Kachin Organization’s Statement on Thein Sein Government and Burmese Army Airstrike Attacks Against Kachin Civilians and KIO/KIA

Since June 2011, Burmese troops started war against Kachin Independence Army (KIA) as Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) became a government after 2010 election. Kachin Independence Organization the political wing of KIA sincerely conduct peace talk […]

CSW Urges Burma’s Government to Stop Military Offensive Against Kachin Immidiately

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) today urged Burma’s military to end its offensive against the majority Christian Kachin people in northern Burma immediately, and called on the international community to put pressure on the government of Burma to engage […]

Letter to President Obama Regarding His Trip to Burma

Dear President Obama: We, the undersigned NGOs, are writing to express our grave concern regarding continuing abuses against ethnic groups in Burma and the implications of your planned trip. By going under current circumstances, you take on a lot of responsibility […]

Take Action to Free Brang Yung and Lanpai Gam! No Political Prisoners must be Left Behind in Burma’s Jails!

Brang Yung and Lanpai Gam are two Kachin farmers who have been detained illegally and tortured brutally by the military-backed government in Burma. They were arrested in June 2012 and charged under Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Association Act. Their trials are still continuing at Myitkyina court in Kachin State.

Innocent Civilians Remain in Burma’s Jails – Free Brang Yung and Lanpai Gam!

They were arrested in June 2012 and charged under Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Association Act. Their trials are still continuing at Myitkyina court in Kachin State. They were brutally tortured during interrogations; they were repeatedly beaten, forced to drink water mixed with fuel, burnt and forced to have sexual intercourse with each other

UN Expert: Human Rights Should Lie at the Heart of Myanmar’s Reform Process

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, today highlighted the importance of keeping human rights on the agenda for Myanmar. This, he stressed, is particularly relevant in light of the ongoing violence in Rakhine State […]

China: Stop Expelling Refugees

Forced Return of Kachin to Burma Violates International Law

In late August 2012, the Chinese government forcibly returned at least 4,000 ethnic Kachin refugees to a conflict zone in northern Burma in violation of international law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

Human Rights Watch said that the Chinese government carried out the forced returns without having provided the Kachin refugees a process for determining their claims to refugee status […]

China: Refugees Forcibly Returned to Burma

Thousands of Kachin at Risk From Conflict, Abuses, Aid Shortages 

China should stop its forced returns of thousands of ethnic Kachin refugees to northern Burma, where they are at risk from armed hostilities, Burmese army abuses, and lack of aid […]

Kachin Protest for Refugee’s Release

More than 1,500 people staged a peaceful protest in Myitkyina on Friday calling for the release of a detained Kachin refugee, Lahtaw Brang Shawng, who they say has been brutally tortured by security forces for three days and nights.

The protesters are mostly Christian Kachin locals in the state capital, including youths and women, as well as pastors from Jan Mai Kawng Baptist Church and Kachin Baptist Convention […]

Ban Ki-moon Highlights the Plight of Kachin People as Fighting Intensifies

Last week saw the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, visit Burma and become the first overseas dignitary to speak at the Parliament. He also took the time to consult with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein regarding the nascent changes over the last twelve months. While he was full of praise of recent developments it is important not to lose sight the actual situation for most people in Burma. As Naw May Oo Mutraw, a Karen National Union negotiator, pointed out to journalists in Bangkok last week, “The current reform process is not yet irreversible” and yet the “international community displays its excitement beyond measure.”

An issue of grave concern to Ban Ki-moon, and one in which the international community certainly should not be excited about, is the on-going conflict in Kachin State, which he states is “inconsistent with the successful conclusion of ceasefire agreements with all other major groups.” This inconsistency has manifested itself in around 70,000 refugees, numerous cases of rape, forced labor, child soldiers being forcibly recruited, torture, and the burning of villages in Kachin State by the Burma Army […]