Burma: War Crimes Against Convict Porters

Rampant Abuse of Prison Labor Shows Need for UN Inquiry

The Burmese army’s abusive treatment of convicts who are forced to serve as porters under dangerous front-line conditions constitutes war crimes, Human Rights Watch and the Karen Human Rights Group said in a joint report released today […]

Dead Men Walking: Convict Porters on the Front Lines in Eastern Burma

This 70-page report details abuses against convict porters including summary executions, torture, and the use of the convicts as “human shields” […]

Trafficking in Persons Report 2011

Burma is a source country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and for women and children subjected to sex trafficking in other countries. Burmese children are forced to labor as hawkers and beggars in Thailand. Many Burmese men, women, and children who migrate for work in Thailand, Malaysia, China, Bangladesh, India, and South Korea are subjected to conditions of forced labor or sex trafficking in these countries […]

CHRO welcomes ILO’s visit to Chin State

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) today welcomes the visit this week by the International Labor Organization (ILO) to Chin State to raise awareness about the issue of forced labor with the local authorities. In a State where more than 90 percent […]

Chinese and Korean Gas and Oil Projects Linked to Land Confiscations, Violations of Indigenous Rights, Torture, and Corruption in Burma (Myanmar)

Leading multinational companies from China, South Korea, and India have begun construction of massive oil and gas pipelines across Burma that are connected to widespread land confiscation, violations of indigenous rights, cases of arbitrary arrest, detention and torture, and forced labor, according to a new publication released today by EarthRights International (ERI). ERI is calling on the oil companies involved in the pipelines to immediately postpone their operations, and for the Burmese authorities to enact a moratorium on development in the oil, gas, mining, and hydropower sectors until preconditions for responsible investment are in place and the people of Burma can meaningfully participate in development decisions […]

The Burma-China Pipelines: Human Rights Violations, Applicable Law, and Revenue Secrecy

EarthRights International (ERI) today issued a damning report linking major Chinese and Korean companies to widespread land confiscation, and cases of forced labor, arbitrary arrest, detention and torture, and violations of indigenous rights connected to the Shwe natural gas project and oil transport projects in Burma (Myanmar). The publication, The Burma-China Pipelines: Human Rights Violations, Applicable Law, and Revenue Secrecy, draws primarily on two years of clandestine interviews with affected populations from Arakan State, Magway Division, and Mandalay Division, as well as leaked documents that provide new insight into secretive payments between the oil companies and the military regime, controversial security arrangements, and inadequate corporate due diligence […]

CSW Renews Call for UN Inquiry into Crimes Against Humanity in Burma Following New Evidence of Violations in Chin State

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) welcomes the release today of a major new report highlighting human rights violations against the Chin people in Burma, just over a week before Burma is due for a Universal Periodic Review of its human rights record at the United Nations.

The report, Life under the Junta: Evidence of Crimes against Humanity in Burma’s Chin State, published by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), winners of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, provides further evidence of crimes against humanity perpetrated by Burma’s military regime […]

New Evidence of Abuses in Burma’s Chin State Strengthens Call for UN Commission of Inquiry

The Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) today welcomed a new report published by Nobel Peace Prize winning organization Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), “Life Under the Junta: Evidence of Crimes Against Humanity in Burma’s Chin State.”

Using innovative population-based methods to document human rights violations in all nine townships of Chin State, researchers found that almost 92 percent of households surveyed had experienced forced labour at least once in the year prior to interviews […]

Trade Unions Call on ASEM to Act on Burma

Trade unions from across Asia and Europe, gathered in Brussels in for o the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Leaders’ Summit are calling on ASEM Leaders to take action on Burma, including demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and the ending of attacks on the civilian population, particularly ethnic communities and democracy supporters […]

Report on the Human Rights Situation in Burma: January – July 2010

This report provides up-to date information on human rights violations and highlights pressing issues and trends within the country including election-related human rights violations in the pre-election period […]