Uncertain Ground: Landmine Use in Eastern Burma

This report focuses on field information received between January and December 2011. Key updates relating to the use of landmines in 2012 were also included, however due to the sheer volume of information that KHRG regularly receives, all field information received since the beginning of 2012 has […]

International Community Neglects to Take a Stand as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens in Kachin State

In a week where the US has significantly eased sanctions against Burma, the plight of the Kachin people remains perilous as the humanitarian situation caused by Burma Army attacks worsens.

The Chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) wrote a letter to UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, urging him to do more to help the tens of thousands of Kachin refugees who are suffering from the conflict. The letter speaks of “ethnic cleansing” by the Burma Army and appeals to take action to prevent the situation becoming more “complex.” The Chairman encourages Ban Ki-moon to “facilitate visits by UN personnel to conflict zones and IDP camps in Kachin State, so that appropriate assistance can be arranged and provided to the IDPs.”

With this appeal it is apparent the people of Kachin State are in a dire situation. Human rights abuses such as torture, forced labour and abductions are commonplace while the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand (KWAT) issued a press release documenting an example of such atrocities whereby an ethnic Kachin woman, a 48 year old mother of twelve, was gang-raped by Burma Army soldiers earlier this month. According to KWAT, “About ten troops beat her with rifle butts, stabbed her with knives, stripped her naked and gang-raped her over a period of three days in the church.” As hundreds of cases have been well documented and reported by women organizations from Burma, the Burma Army uses rape as a weapon of war in its offensives against various ethnic resistance groups over the years. Over 60 cases have been documented since the conflict started in Kachin State nearly one year ago […]

KIO Chairman’s Letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The KIO Central Committee of the Kachin People in Burma, would like to express its deep appreciation to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for the historic steps taken during his visit to Burma, April, 29, 2012 to May, 1, 2012. During that time, the Secretary General met with […]

Burma Army Intensifies Attacks in Kachin State Despite Reforms

Even as Burma is opening up, the Burma Army is intensifying its attacks in Kachin State, where thousands have been displaced amid a humanitarian crisis. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received reports detailing 126 clashes […]

Indian Civil Societies Urge the Prime Minister of India to Sincerely Engage with Burma

Today, Burma Centre Delhi submitted a memorandum on behalf of Indian civil society groups to the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singhbefore his upcoming landmark visit to Burma. The memorandum conveys important message […]

Human Rights Groups Resist State Department Efforts to Prematurely Reward the Burmese Regime

Nine human rights organizations are calling on the United States government to prioritize democracy and human rights in Burma by exercising caution when it comes to the relaxation of sanctions. In a letter to President Obama dated April 24, 2012, the groups urge […]

UN Security Council Must Address War Crimes in Burma

As the United Nations Security Council meets today to discuss developments in Burma, Burma Campaign UK called on Council members to address attacks against ethnic minority civilians by the Burmese Army, which have escalated in the past year […]

Statement from the Burma/Myanmar Delegation to the ACSC/APF 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Burma/Myanmar’s workshop, along with three other workshops, was not allowed to take place at the ACSC/APF 2012. Rather, the organizers were forced to move the workshops to another location […]

Burma Army Burns Villagers’ Homes to the Ground

Burma Army soldiers burnt down the homes of six villagers in Nam San Yang Township in Burma’s Kachin State, near the China-Burma border, on 25 March 2012. The soldiers belong to the Tatmadaw 388 Light Infantry Division, which has been terrorizing civilians in Kachin State […]

CSW Returns from Kachin State with Evidence of Continuing Grave Human Rights Violations

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) returned this week from a three-week fact-finding visit to Rangoon and Kachin State on the China-Burma border, where the CSW team recorded evidence of grave human rights violations […]