IBAHRI calls on the world’s lawyers to take action for justice in Burma

The Justice for Burma campaign was launched today by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI). The Campaign aims to galvanise support, primarily among the world’s legal profession, for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry (UN COI) into allegations of serious violations of human rights law and humanitarian law in Burma […]

Letter to President Obama

BURMA: Banking Sanctions and Establishment of a United Nations Commission of Inquiry

Dear President Obama,

It has now been almost two years since your administration launched its new engagement policy with the military government in Burma. Senior officials from the State Department have visited the country several times, met with Burma’s leaders, and tried to persuade them to implement positive changes in the country, as demanded by the people of Burma and the international community […]

Freedom House Calls for Economic Sanctions and UN Action in Burma

Freedom House today joins other human rights organizations in urging President Barack Obama to take more decisive action against human rights abuses in Burma.

Freedom House and 21 other human rights organizations expressed their concerns to President Obama in a letter urging the United States to impose economic sanctions on Burma as outlined in the JADE Act […]

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Calls for a Commission of Inquiry as Conflict Continues in Eastern Burma

Earlier this week, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi vocalized her strong support for a UN-led Commission of Inquiry in a video message recorded for a hearing of the US House Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific. The hearing was held to highlight the fraudulent November 2010 elections, as well as the ongoing conflict in Kachin State.

The Congressional Committee hearing was entitled “Piercing Burma’s Veil of Secrecy: The Truth Behind the Sham Election and the Difficult Road Ahead.” Representative Don Manzullo, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on East Asia, criticized last year’s elections and drew on the ongoing fighting in Kachin State to highlight the lack of change in Burma: “The recent news of clashes in Burma’s Kachin province between government troops and ethnic minorities, which has been the heaviest fighting in 17 years, adds further evidence to the argument that the situation in Burma has not changed,” wrote Manzullo in his statement […]

Aung San Suu Kyi supports UN ‘commission of inquiry’ on Burma

Burmese democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she supports the establishment of ‘commission of inquiry’ into human rights violations in Burma.

She made the endorsement for the first time in her video-taped message sent to a hearing of US House Sub-committee on Asia-Pacific earlier today […]

Kachin Conflict Highlights Deep-seated Ethnic Concerns and Dire Need for a Commission of Inquiry

Yesterday, democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi celebrated her birthday in freedom for the first time in 7 years. However, her 66th birthday was marked by ongoing conflict between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burma Army that broke a 17-year ceasefire between the two sides.

During an address at the National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi stated that there are “sparks of war flying” in Burma. With as many as 10,000 civilians displaced by the ongoing conflict in Kachin State, and documented conflict-related human rights violations, the past week’s conflict has only served to further highlight the failure of the regime to address the needs and concerns of ethnic communities in Burma […]

Regime Denies Violations in Review at UN Human Rights Council Amid Increased Violence on the Ground

On 8 June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council reviewed and adopted the outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Burma, which took place earlier this year in January. International human rights groups and Burma groups such as the Burma Forum on the Universal Periodic Review (BF-UPR) expressed serious concern regarding the lack of concrete responses to vital recommendations, including those “calling for the protection of civilians in conflict areas and the rights of internally displaced persons,” and the “end [of] the practice of torture by security forces,” amongst many others. As the Asian Legal Resource Centre stated in their statement, “the Council need only look at the recommendations that [Burma] has not accepted to understand the challenges that the UPR faces in attempting to be relevant and effective concerning extreme human rights situations.” […]

Burmese Army Kills Civilian in Mortar Attack on Village

A Burmese Army attack on a civilian village in Karen State, Burma, has killed one civilian and injured two others, including a seven year old boy. By deliberately targeting civilians in the attacks, Thein Sein’s regime has broken international law […]

President Aquino Should Lead Move to Probe Burma

By Patrick Pierce

President Benigno Aquino III, whose father fought and died at the hands of Ferdinand Marcos’ military dictatorship and whose late mother was the leader and inspiration of the People Power uprising that re-established civilian rule and political freedom for Filipinos, should know what the people of neighboring Burma are going through. Despite recent elections and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, Burma’s military still controls political life.

Former military officers have formed the post-election government. Parliament is dominated by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. A quarter of legislators consist of active military officers. The military and those who led the dictatorship remain unaccountable to any independent civilian authority and continue to commit massive violations of civil and political as well as economic and social human rights with impunity […]

Oral Statement to the 17th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

The ALRC is of the opinion that the Council need only look at the recommendations that Myanmar has not accepted to understand the challenges that the UPR faces in attempting to be relevant and effective concerning extreme human rights situations. Myanmar has rejected repeated recommendations to end impunity and to reform its legal system in line with international standards […]