International Human Rights Organizations Call for Accountability of Myanmar’s Minister of Home Affairs

We, the undersigned organizations, call for Lt. Gen. Ko Ko, Myanmar’s Minister of Home Affairs and Minister for Immigration and Population, to be held accountable for his involvement in human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. On November 6, 2015, the United Nations Human Rights Council will review Myanmar’s human rights record during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva. Regrettably, the Myanmar Government has appointed Lt. Gen. Ko Ko to head the committee responsible for its UPR process […]

Burma: Calls for Tolerance and Respect During elections

The disenfranchisement of a significant proportion of the population in Burma, and ongoing human rights violations including discrimination against religious and ethnic minorities, are among the issues of concern ahead of the national elections on 8 November […]

UN General Assembly 2015: Updates since the 2014 UNGA Resolution on Burma/Myanmar

The Burmese authorities have failed to implement most of the recommendations from previous United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions, despite recent ones being adopted by consensus, in particular Resolution 69/248 adopted in 2014. The information presented in this briefer refers directly to the language proposed for the 2015 UNGA Resolution. In 2015, authorities continued to either fail to address, or collude in serious human rights violations, and took steps to undermine the possibility of ‘free and fair’ elections on 8 November […]

Myanmar: National report submitted in accordance with paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 16/21

1. During the First Cycle of UPR, the promotion and protection of human rights in Myanmar was reviewed on 27 January 2011 at the meeting of the Working Group on UPR […]

Realities of a Worsening Human Rights Situation Must be Addressed by the Universal Periodic Review

(Geneva – 8 October 2015) Today 14 civil society organisations from the Burma-Myanmar Universal Periodic Review Forum and its partner civil society organisations from Burma/Myanmar urged the Myanmar Government to uphold its human rights obligations and implement the commitments it made during the first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2011.

The delegates addressed diplomats during UPR Info’s UPR Pre-Session in Geneva and urged them to make informed recommendations during this year’s UPR to reflect the local voices that are critical in driving the country towards a genuine democracy that respects and promotes human rights […]

Submission to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review: Myanmar

This report was originally submitted by Fortify Rights to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on March 21, 2015 for consideration in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Myanmar’s human rights performance, which will take place November 9 at the U.N. Human Rights Council […]

Myanmar: End International Crimes, Hold Perpetrators Accountable

(GENEVA)—The government of Myanmar should commit to concrete actions to end and remedy ongoing abuses during its upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the United Nations Human Rights Council, Fortify Rights said today. Fortify Rights today published its formal submission to the United Nations on Myanmar’s human rights record, documenting four years of abuses. The […]

Myanmar: Stalled reforms: impunity, discrimination and ongoing human rights abuses: Amnesty International Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review, November 2015

This report was originally prepared as a submission for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Myanmar due to take place in November 2015 […]

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.” […]

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 […]