Annual Report 2012: Myanmar

The government enacted limited political and economic reforms, but human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in ethnic minority areas increased during the year. Some of these amounted to crimes against humanity or war crimes […]

Report on the Human Rights Situation in Burma – January to September 2011

The periodic report of the Network for Human Rights Documentation–Burma (ND-Burma) documents the human rights situation in Burma during the period January–September 2011. The ND-Burma periodic reports provide up-to-date information on human rights violations (HRVs) and highlight pressing issues and trends within the country. The information gathered covers 16 categories of human rights violations (HRVs), documented in all 14 states and regions across Burma […]

ND-Burma Periodic Report demonstrates that human rights situation in Burma remains dire

The Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma) has released a periodic report which has documented the human rights situations in Burma during the period January – September 2011. The report documents 261 cases of human rights violations committed by the government and its supporters in the 14 states and regions throughout Burma […]

Burma Army Attacks Church in Kachin State, Shooting and Torturing Worshippers

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has today received a report from sources inside Kachin State, Burma alleging that soldiers from the Burma Army shot at worshippers in a church in Wai Maw Township two days ago […]

Kachin Churches Attacked, Women Raped and Civilians Killed by Military While Regime Talks of Reform

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is deeply concerned by reports that the Burma Army are directly attacking churches in Kachin State, beating pastors and church members, setting homes alight and raping, torturing and killing civilians.

According to CSW’s sources, on 16 October soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 438 seized control of a Roman Catholic Church in Namsan Yang village, Waimaw township, where 23 worshippers, mostly women and elderly people, had gathered for the 8am Sunday service […]

Imprisoned for Reporting

A legal analysis of the cases of five Burmese video-journalists, who remain in prison despite the release of some 200 political prisoners by the Burmese government, discloses flagrant breaches of human rights. The Note, by the Centre for Law and Democracy, found widespread abuses of the rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom from torture. The violations result from both the Burmese government’s abusive application of laws that restrict freedom of expression, and their capricious application of broader legislation to target political opponents […]

Burma: War Crimes Against Convict Porters

Rampant Abuse of Prison Labor Shows Need for UN Inquiry

The Burmese army’s abusive treatment of convicts who are forced to serve as porters under dangerous front-line conditions constitutes war crimes, Human Rights Watch and the Karen Human Rights Group said in a joint report released today […]

Dead Men Walking: Convict Porters on the Front Lines in Eastern Burma

This 70-page report details abuses against convict porters including summary executions, torture, and the use of the convicts as “human shields” […]

Chinese and Korean Gas and Oil Projects Linked to Land Confiscations, Violations of Indigenous Rights, Torture, and Corruption in Burma (Myanmar)

Leading multinational companies from China, South Korea, and India have begun construction of massive oil and gas pipelines across Burma that are connected to widespread land confiscation, violations of indigenous rights, cases of arbitrary arrest, detention and torture, and forced labor, according to a new publication released today by EarthRights International (ERI). ERI is calling on the oil companies involved in the pipelines to immediately postpone their operations, and for the Burmese authorities to enact a moratorium on development in the oil, gas, mining, and hydropower sectors until preconditions for responsible investment are in place and the people of Burma can meaningfully participate in development decisions […]

The Burma-China Pipelines: Human Rights Violations, Applicable Law, and Revenue Secrecy

EarthRights International (ERI) today issued a damning report linking major Chinese and Korean companies to widespread land confiscation, and cases of forced labor, arbitrary arrest, detention and torture, and violations of indigenous rights connected to the Shwe natural gas project and oil transport projects in Burma (Myanmar). The publication, The Burma-China Pipelines: Human Rights Violations, Applicable Law, and Revenue Secrecy, draws primarily on two years of clandestine interviews with affected populations from Arakan State, Magway Division, and Mandalay Division, as well as leaked documents that provide new insight into secretive payments between the oil companies and the military regime, controversial security arrangements, and inadequate corporate due diligence […]