HRC28, Item 4 : Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma/Myanmar, Ms. Yanghee Lee

8th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council Oral Statement Delivered by Khin Ohmar on behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) […]

28th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council: Oral Statement Delivered by Khin Ohmar on behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

Thank you, Mr. President. FORUM-ASIA, in solidarity with Equality Myanmar and Burma Partnership welcomes the Special Rapporteur’s report […]

Ethnic Cleansing of the Rohingya: Obama’s Duty is ASEAN’s Shame

KUALA LUMPUR — With Barack Obama gracing the halls of Naypyidaw this week, the world has quite rightly been calling loudly for the President of the United States of America to raise concerns regarding the backslide in human rights and democracy in Myanmar, not least of which being the institutionalized persecution and ethnic cleansing of the country’s Rohingya minority. […]

Only One Side of the Story of Reform in Burma

By Khin Ohmar

The statement by Burma’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wunna Maung Lwin, on 13 September at the 24th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, on the country’s recent reforms or “progressive developments,” made for interesting reading. Indeed, it seems to suit many, not least the Burma government, to impose a simplistic narrative on events in the country over the last two years. Yet such a narrative is only one side of the story […]

More cooperation vital to protect refugees

By Khin Ohmar

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and community-based organisations working on Myanmar refugee issues have not always seen eye to eye.

Community-based organisations in the past have criticised the UNHCR for not being transparent about its discussions with the governments of Myanmar and Thailand over their plans for the refugees. The community groups also believe it has not recognised the important role they can play in the planning and decision-making processes leading to the eventual return of refugees to Myanmar […]

Hastily Introduced World Bank Projects Threaten to Undermine Peace Process in Burma

By Khin Ohmar

In late 2012 the World Bank announced its first lending to Burma (also known as Myanmar) in over 20 years. The $80 million grant, to be implemented by the Ministry of Border Affairs, is for community driven development (CDD) projects that are aiming to provide tangible benefits to communities, including those affected by decades of conflict in Burma. The concern among many grassroots activists, however, is that the areas to which this money will be funnelled are still in the earliest stages of the peace process, and that huge influxes of money will undermine efforts for sustainable peace.

On 22 January the Bank’s board will consider its second round of loans to Burma, through a $440 million development policy loan called the ‘Reengagement and reform support programme’. Its objectives are: “to support Myanmar’s critical reforms for strengthening macroeconomic stability, improving public financial management, and improving the investment climate” and to “facilitate the clearance of Myanmar’s arrears to IDA”. This money will flow through the ministry of finance […]

Video: Khin Ohmar’s Burma Trip Conclusion (Interview)

Khin Ohmar talks to Radio Free Asia’s Reporter at the conclusion of her first Burma visit in 24 years.

Statement on My Exchange and Assessment Trip to Burma

As my home country of Burma has begun to open up and I was recently removed from the blacklist, I have decided to take the opportunity to see the situation of the people with my own eyes and listen to their voices directly. Thus I have applied for, and received, a visa to enter Burma for the first time in 24 years […]

Refugees deserve right to choose when to return home

By Khin Ohmar

‘When I met Burmese migrant workers and refugees during my recent visit to Thailand, many cried out: ‘Don’t forget us!”‘ said Aung San Suu Kyi as the world watched her deliver her acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded 21 years ago.

“They meant: ‘don’t forget our plight, don’t forget to do what you can to help us, don’t forget we also belong to your world,”‘ she explained.

The timing could not have been better – today is World Refugee Day.

Today, let us not forget them. Instead, let us remember why people left Myanmar. Let us listen to their voices as rhetoric about positive changes in Myanmar threatens to drown them out […]

Curb Your Burma Enthusiasm

Economic development without political protections will damage the fragile human rights situation.

By Khin Ohmar

The giddy promise of investment and re-engagement with Burma is blinding the West, as well as its Asian neighbors, to the realities of the once-pariah nation.

For many Burmese, the concept of development has long been associated with corruption, human rights abuses, a lack of local ownership and environmental degradation. Before the world hurries to participate in the imminent gold rush in this resource-rich country, impartial observers need to be sure that impediments to sound, ethical development have been eradicated. But I fear that it is too late […]