UN News Centre: UN Refugee Agency Seeks $13 Million to Beef Up Protections for Boat Arrivals in Southeast Asia

The United Nations refugee agency today announced that it is seeking $13 million to help with the needs of new boat arrivals to countries in Southeast Asia, where thousands of refugees and migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh have been risking their lives by crossing the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea […]

Burmese Democracy Activist Sentenced to Two Years Imprisonment on Defamation Charges

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is concerned at reports that Htin Lin Oo, the former information officer of the National League for Democracy (NLD), has been handed a two-year prison sentence following his conviction on charges of insulting religion […]

UNHCR : Plan of Action-Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea

An estimated 63,000 people are believed to have traveled by boat in an irregular and dangerous way in the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea in 2014. Another 25,000 joined them in the first quarter of 2015. They are part of a complex, mixed migratory movement composed of refugees, stateless people and economic migrants. Unregulated and, until recently, inconspicuous, the scale of the movement has tripled since 2012 and the level and scale of abuse suffered by voyagers is unprecedented in recent times.

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” […]

Two New Briefers Expose Failings with Myanmar’s First Special Economic Zone

June 2 2015, Yangon, Myanmar — EarthRights International (ERI) found serious flaws relating to land rights, resettlement, and environmental protection in the planning and development of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near Yangon, Myanmar. These flaws and their impacts on displaced communities and the surrounding environment are documented in two new briefers publicly released today […]

Htin Lin Oo Jailed for Criticising Religious Extremism

Today, the military-backed government in Burma sentenced a writer, Htin Lin Oo, to two years hard labour for criticising religious extremism in Burma. Burma Campaign UK urged Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond to pressure the Burmese government to ensure the immediate unconditional release of Htin Lin Oo and the remaining political prisoners in Burma […]

Analysis of the Affected Communities’ Rights and Remedies Under Myanmar Law and JICA’s Guidelines

EarthRights International (ERI) found serious flaws relating to land rights, resettlement, and environmental protection in the planning and development of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ) near Yangon, Myanmar. These flaws and their impacts on displaced communities and the surrounding environment are documented in two new briefers […]

A Regional Solution to the Refugee Crisis Must Address Root Causes

On 29 May 2015, Thailand hosted the long-awaited Special Meeting on Irregular Migration to address the unfolding refugee crisis in the Andaman Sea. The talks brought together representatives from 19 nations mainly in the ASEAN region, along with delegates from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). At the time of the meeting, the Arakan Project has reported that at least 6,000 refugees, mainly Rohingya, are unaccounted for and likely stranded at sea. Victims of discrimination and denied even basic human rights back in Burma, these individuals are risking malnourishment, dehydration, and abuse in order to escape repressed lives under the Burma Government.

As more and more refugees are rescued from the squalid conditions at sea, survivor accounts have begun to emerge. Human Rights Watch recently published accounts that detail the dangerous journey from Burma, including stories involving traffickers intentionally abusing the refugees in order to hasten ransom demands, being forced at gunpoint into departing refugee boats, and the cramped and overcrowded conditions of the boats used to transport the refugees. A 16-year-old Rohingya girl described her experience on board the refugee boat, “When I got to the big boat … I cannot explain my feeling I was so scared. We were about 16 people in one small room. The doors were always locked. The smugglers put the food and water through a small hole, we never saw them.” […]

Southeast Asia: Put Rights at Center of Boat People Summit

(Bangkok, May 28, 2015) – Governments gathering in Bangkok on May 29, 2015, to discuss the Southeast Asia boat people crisis should reach binding agreements to save people at sea, permit them to disembark without conditions, and ensure unimpeded access for United Nations agencies to protect the rights of asylum seekers, Human Rights Watch said today […]

Woman Activist in Burma Jailed with Hard Labour for Protesting Peacefully – Free Naw Ohn Hla (Again)

Burma Campaign UK today urged Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire MP to call in the Burmese ambassador to Britain to question him regarding why people are still being arrested under the so-called right to protest law in Burma. Burma Campaign UK also urged the Foreign Office Minister to demand the military-backed government to reform the Prisoners of Conscience Affairs Committee, and ensure the immediate release of Naw Ohn Hla and the remaining political prisoners in Burma […]