Burma’s Civil Society Calls for Transparency and Inclusiveness in Drafting of the National Human Rights Commission Enabling Law

Fifty-four civil society and community-based organizations and networks from Burma released a statement today welcoming recent efforts to establish the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) through an act of Parliament […]

Statement Calling for a Transparent and Participatory Drafting Process of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission’s Enabling Law

We, the undersigned civil society, community-based organizations and networks, welcome the decision made by the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission to become an institution established under an act of the Parliament in order to fully comply with the Paris Principles and act as an independent institution […]

Statement of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission on Its Establishment and Its Current Status of Functioning

On 16 March 2012, the Speaker of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, based on the opinion of the Joint Bill Committee that the establishment of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) is not consistent with the Constitution and existing laws […]

New Law on Demonstrations Falls Short

Burma’s new law on the right to peaceful assembly falls far short of international standards, Human Rights Watch said today. President Thein Sein signed the assembly law, the Law Relating to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession […]

The International Community Must Support the People of Burma in Their Efforts to Exercise Their Rights

“We’re still on strike. We are fighting for our rights, because we want to be treated fairly” said a female worker representative from the Tai Yi shoe factory in Rangoon, on Wednesday. It has now been more than a week since nearly 2,000 workers went on strike because of the factory’s refusal to pay them for the five days they were prevented from working during Chinese New Year.

“We are being forced to get off our own land and the company is threatening legal action against us. So we have authorized someone to act on our behalf in filing a lawsuit against Khin Shwe” said Kyaw Sein, a farmer who lost 50 acres of land, talking to the Irrawaddy this week.

Farmers from Rangoon’s Mingaladon Township said that they will sue Khin Shwe, the chairman of Zay Kabar Company and a member of the Lower House of Parliament, for allegedly confiscating their farmland […]

Burma’s New Media Law May Fail to Ensure Press Freedom

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) joins the Burma Media Association (BMA) in its concerns that Burma’s proposed new media law may not guarantee freedom of media as the government promised […]

Democracy Will Remain Illusory Unless Burma’s Oppressive Laws Are Repealed

This past week United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, conducted a 6-day visit in the country to assess the human rights situation in light of recent developments. At the end of his visit, he delivered a statement in which, among other things, he underlines the necessity of further legislative reforms.

At the end of last year, the regime adopted the new Labor Organizations Law and the Peaceful Demonstration and Gathering Law. However, as noted by Quintana in the statement he delivered on Sunday, concerns remain about these laws […]