Briefing Paper on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma/Myanmar 25th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council

1.0 Introduction While acknowledging the positive developments that have occurred in some areas relating to human rights in Burma/Myanmar, in other areas, progress has been lacking, while in some others still, significant backsliding has taken place. The areas that have witnessed significant backsliding or lack  of progress include: the continued criminalisation and harassment of political […]

UN Human Rights Council Burma Resolution must not Drop Demands for Action

The content of the next United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution on Burma is currently being discussed by the European Union. Members of the European Burma Network call upon European Union members to ensure the Resolution continues to highlight ongoing human rights abuses in Burma, and continues to call for action by the government of Burma to end these abuses […]

MYANMAR: ABOLISH ABUSIVE RESTRICTIONS & PRACTICES AGAINST ROHINGYA MUSLIMS

The 79-page report, Policies of Persecution: Ending Abusive State Policies Against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, produced by Fortify Rights is based primarily on the analysis of 12 leaked official documents and a review of public records, as well as interviews with Rohingya and others in Myanmar and Thailand. The documents published in the report reveal restrictions that deny Rohingya basic human rights, including the rights to nondiscrimination, freedom of movement, marriage, family, health, and privacy. All of the restrictions and enforcement methods described in the report appear to be in effect at the time of writing.

“Regional Order 1/2005,” obtained by Fortify Rights, lays the foundation for a two-child policy enforced in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships, requiring Rohingya “who have permission to marry” to “limit the number of children, in order to control the birth rate so that there is enough food and shelter.” This order—which in practice translates to a strict two-child policy— also prohibits Rohingya from having children out of wedlock […]

Burma: United Nations Working Group finds that the detention of human rights defender Mr. Htin Kyaw was arbitrary

On December 11, 2013, Burma’s President Thein Sein ordered the release of 41 political prisoners in a presidential amnesty. Among those freed was prominent human rights defender Mr. Htin Kyaw, leader of the Movement for Democracy Current Force (MDCF), an organisation that assists grass-roots communities in their struggle against land-grabbing and other human rights violations. He was re-arrested on the same day on sedition charges and eventually released in another presidential amnesty on December 31, 2013 […]

Communiqué by Heads of Missions of the European Union

1. The embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the EU Delegation have just concluded a four-day mission to Northern Rakhine State. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Government of Myanmar for the excellent cooperation and hospitality extended to us during this mission, and notably to the Union Minister for Border Affairs, Lieutenant General Thet Naing Win, the Chief Minister of Rakhine State, U Hla Maung Tin, and the Deputy Minister of Immigration and Population, U Kyaw Kyaw Win, and their teams […]

Statement From Members Of The European Burma Network

Members of the European Burma Network express their deep concern at reports of further massacres of members of the Rohingya ethnic group in Burma. The report by the United Nations that at least 48 Rohingya men women and children have been killed, and that police were involved, provides yet more evidence that the current approach by both the government of Burma and the European Union to address ongoing abuses against the Rohingya is failing […]

Laphai Gam Detention Illegal Says United Nations

The United Nations Working Group On Arbitrary Detention has issued a ruling that the Burmese government’s detention of Kachin farmer Laphai Gam is arbitrary, and demanded his immediate release. Burma Campaign UK took his case to the United Nations for review last year […]

Myanmar LGBT Rights Network Joins Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Calling for the Decriminalization of Homosexuality in Myanmar

Myanmar LGBT Rights Network warmly welcomes Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent comments calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality in Myanmar. This would be a significant step towards respecting the human rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community and ending deeply engrained homophobic social attitudes and discrimination against LGBT
people in Myanmar […]

UN General Assembly: Establish Clear Benchmarks to Address Continuing Abuses in Myanmar

Wartime Abuses in Kachin State, “Ethnic Cleansing” in Rakhine State, Tens of Thousands Denied Access to Aid

The United Nations General Assembly should adopt a strong and comprehensive resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar to promote much-needed human rights reform in the country, Fortify Rights said today. When it considers a forthcoming resolution on Myanmar, the UN General Assembly should condemn the wide range of ongoing human rights violations by the government and armed forces of Myanmar and provide clear benchmarks for measurable improvement, including establishing the presence of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Myanmar […]

2013 ANNI Report on the Performance and Establishment of National Human Rights Institutions in Asia

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) have become increasingly prominent actors in the national, regional and international human rights arenas. When able to operate independently and effectively, they are important mechanisms that constitute an effective complement to the judiciary and other institutions in the national infrastructure tasked with the promotion and protection of human rights.

2012 (and significant events in the first half of 2013) represented a litmus test for many NHRIs in the region. There were significant events for Asian states: such as budding attempts towards democratic transition; and states that faced internal conflict or communal violence, among others. Often, this involved the complicity of state actors, which renders the fight against impunity a formidable challenge.

This report includes a chapter entitled “Lost in Transition” that looks at the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission […]