Bangladesh: Stop Boat Push-backs to Burma

Children Among Those Facing Forced Return on World Refugee Day

The government of Bangladesh should stop forcibly returning ethnic Rohingya fleeing sectarian violence back to, Human Rights Watch said today. At least 18 Rohingya asylum seekers, including three young children, are in immediate danger of being forcibly returned to Burma on World Refugee Day, June 20 […]

Burma: Protect Muslim, Buddhist Communities at Risk

The government of Burma should take all necessary steps to protect communities at risk in Arakan State after violence between Buddhists and Muslims in western Burma left an unknown number dead, Human Rights Watch said today. The government has taken inadequate steps to stop sectarian-violence between Arakan Buddhists and ethnic Rohingya Muslims, or to bring those responsible to justice.

Human Rights Watch urged the government to permit prompt access to international journalists, aid workers, and diplomats […]

US/Burma: Don’t Lift Sanctions Too Soon

Safeguards Needed Before Allowing Investment, Financial Services

The US government should not ease sanctions on business activities in Burma until adequate safeguards are in place to prevent new investment from fueling human rights abuses. A US presidential order imposing a ban on investment and financial services in Burma is scheduled to expire on May 20, 2012, unless it is renewed or revised […]

The ASEAN Human Rights Declaration: Drafts must be published and subject to meaningful consultations with local, national and regional civil society and human rights defenders

We, the undersigned international human rights organizations, are concerned that the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) has yet to take the necessary steps to ensure that the process of drafting the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration […]

Burma: By-Elections a Step, but Not Real Reform

Burma’s April 1, 2012 by-elections are a step forward, but are not a real test of the government’s commitment to democratic reform, Human Rights Watch said today. “April’s by-election in Burma will almost certainly bring opposition […]

Untold Miseries: Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Kachin State

In his March 2011 inauguration speech, Burmese President Thein Sein emphasized the importance of ending Burma’s several ethnic armed conflicts, declaring that more than 60 years of ethnic warfare in Burma were due to “dogmatism, sectarian strife, and racism.” Burma’s ethnic minorities had, he said […]

Burma: Reforms Yet to Reach Kachin State

The Burmese government has committed serious abuses and blocked humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of displaced civilians since June 2011, in fighting in Burma’s northern Kachin State, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today […]

New Law on Demonstrations Falls Short

Burma’s new law on the right to peaceful assembly falls far short of international standards, Human Rights Watch said today. President Thein Sein signed the assembly law, the Law Relating to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession […]

World Bank: Emphasize Civil Participation in Burma

The World Bank should promote civil society participation in proposed development programs in Burma, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the World Bank released today […]

Burma Rights Body Lays into HRW Report

Burma’s government-formed rights commission says a recent report spotlighting ongoing abuses by the Burmese army is “unreasonable” and fails to acknowledge progress in the country over the past nine months.

Human Rights Watch said in its annual global report yesterday that troops “[continue] to violate international humanitarian law through the use of anti-personnel landmines, extrajudicial killings, forced labor, torture, beatings, and pillaging of property” […]