Submission to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review on Refugees and Displaced Persons Burma/Myanmar

1. This submission focuses on Burma’s compliance with international human rights obligations in relation to Burma’s refugees and displaced persons safe, dignified and voluntary return. It draws on interviews conducted with a mixture of semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups with refugees from Mae La, Umpiem Mai, Ban Nai Soi, and Mae Ra Ma Luang refugee camps including women, youth and religious minority groups, Mon, Karenni, and Karen civil society groups, ethnic armed groups (EAGs), refugee committees, and international non-governmental organizations […]

WCRP releases “Inaccessible and Under-Resourced: Concerns Over Education in Rural Mon Communities”

Moulmein, Mon State: Today, at a presentation in Mon State capital Moulmein, the Women and Child Rights Project (WCRP), a project of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) released a report entitled “Inaccessible and Under-Resourced: Concerns Over Education in Rural Mon Communities” […]

WCRP releases “Inaccessible and Under-Resourced: Concerns Over Education in Rural Mon Communities”

Moulmein, Mon State: At a presentation in Mon State capital Moulmein, the Women and Child Rights Project (WCRP), a project of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) released a report entitled “Inaccessible and Under-Resourced: Concerns Over Education in Rural Mon Communities” […]

Land Policies and Laws Must Reflect Rights and Interests of Vulnerable Communities

Amid the various serious issues currently dominating the headlines about Burma – including the upcoming elections, the escalation in fighting between the Burma Army and ethnic armies, the recent crackdown on workers’ protests, this year’s student marches, and ongoing religious tensions – it is important that people do not lose sight of the land issue. Like other developing South-East Asian countries, Burma is grappling with the sticky and complex problems of land ownership, rights and use. As is often the case, it is the poor and marginalized communities who are most vulnerable to exploitation and human rights abuses, particularly small-scale farmers in Burma’s beleaguered ethnic regions.

This month Human Rights Foundation of Monland-Burma (HURFOM) released a report titled “Yearning to be Heard: Mon Farmers’ Continued Struggle for Acknowledgement and Protection of their Rights” – a follow-up to their 2013 report “Disputed Territory: Mon Farmers’ Fight Against Unjust Land Acquisition and Barriers to Their Progress.” It argues that “continuing barriers to progress lie primarily in the country’s broken land management system, the failures of recent land laws to secure the protection of farmers’ land rights, the failure of government bodies and authorities to perform their responsibilities unbiased from military influence, and the total impunity of the military due to the independent structure of the courts-martial.” A salient example of such impunity, mentioned in the report, is the confiscation of more than 2,000 acres of rubber plantation in Thanbyuzayat Township, Mon State, over the past year. Regrettably, such land rights abuses betray the paltry extent to which the Burma Government is able to influence the Burma Army and rein in its illegal activities […]

Yearning to be Heard: Mon Farmers’ Continued Struggle for Acknowledgement and Protection of their Rights

Land conflict is the most pressing issue facing Burma today, second only to armed conflict. Though Burma’s emerging democratic government has introduced land policy reform and has established land investigation commissions aimed to resolve land conflicts, civilian land acquisition by the Burmese military continues to take place, particularly in Burma’ minority ethnic areas.

Yearning to be Heard: Mon Farmers’ Continued Struggle for Acknowledgement and Protection of their Rights

Land conflict is the most pressing issue facing Burma today, second only to armed conflict. Though Burma’s emerging democratic government has introduced land policy reform and has established land investigation commissions aimed to resolve land conflicts, civilian land acquisition by the Burmese military continues to take place, particularly in Burma’ minority ethnic areas […]

Protection and Security Concerns in South East Burma/ Myanmar

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The peace process in Burma/Myanmar1 is at a critical juncture from which it could evolve into a transformative national dialogue or splinter into a divisive charade. While hopes for substantive and inclusive discussion about structural injustice remain, ongoing militarisation and attacks by the national armed forces2 are undermining the confidence of ethnic stakeholders. This report seeks to highlight the protection and security concerns of conflict-affected communities. […]

New National Land Use Policy Must Reflect the Concerns of those Affected

The Burma Government released its draft land use policy document and opened it up for consultations with the public. Despite this positive sign, the time for consultations is inadequate with no proper mechanism or space created for the meaningful participation of affected communities in order for their concerns to be reflected in the draft. The draft document itself has been heavily criticized for serving to further empower investors over small scale farmers.

Since the beginning of the reform process in 2011, land grabbing, a practice that the previous military regime engaged in regularly, has hit new heights as a flurry of investors seek opportunities in previously untapped markets and the Burma Government liberalizes the economy. A prime example of this is the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Project, a joint Thailand–Burma Government initiative that is seeking private investment to create one of the largest industrial zones in Asia. A report released by Dawei Development Association on 21 October 2014 highlights how 20-36 villages will be negatively affected. Concerns iterated by the local communities show that they have “lost farmlands and natural resources that are vital to their livelihoods, without prior information.” Furthermore “there was no meaningful consultation, and a deeply flawed compensation process.”

Land grabbing is often done with protection from the military, or by the military itself, for factories, infrastructure projects, mono-crop plantations, or military bases, and as with the Dawei SEZ case, usually without adequate or indeed, any compensation. It is a nationwide problem, both in ethnic areas, as documented by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland and Karen Human Rights Group, while in central Burma and delta areas, land grabbing is common place. Given that around 70% of the population of Burma is engaged in agriculture, and it is agricultural lands that are most often confiscated, it is one of the most pressing issues for Burma today […]

In Pursuit of Justice: Reflections on the Past and Hopes for the Future of Burma

A. INTRODUCTION

Since 2011, Burma has begun to emerge from 50 dark years of dictatorship. Now, under President Thein Sein’s nominally civilian government the possibility has arisen for Burma to begin rebuilding and reconciling divided segments of the nation, and to provide justice to victims for decades of human rights abuses.

Burma’s minority ethnic communities have experienced grave human rights abuse at the hands of the SPDC regime and its strong arm of the Burmese military, or Tatmadaw. In order to transition successfully towards true democracy and national reconciliation, the Burmese government must address, and act upon, the specific needs expressed by victims of past abuse, documented and expounded herein, in order to move away from the abusive culture of the past towards a united future.

Within this report you will find a detailed history of Burma’ ethnic conflict, how that conflict has been sewn into the very fabric of the SPDC regime’s ideology and governing strategy, and ways in which the Tatmadaw has implemented the regime’s strategy by crippling livelihoods, physically and mentally abusing, and destroying the security of Burma’s minority ethnic communities […]

HURFOM Releases the Report of “In Pursuit of Justice: Reflections on the Past and Hopes for the Future of Burma”

In order for Burma to successfully transition towards genuine democracy and national reconciliation, the Burmese government must address, and act upon, the specific needs expressed by victims of past human rights abuse, says the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) in a report released this morning. The 90-page report, titled In Pursuit of Justice: Reflections on the past and hopes for the future of Burma, details the history of human rights violations perpetrated in Burma’s ethnic minority areas, and analyzes how to repair the relationship between the government and citizens to rebuild trust and move through a peaceful transition towards a united future Burma […]