Union Government – Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) Peace Talks

We welcome the constructive talks which took place between the Union Government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) May 28-30 in Myitkyina, Kachin State. We are encouraged by the seven-point joint agreement that resulted from the talks and look forward to continued progress in building trust and delivering lasting peace, as envisioned in the agreement […]

Agreement Between the Union Working Committee and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)

The full text of the tentative agreement reached between the government’s Union Working Committee and the Kachin Independence Organization.

Briefing for the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict Regarding the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers in Burma (Myanmar) and Implementation of the Joint Action Plan

Human Rights Watch has monitored the human rights situation in Burma (Myanmar) for 25 years, including violations against children affected by armed conflict. We have conducted two in-depth investigations of recruitment and use of child soldiers by both government forces and non-state armed groups, publishing our findings in My Gun was as Tall as Me: Child Soldiers in Burma in 2002 […]

Thein Sein and China Must Stop Pipeline Project to Prevent Escalation of Conflict in Northern Shan State

Shan community based groups warn that recent Burmese government army attacks in northern Shan State, causing displacement of over 3,000 villagers, are directly linked to China’s oil and gas pipelines, and urge Burmese President Thein Sein and China to stop the project immediately before violence escalates even further […]

Access Denied: Land Rights and Ethnic Conflict in Burma

The reform process in Burma/Myanmar1 by the quasi-civilian government of President Thein Sein has raised hopes that a long overdue solution can be found to more than 60 years of devastating civil war. Burma’s ethnic minority groups have long felt marginalized and discriminated against, resulting in a large number of ethnic armed opposition groups fighting the central government – dominated by the ethnic Burman majority – for ethnic rights and autonomy. The fighting has taken place mostly in Burma’s borderlands where ethnic minorities are most concentrated […]

Thein Sein Government Must be Held Accountable for Fresh Burma Army Atrocities in Shan State

The Shan Human Rights Foundation is gravely concerned at fresh widespread atrocities by the Burma Army against civilians in Tangy an, northern Shan State, and is calling on the international community to hold the Burmese government accountable for these abuses […]

Joint Open Letter on Review of the European Union’s Joint Decision on Burma

Dear Minister,

We are writing to you regarding the upcoming review of the European Union’s joint decision on Burma/Myanmar and to call upon you to support the continuation of the state of suspended sanctions against Burma/Myanmar for an additional year.

While we acknowledge that positive steps have been taken by the government in Burma/Myanmar, we caution that reforms have not led to progress towards national reconciliation. Nor have they sought to stem the ongoing human rights abuses and impunity, which continue to be serious problems in the country […]

Urgent Update on Human Rights Situation in Northern Shan State

Over 1,000 flee Burma Army abuses in new operations against Shan State Army-North

Atrocities by Burmese troops in a new military operation against the Shan State Army North (SSA-N) have caused over 1,000 villagers, from 16 villages in Tangyan, to flee from their homes during the past two weeks […]

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Political Reconciliation with Burma’s Armed Forces

On 27 March, Burma’s Armed Forces Day was commemorated with its usual military fanfare. But this year, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi sat in the front row of the parade, raising concerns about her closeness to the army.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was similarly criticized for her comment on BBC’s Desert Island Disks radio show about her “fondness” for her father’s army. While Daw Suu appears to be cozying up the Burma Army as an attempt of political reconciliation in her push towards the 2015 elections, the public widely continues to see the country’s security forces as the perpetrators of human rights violations especially in ethnic nationality areas and of brutal crackdowns on civilians in 1988, 2007 and most recently in November 2012 against protesters and monks at the Letpadaung copper mine.

The Burma Army continued this week to launch offensives against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in northeastern Shan State, two weeks after the latest peace talks in Ruili, China. There have also been reports of shelling and looting of villages in Kachin State despite President Thein Sein insisting on his visit to Austria at the beginning of the month, “There’s no more hostilities, no more fighting all over the country, we have been able to end this kind of armed conflict.” General Gun Maw, deputy chief of the KIA said after the 11 March talks, “They wanted us to sign a ceasefire agreement first, but there are many issues to discuss about the peace process before we can reach a ceasefire.”

Furthermore, the military has been implicated in the violence in Meikhtila, which has left 43 dead and 12,000 displaced by UN estimates […]

Statement No. (2/2013) of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission Regarding the Conflict in Kachin State

The Myanmar National Human rights Commission is gratified that the Union Peace-Making Committee and the KIO delegation were able to issue a joint statement at the peace talks held at Shweli (Ruili) of the People’s Republic of China on 11-12 March 2013 and that positive developments were achieved. The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission also whole-heartedly welcomes the statement that the Union Government will accelerate development and rehabilitation tasks in the Kachin State as the process to achieve cease-fire has commenced under said joint statement […]