Burma/Myanmar Delegation Expresses Support for the Special Rapporteur’s Report to the UN Human Rights Council

Geneva, Switzerland A panel discussion held on the sidelines of the 22nd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday looked at the recommendations made by Tomás Ojea Quintana, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma/Myanmar, in his report to the Council and supported the need for further […]

Joint Oral Statement to the 22nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council

Mr. President:

Lawyers Rights Watch Canada, Lawyers for Lawyers and Asian Legal Resource Centre welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur.[1] We share his appreciation of the progress towards recognition of human rights in Myanmar,[2] including the release of some prisoners of conscience […]

Oral Statement at the Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma/Myanmar

Thank you, Mr. President. FORUM-ASIA, in association with its member organisation Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) and Burma Partnership, welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur (A/HRC/22/43) which demonstrates the need for sustained attention of this Council on the human rights situation in the country. The Special Rapporteur’s present mandate must be maintained even in the context of the positive developments as serious human rights violations remain unaddressed […]

Human Rights Council: Maintain Scrutiny of Burma

International Pressure Needed on Minority Rights, Political Prisoners, Laws

The United Nations Human Rights Council should retain its current level of scrutiny of Burma’s still poor human rights situation, Human Rights Watch said today. The draft resolution on Burma for the council’s present session should continue the mandate […]

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar was established pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/58, and was recently extended by Human Rights Council resolution 19/21. The present report is submitted pursuant to Council resolution 19/21 and General Assembly resolution 67/233, and covers human rights developments in Myanmar since the Special Rapporteur’s report to the Council (A/HRC/19/67) in March 2012 and to the Assembly (A/67/383) in October 2012 […]

BROUK Welcomes Statement of Tomás Ojea Quintana and Urges International Community to Take Immediate Action

On 16 February 2013, following a five-day mission to Burma, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Tomás Ojea Quintana expressed his concern about the “profound crisis” in Arakan state. He highlighted the lack of adequate health care in the larger Rohingya Muslim […]

Myanmar: “Reforms Continue Apace, But Key Human Rights Issues Remain Unaddressed” – UN Expert

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, commended the progress achieved so far by the reform process in Myanmar, but called on the Government to urgently address a number of human rights issues […]

Same Constitution, Same Problems

The Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, finished his 7th visit to Burma on Saturday and his report highlights the grave human rights concerns in Burma today. The escalation of conflict in Kachin State, communal violence in Arakan State, the continuing detention and torture of political prisoners, land confiscation due to development projects, restrictions on freedom of association and assembly are among the poor human rights conditions stated in his report. The scale of such human rights violations, in spite of the reforms initiated by the government, emphasizes the necessity of the role of the Special Rapporteur.

Many of the human rights violations that Quintana reported have a direct obstacle in the path of correcting these abuses: the 2008 Constitution. The 2008 Constitution was written by the military without Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy or genuine representation from Burma’s ethnic areas. It was described by the 88 Generation Students Group as a “sham constitution” and through corruption, fraud and intimidation, the ruling junta outrageously claimed that 92% of the people who voted ratified the document […]

Statement of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar

I have just concluded my five-day mission to Myanmar – my seventh visit to the country since I was appointed Special Rapporteur in March 2008. I would like to express my appreciation to the Government of Myanmar for its invitation, and for the cooperation and flexibility shown during my visit, in particular for my visits to Rakhine State and Kachin State […]

ASEAN Must Support Efforts to Renew Mandate for UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Myanmar

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today called on Indonesia and other ASEAN member states to support calls for the United Nations Human Rights Council to maintain its resolution and renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for human rights on Myanmar to continue to monitor the situation there […]