Myanmar: Take Immediate Steps to Safeguard against Torture

On International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, Amnesty International calls on the Myanmar authorities to take swift and concrete steps to safeguard against torture.

As a first step, Amnesty International calls on the Myanmar government to fulfil – as a matter of priority – its public commitment to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Ratification would be an important step towards eradicating torture and other ill treatment, and ensuring that victims and their families can access justice and other effective remedies for the harm they have suffered […]

Myanmar: Three Years on, Conflict Continues in Kachin State

Three years after the Myanmar armed forces resumed offensive military operations in Kachin state, Amnesty International joins human rights defenders and civil society organizations to call for an immediate end to violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law. The continued fighting and reports of crimes under international law and human rights violations allegedly committed by the Myanmar Army raise serious questions about commitment to human rights reforms in the country and threaten ongoing efforts to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire […]

Council Conclusions on the Establishment of a Human Rights Dialogue with Myanmar/Burma

The Council adopted the following conclusions:

The Council recalls the adoption in 2001 of the European Guidelines on human rights dialogues, revised in 2008.
The Council recognizes the importance of further strengthening the relationship between the European Union and Myanmar/Burma by establishing an EU-Myanmar/Burma Human Rights dialogue, as foreseen in the Council Conclusions on the Comprehensive Framework for the European Union’s policy and support to Myanmar/Burma of 22 July 2013 and agreed during the EU-Myanmar/Burma Task Force held on 13-15 November 2013 […]

Burma: Ongoing Human Rights Violations Warrant the Renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur’s Mandate

Paris, Bangkok, 17 March, 2014: The UN Human Rights Council must renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma with full monitoring and reporting powers, FIDH and its member organization, the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma), said today […]

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana

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 22/14. The present report, submitted pursuant to Council resolution 22/14 and General Assembly resolution 68/242, covers human rights developments in Myanmar since the previous report of the Special Rapporteur to the Council in March 2013 (A/HRC/22/58) and to the Assembly in October 2013 (A/68/397). The present report to the Council is the last by the current mandate holder before the end of his six-year term in May 2014 […]

UN Human Rights Council Burma Resolution must not Drop Demands for Action

The content of the next United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution on Burma is currently being discussed by the European Union. Members of the European Burma Network call upon European Union members to ensure the Resolution continues to highlight ongoing human rights abuses in Burma, and continues to call for action by the government of Burma to end these abuses […]

Call for an International Legally Binding Instrument on Human Rights, Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises

We, the undersigned organisations, Concerned about the continuing abuses and violations of human rights occurring all over the world which directly or indirectly engage the responsibility of business enterprises; Concerned also that such abusive conduct often disproportionately impacts women, who comprise the majority of workers in the most vulnerable sectors, peasants, indigenous peoples, persons living […]

Only One Side of the Story of Reform in Burma

By Khin Ohmar

The statement by Burma’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Wunna Maung Lwin, on 13 September at the 24th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, on the country’s recent reforms or “progressive developments,” made for interesting reading. Indeed, it seems to suit many, not least the Burma government, to impose a simplistic narrative on events in the country over the last two years. Yet such a narrative is only one side of the story […]

UN Myanmar Expert: Fatal Shooting of Rohingya Women the Latest Example of Impunity

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, today said that the fatal shooting last week of three Rohingya women participating in a peaceful protest in Rakhine State is the latest shocking example of how law enforcement officials operate with complete impunity there […]

Parliamentarians Call on ASEAN Member States to Back OIC Human Rights Council Resolution on Anti-Muslim Violence in Myanmar

The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today backed the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and its bid to raise the issue of anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar at the United Nations Human Rights Council, calling for a prompt, full and impartial investigation into allegations of ethnic cleansing […]