Myanmar: Prosecute Perpetrators, Not Human Rights Defenders Authorities Threaten Media & Critics for Implicating Military in Kachin Killings

(Yangon, February 3, 2015)— Myanmar authorities should stop prosecuting and threatening journalists and human rights defenders for reporting and speaking out about human rights abuses, Fortify Rights said today […]

Religions for Peace Myanmar Statement on sexual violence against two Kachin teachers

Religions for Peace – Myanmar shared its deepest condolence with the bereaved family and is extremely saddened by the rape, torture and killing of Kachin Baptist Convention religious volunteer teachers – Maran Lu Ra and Tangbau Hkawn Nan Tsin, age 20 and 21 at Kawng Hka village, Pansan township, Muse District, Northern Shan State, on the night of 19 January, 2015. Religions for Peace – Myanmar strongly condemns such act of armed and sexual violence in the Christian church compound in Kawng Hka village and to any kind of armed violence […]

Myanmar: Investigate Alleged Rape and Killing of Two Kachin Women

The Myanmar authorities must ensure that a prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigation into the killing and alleged rape of two young Kachin women is carried out. Failure to investigate these allegations and hold those responsible to account would deny the victims and their families justice and contribute to an ongoing climate of impunity for rape and other crimes of sexual violence, in particular in conflict-affected and ethnic minority areas. […]

2 Kachin teachers brutally raped and killed by Burmese Army

Burma Campaign UK has confirmed reports that two ethnic Kachin teachers were raped by Burmese Army soldiers overnight on 19th/20th January.

Burma Campaign UK is calling on the British government to implement provisions in its Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative and dispatch a team of experts to Burma to investigate the case. Burma Campaign UK is also calling on the British government to halt its training of the Burmese Army, which is currently taking place […]

UN Myanmar Rights Expert: Backtracking on Democratic Space Gains Momentum in Election Year

YANGON / GENEVA (19 January 2015) – “Valuable gains made in the area of freedom of expression and assembly risk being lost,” United Nations Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee said at the end of her ten-day official visit* to the country. “Indeed, there are signs that since my last visit, restrictions and harassment on civil society and the media may have worsened.” […]

The Facts are Plain and Stated. It is Time to Act!

The US Special Envoy for Human Rights in Burma, US Assistant Secretary of State Tom Malinowski and his accompanying delegation, completed the second trip of this kind, highlighting the plethora of grave human rights concerns that continue to plague the people of Burma. On the same day, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, also gave a stark analysis of progress in human rights.

The two day, US-Myanmar Human Rights Dialogue visit included meetings with Union ministers in a closed door arrangement in Naypyidaw as well as meetings with civil society in Rangoon and Myitkyina, the capital of war-torn Kachin State. The 10-day trip of Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee also included meetings with various government and civil society representatives, as well as visits to the site of the Letpadaung Copper Mine, Insein Prison, Arakan State, and Lashio, northern Shan State.

Myanmar: UN expert to assess human rights situation in Rakhine and Northern Shan States

GENEVA (5 January 2015) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, will undertake her second official visit to the country from 7-16 January 2015. Ms. Lee will gather first-hand information on the current human rights situation in the Rakhine and Northern Shan States, among other issues […]

Myanmar: Drop Charges Against Father of Slain School-Girl

(Bangkok, December 18, 2014)— Authorities in Myanmar should drop criminal charges against human rights defender Shayam Brang Shawng, said Fortify Rights and five leading international human rights organizations in an open letter to President Thein Sein published today. Brang Shawng, 49, faces two or more years in prison for filing a complaint with the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) that alleged the Myanmar Army was responsible for the death of his 14-year-old ethnic-Kachin daughter, Ja Seng Ing […]