Oral Statement by Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development at the 18th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

Item 4: Human Rights Situations that Require the Council’s Attention – General Debate

Thank you, Madam President. FORUM-ASIA wishes to sustain this Council’s attention to the distressing situation along the eastern border of Burma/Myanmar as gross violations of human rights are ongoing […]

Statement of Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Republic of the Union of Myanmar at the 18th Session of the Human Rights Council

On behalf of the Delegation of Republic of the Union of Myanmar, may I, first of all, congratulate Your Excellency Ms. Laura Dupuy Lasserre, Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Uruguay […]

18th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council: Panel Discussion on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests: Oral Statement Delivered by Ms. Pooja Patel

Thank you, Madam President. FORUM]ASIA welcomes the holding of this important panel discussion which reaffirms the rights of individuals and peoples to publicly express their grievances and aspirations for change. It is our deep concern […]

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

I have just concluded my five-day mission to Myanmar – my fourth visit to the country since I was appointed in March 2008 and my first since February 2010. I would like to thank the Government of Myanmar […]

Regime Denies Violations in Review at UN Human Rights Council Amid Increased Violence on the Ground

On 8 June 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Council reviewed and adopted the outcomes of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Burma, which took place earlier this year in January. International human rights groups and Burma groups such as the Burma Forum on the Universal Periodic Review (BF-UPR) expressed serious concern regarding the lack of concrete responses to vital recommendations, including those “calling for the protection of civilians in conflict areas and the rights of internally displaced persons,” and the “end [of] the practice of torture by security forces,” amongst many others. As the Asian Legal Resource Centre stated in their statement, “the Council need only look at the recommendations that [Burma] has not accepted to understand the challenges that the UPR faces in attempting to be relevant and effective concerning extreme human rights situations.” […]

President Aquino Should Lead Move to Probe Burma

By Patrick Pierce

President Benigno Aquino III, whose father fought and died at the hands of Ferdinand Marcos’ military dictatorship and whose late mother was the leader and inspiration of the People Power uprising that re-established civilian rule and political freedom for Filipinos, should know what the people of neighboring Burma are going through. Despite recent elections and the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, Burma’s military still controls political life.

Former military officers have formed the post-election government. Parliament is dominated by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. A quarter of legislators consist of active military officers. The military and those who led the dictatorship remain unaccountable to any independent civilian authority and continue to commit massive violations of civil and political as well as economic and social human rights with impunity […]

Oral Statement to the 17th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

The ALRC is of the opinion that the Council need only look at the recommendations that Myanmar has not accepted to understand the challenges that the UPR faces in attempting to be relevant and effective concerning extreme human rights situations. Myanmar has rejected repeated recommendations to end impunity and to reform its legal system in line with international standards […]

Oral Statement Delivered by Mr. Thaung Htun on Behalf of Worldview International Foundation at UPR Plenary on Burma

Thank you, Mr. President. Worldview International Foundation makes this statement on behalf of the
Burma Forum on the Universal Periodic Review (BF-UPR).

Mr. President, we deeply regret that the State maintained its blatant denial of the existence of 2,000 prisoners of conscience during the UPR Working Group session in January 2011. The so-called amnesty recently issued by the government only reduced the sentences by one year and commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment […]

Oral Statement Delivered by Mr. Aung Myo Min on Behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) at UPR Plenary on Burma

Thank you, Mr. President. FORUM-ASIA and its member organization HREIB make this statement on behalf of the Burma Forum on the Universal Periodic Review (BF-UPR).

Mr. President, despite the November 2010 elections’ illusory promise of a democratic transition in the country, “systematic militarization contributes to widespread abuses of human rights which remain essentially unaddressed by the authorities”, as noted by the Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana in his recent mission to Thailand […]

Statement by Amnesty International at 17th Session of UN Human Rights Council

Mr. President,

Amnesty International estimates that there are more than 2,200 political prisoners in Myanmar held under vague laws frequently used by the government to criminalize peaceful political dissent. Some have been detained since the 1990s and others have more recently been sentenced to more than 60 years’ imprisonment. Many are held in