Kachin State, as well as the current humanitarian crisis in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). There was an emotional appeal from two IDP women to end the fighting and a sharing of the Burman perspective from our coordinator on the Buddhist Burman superiority complex that underlines ethnic conflict throughout the country. The briefing was attended by Rangoon-based diplomats, international non-governmental organizations and civil society organizations. See photos from the briefing here […]

Statement of Ethnic People, Civil Society Organizations and Networks Calling for a Genuine and Just Peace

On 9 June 2013, it will have been two full years since armed conflict between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and Myanmar government resumed on 9 June 2011. During the last two years, more than 10 peace talks have taken place and we, the undersigned social networks and civil society organizations acknowledge and welcome the 7-point agreement signed in Myitkyina on 30 May as a step of improvement in terms of transparency […]

Federalism is Key to Genuine Peace

60 Kachin community organisations and Burma campaign groups worldwide in 21 countries will take part in a Global Day of Action today to mark the 2nd anniversary of military attacks by the Burmese government against the Kachin Independence Army and Kachin civilians breaking a 17- year ceasefire […]

Civil Society in Yangon to Mark 2nd Anniversary of Armed Conflict in Kachin State

On 9 June, 18 civil society organizations will commemorate the 2nd anniversary of renewed fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kachin State […]

Pushed to the Brink: Conflict and Human Trafficking on the Kachin-China Border

On the surface, Burma seems to be strengthening its fight against human trafficking. Burma’s long-held position in the lowest ranking of international trafficking efforts finally inched upwards a rank as a result of several policy reforms and new programs. An anti-trafficking hotline opened, as did several anti-trafficking task force offices. Anti-trafficking stickers and posters are plastered in areas across the country, and American singer Jason Mraz recently teamed with MTV to hold a massive free concert in Rangoon to raise awareness about human trafficking

The Kachin Women’s Association –  Thailand’s earlier reports Driven Away (2005) and Eastward Bound (2008) had documented the growing incidence of trafficking along the China-Burma border. This new report looks at the impacts of the renewed conflict on this problem […]

Burma’s War Against Kachin Creating ‘Perfect Storm’ for Human Trafficking

A new report by Kachin women exposes how the Burmese government’s war against the Kachin has greatly increased the risk of human trafficking along the China-Burma border […]