Think tank set to support ASEAN rights body

The ASEAN Inter-Governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) finally gets a think tank to help it carry out its duty, with the establishment of the Human Rights Resource Center for ASEAN (HRRCA).

HRRCA chairman Marzuki Darusman said Tuesday the HRRCA was forged to conduct training and research that would support the AICHR’s work […]

Putting Women Migrant Workers into ASEAN

Putting Women Migrant Workers into ASEAN: Are they not already in ASEAN working in the export industries? Are they not already supporting the middle and upper classes of ASEAN by providing cleaning and child care services? Are they not already working in significant numbers in agriculture, horticulture, entertainment, food processing, sales and a host of other important work? Indeed, the labour of women migrant workers is already in ASEAN, but the rights, the dignity, and the respect for women migrant workers is not yet there. However, with several important human rights processes evolving at this time, it is valuable for migrant women to be aware of the current instruments and mechanisms that protect their rights and understand how to engage in these international and regional processes […]

Week 29: 2010 Election Watch (21-27 September)

Developments

• The SPDC Election Commission rejected the transcripts for the TV and radio campaign messages of the Union of Myanmar Federation of National Politics, the 88 Generation Student Youths (Union of Myanmar), and the Democratic Party (Myanmar) […]

US/ASEAN: Three Years After Crackdown, No Justice in Burma

US and Southeast Asian leaders meeting in New York this week should press the Burmese government to end an escalating campaign of repression, release political prisoners, and begin a dialogue with opposition groups ahead of Burma’s coming flawed elections, Human Rights Watch said today. September marks the third anniversary of the brutal 2007 crackdown on peaceful protests led by monks and known as the “Saffron Revolution.”

It Is AICHR’s Turn to Move Forward to Promote and Protect Human Rights in Southeast Asia

On the issue of Burma, we remain deeply concerned that AICHR has stayed silent on the ongoing widespread and systematic violations of human rights that constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes, as defined by international law. These violations include torture, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, forced labour and the recruitment of child soldiers, and are committed in a pervasive culture of impunity […]

Submission to the AICHR Meeting, 20-24 September in Kuala Lumpur

More than 50 civil society and people’s organizations from Southeast Asia participated in the Third Regional Consultation on ASEAN and Human Rights, organized by the Solidarity for Asian Peoples’ Advocacy Task Force on ASEAN and Human Rights (SAPA-TF AHR), from 16-18 September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The consultation produced this submission to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights ahead of its meeting on 20-24 September 2010 in Kuala Lumpur. This submission concerns the status of AICHR’s Rules of Procedure, its work plan and the drafting process of the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration […]

Burma Dashes Asean and UN Hopes of Disaster Cooperation

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the United Nations are trying to put a brave face on their joint efforts over the past two years to coax the Burmese government into accepting international aid and allowing unfettered access to areas hit by natural disasters.

Many analysts believe, however, that there is no long-term commitment on the part of the Burmese leaders to change their inward looking mentality and obsessive fear of foreigners […]

ASEAN/Regional Countries Urged to Support a UN Commission of Inquiry

The Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma), a regional network of human rights groups, reiterates its call for ASEAN members and other governments in the region to support moves to convene a UN Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma […]

Week 20: 2010 Election Watch (20-26 July)

Developments

• The Union Solidarity and Development Party gave the Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State 50 million kyat (US$52,814) as a start-up election fund […]

July 28, 2010  •  By Altsean-Burma  •  Tags: Altsean-Burma, ASEAN, ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Indonesia, People's New Society Party, Union Democratic Party, Union Solidarity and Development Party, Unity and Democracy Party of Kachin State  •  Read more ➤

Memorandum to the Prime Minister of India from Burmese Pro-Democracy Movement in India

Dear honorable Prime Minister,

Burmese pro-democracy movement in India is outraged by the visit of the most brutal military dictator of Burma to India. His presence would disgrace Republic of India. The world knows well that Senior General Than Shwe has killed innocent unarmed protesters including Buddhist monks. The junta also detained the Nehru Award holder Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for bogus reasons for many years.[…]