Solidarity for Asian Peoples’ Advocacies (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN Calls on ASEAN to Uphold Human Rights and Investigate Cases of Enforced Disappearances

August 30 marked the International Day of the Victims of Enforced
Disappearance. In solidarity with the victims and families of those
who have been disappeared, the SAPA Working Group on ASEAN urges ASEAN governments to bring an immediate end to enforced disappearances and ensure justice for the victims and their families […]

Rights Groups Call for an End to Enforced Disappearances in ASEAN

Today, on the occasion of International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, we, the undersigned organizations, urge ASEAN member states to end acts of enforced disappearances in Southeast Asia.
Cases of enforced disappearances continue to occur in the region. Victims include human rights defenders as well as ordinary citizens. Enforced disappearances also continue to target vulnerable groups, such as children. Three new cases of enforced disappearance that took place over the past year clearly illustrate this worrying pattern […]

Members of ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, ACT NOW Against Increasing Human Rights Violations in the Region!

The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) calls on the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to ACT NOW against increasing human rights violations in the region […]

Open Letter to Thein Sein Demanding Justice in the Case of Kachin Villager Sumlut Roi Ja

We are writing to demand justice in the case of Kachin villager, Sumlut Roi Ja, aged 28, who has disappeared since being arbitrarily arrested by the Burma Army.

On October 28, 2011, Sumlut Roi Ja was arrested by Burma Army soldiers while farming near her village Hkai Bang, Momauk township, close to the China border. Her husband and father-in-law witnessed her being forced at gunpoint to carry corn to their camp, an outpost of Battalion 321 at Mubum […]

2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Burma

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Burma, with an estimated population of 54 million, is ruled by a highly authoritarian military regime dominated by the majority ethnic Burman group. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), led by Senior General Than Shwe, was the country’s de facto government. Military officers wielded the ultimate authority at each level of government. […]