JAKARTA, 8 May 2015 — The horrific discovery of dozens of bodies of trafficking victims in southern Thailand represents yet another disturbing outcome of a collective lack of leadership on the part of regional governments to address the pervasive problem of human trafficking and the unfolding tragedy for Rohingya Muslims, said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) this week […]
• • •JAKARTA, 30 April 2015 — Recent statements by Malaysia’s Foreign Minister recognizing the regional significance of the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are a step in the right direction, but ASEAN leaders must take concrete action to address the growing crisis, said ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) this week […]
• • •The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum 2015 (ACSC/APF) ended on 24 April 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, bringing the voices of the people of ASEAN together in its yearly three day event. It reminds us of the historic ACSC/APF 2014 that was held for the first time in Burma and the hopes raised and duly dashed since that forum in the past year. As civil society throughout the region strives for better promotion, protection and respect for human rights, a review of the human rights situation and democratic reforms in Burma over the past year represent dreams turning into nightmares.
Events at the ACSC/APF 2015 involving Burma included a theatre play by Burma’s students and youth depicting the events of Letpadan, where over 100 students and supporters were detained after a violent attack by police and hired thugs on the column of students marching from Mandalay to Rangoon. The play called for the government to release the 79 student protesters and their supporters that remain in jail. The ASEAN Youth Forum labelled this strive for education reform by Burma’s students as an “endless and painful struggle.” Events brought to mind previous student demonstrations and consequent crackdowns such as in 1974, 1988 and 1996, all of which were committed by overtly military regimes. It begs the question; what has changed? […]
• • •We write as Members of Parliament representing several ASEAN nations to express our grave concern about the plight of Rohingya Muslims, the high risk of atrocities in Myanmar, and the dangers these crises represent, not only for Myanmar, but for the entire ASEAN region […]
• • •The longstanding persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar has led to the highest outflow of asylum seekers by sea since the U.S. war in Vietnam. Human rights violations against Rohingya have resulted in a regional human trafficking epidemic, and there have been further abuses against Rohingya upon their arrival in other Southeast Asian countries […]
• • •KUALA LUMPUR — ASEAN leaders must urgently respond to the escalating crisis situation for Rohingya Muslims and other vulnerable minorities in Myanmar, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today in a public call on regional governments on the eve of the 26th ASEAN Summit […]
• • •BANGKOK — Southeast Asian lawmakers today called on Myanmar to scrap a package of discriminatory laws to be submitted for review by the parliament, saying they violate international human rights laws and threaten to destabilize the county in its transition to democracy. […]
• • •OSLO — APHR members joined together with fellow parliamentarians from across the world in Oslo this weekend to launch the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief, tasked with working towards eradicating belief-based persecution across the globe. […]
• • •KUALA LUMPUR — With Barack Obama gracing the halls of Naypyidaw this week, the world has quite rightly been calling loudly for the President of the United States of America to raise concerns regarding the backslide in human rights and democracy in Myanmar, not least of which being the institutionalized persecution and ethnic cleansing of the country’s Rohingya minority. […]
• • •BANGKOK – ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) today joined with human rights activists around the world in a Global Day of Action to demand the Myanmar government immediately allow Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and all humanitarian aid organizations to resume full scale operations without restrictions and provide life-saving aid in Rakhine State […]
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