Catherine Ashton Urged To Free Thant Zin Htet

Burma Campaign UK today highlights the case of Thant Zin Htet as political prisoner of the month in our No Political Prisoner Left Behind campaign, and urged EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, who oversees the drafting the UN General Assembly Resolution on Burma, to include demands for action in the resolution which will help solve the problem of political prisoners once and for all […]

Rule By Law: An Analysis of the Use of Legislation to Stifle Civil Society Space in Burma

This paper is primarily an analysis of the raft of legislation that is in the process of being pushed through parliament to target HRDs, activists, protestors and CSOs, and the threat that such legislation poses to their fundamental rights – which Burma is legally bound to respect and protect under the 2008 Constitution. This paper will also look at the current situation of political prisoners to demonstrate how the legislation is being misused in collaboration with a compliant judiciary and the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission […]

Burma Update: Serious Crimes Continue

This briefing paper summarizes crimes that have been committed in Burma over the last year. It details the ongoing abuses and restrictions against Rohingyas, continuing anti-muslim violence, restrictive legislations being used to arrest and prosecute activists, farmed and human rights defenders, and the Burma Army’s offensives against the Kachin Independence Army and other non-state armed groups despite peace agreements.

Burma’s Draft Association Law: A Smokescreen for Further Repression?

One of the main hopes for Burma’s recent political reforms has been for a vibrant, open and flourishing civil society – a vital component of any healthy democracy and an enabling environment for sustainable development. For Burma’s people to feel invested in its country’s political, economic and social development, they must be allowed to participate and they must be empowered. Yet participation and empowerment cannot happen if there are onerous or arbitrary restrictions on the right to freedom of association.

It was therefore disheartening to see the draft Association Law, published by the Public Affairs Management Committee on 27 July in a state-run newspaper. The draft law violated constitutional and international standards of free association, with international law permitting only limited and narrowly defined exceptions. It also flouted accepted international standards for laws on associations or not-for-profit organisations. The draft law made registration compulsory rather than voluntary, with unregistered associations prohibited from operating and facing disproportionate and draconian penalties of up to three years in prison as well as hefty fines for establishing or even participating in an unregistered association. In fact, the law would have needed to have been almost entirely redrafted to comply with international standards […]

Upper House approves Human Rights Commission Bill

The Upper House Parliament has approved the controversial Human Rights Commission Bill on August 28.

The bill, proposed by the Presidential Office Deputy Minister U That Shin, has been severely criticized by social organizations […]

Myanmar Civil Society Meeting Legislature on Proposed Association Draft Law

The representatives of 281 civil society organizations, community based organizations and networks from upper and lower Myanmar held the meeting with Hluttaw representatives on August 15 in Nyapyitaw regarding the proposed Association Draft Law. This is the outcome of the Myanmar civil society organizations’ efforts reaching out to the Legislature and raising […]

Myanmar: UN Special Rapporteur in Official Visit to Assess Human Rights Situation Countrywide

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, will undertake an official visit to the country from 11 to 21 August 2013. It will include visits to Rakhine State, Kachin State, Shan State, Chin State and Meikhtila in Mandalay Region […]

Update on Progress of Response by Myanmar Civil Society Organizations on Draft Association Law

On 27 July 2013, draft Association Law prepared by Public Affair Management Committee (PAMC) of the People Assembly was published with a notice for the public to study and comment before it is submitted to the parliament for discussion. On 31 July, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from Yangon and Mandalay held workshops in their own […]

Civil Society Recommendations on the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission Law

On August 2, 38 civil society organizations, community-based organizations and networks from Burma send to Thura U Shwe Mann, Union Parliament Speaker, recommendations and proposed amendments to the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) draft law in order to ensure the MNHRC’s independence […]

Parliament Must Delay Deliberation on the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission Law

The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) Law will be discussed in the Upper House of Parliament on Monday 29 July 2013. The draft legislation was published in the state-run newspaper The Mirror on 7 July 2013, giving less than one month for civil society and the public to provide recommendations […]