Human rights issues, UN human rights bodies and mechanisms

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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: List of human rights issues, with links to specific pages
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English (also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)
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Description: Thematic and country rapporteurs, Working Groups etc.
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of entry/update: 2003-06-03
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English (also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)
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Description: Main OHCHR page on the UPR..."The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed. The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, by 2011, will have reviewed the human rights records of every country. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists. The UPR is one of the key elements of the new Council which reminds States of their responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ultimate aim of this new mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur..."
Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of entry/update: 2009-12-13
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English (also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)
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Description: We have placed the UPR material under: UN System > Human Rights Council > Universal Periodic Review - follow this link
Source/publisher: Online Burma/Myanmar Library
Date of entry/update: 2010-01-26
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Individual Documents

Description: "Press Conference: Acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for the United Nations in Myanmar, Mr. Andrew Kirkwood. UN Acting Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar Andrew Kirkwood said the “future of the country is at stake” adding that the current crisis also has “important regional implications.” Speaking at a virtual press conference from his residence in Myanmar’s capital Yangon, Kirkwood said there was a curfew being imposed by the military across most of the country, adding that people were living in fear particularly at night, when the night raids start and people are dragged from their homes. He said at least 2,400 people have been arrested for their suspected participation in protests, the vast majority held incommunicado, adding that there are increasing reports of sexual-based violence against detainees. Kirkwood said, “At least 211 have been killed in the last 7 weeks and possibly many more. And this includes at least 15 children some as young as 14. And I think it is really important to emphasize that many of these people have been killed through gunshots to the head by snipers for peaceful demonstrations.” The acting UN Resident Coordinator said the army and police have “definitely increased the violence over the last couple of weeks in an attempt to get control of the situation, but the protests and the resistance continues. It's led by doctors and nurses and teachers and truck drivers and farmers who have all coalesced under this civil disobedience movement, the CDM.” Kirkwood emphasized that the situation could get worse and spin out of control. He said some two million people are living under martial law in and around Yangon, leading tens of thousands to flee those areas. He said he was very worried about an impending humanitarian crisis as the public health systems have practically collapsed. Security forces occupied 36 hospitals around the country and some patients were evicted. This is in addition to an ongoing banking crisis causing major disruptions to supply chains, Kirkwood said. The UN official noted that, even before coup, the UN was providing urgent humanitarian assistance to over one million people, adding that the coup complicated that. He expressed concern over an increasing number of people requiring humanitarian assistance, with nearly all COVID-19 testing and treatment halted. Kirkwood said the UN was focusing on providing humanitarian assistance across the country wherever it can under the circumstances. He said the country team has had very little contact with the military, which is kept strictly to what is needed to continue humanitarian operations. The acting UN Resident Coordinator said there were huge expectation by the people of Myanmar from the UN and the entire international community. He said what is needed is collective member state action in the Security Council. He added, “I think that the Secretary-General has been clear, the Special Envoy has been clear, many others have been clear, and we've consistently clear in country in our messaging. The killing has got to stop. The arbitrary detentions really have to stop. And there has to be respect by the authorities of fundamental freedoms and human rights. That said, we are doing everything we can in the current situation and there is still frustration among the people here that the international community hasn't done more to date.”..."
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Source/publisher: United Nations (New York)
2021-03-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The crackdown on journalists, cutting off the Internet and disrupting the flow of information across Myanmar, is “not working”, and the world is not buying the military leadership’s “propaganda” that it is exercising restraint against protesters, the UN independent human rights expert on the country has said, in an in-depth interview with UN News.
Description: "Over 700 people are reported to have been killed in the brutal response by the security forces since the military overthrew the democratically elected Government on 1 February. Thousands more have been injured – many of them seriously, and over 3,000 people are in detention. That includes at least 71 journalists, more than half of whom are still detained, according to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) – UN’s media workers’ safety watchdog – which added that some two dozen people have been charged for “allegedly spreading fake news”. Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, told UN News in his extensive interview, that the military junta has been making “significant efforts, which have been increasing, to keep the truth inside the country, to not allow the world to see what is going on”. “Already the military has been making up stories about what it is facing. From the very outset, it said that it is using ‘utmost restraint’ – its language – to contend with ‘violent protests’, [but] we saw nothing of the kind.” “We saw increasing violence and increasing brutality by the military. And we saw very peaceful, unarmed protesters … despite their efforts to block it, the truth is getting out, and it is a gruesome truth”, Mr. Andrews added. In the first of this two-part interview with the Special Rapporteur, UN News asked the rights expert how he characterized the current international response to the crisis in Myanmar and what countries can do to stop the bloodshed. We will be publishing part two over the weekend, in which he addresses the responsibility to protect citizens from violence, and his hopes for the country’s future. UN News: It must be increasingly difficult to get information from Myanmar, but as far as you know, what is the situation on the ground? Special Rapporteur: You are right. There have been great efforts by the junta to block information from getting out to the world. Not only the blocking of Internet but also now the interruption of broadband wireless service, and there have been at least 64 journalists, that I know of, who have been arrested and detained. So there has been a significant effort, which has been increasing, to keep truth inside the country and not allow the world to see what is happening. Nonetheless, we know that conditions are worsening in Myanmar. We know that at least 700 people are confirmed dead, at least 3,000 people arbitrarily detained, and at least 46 children killed..."
Source/publisher: UN News
2021-04-16
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The ongoing repression of protests in Myanmar could spark a “full-blown conflict” on a par with Syria, the United Nations’ top human rights official warned on Tuesday, urging States with influence to take immediate and impactful action to halt the “slaughter” of civilians.
Description: "“Statements of condemnation, and limited targeted sanctions, are clearly not enough. States with influence need to urgently apply concerted pressure on the military in Myanmar to halt the commission of grave human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity”, Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said. Her appeal came in the wake of yet another weekend of “coordinated bloodshed” in Myanmar, including the reported killing of at least 82 people in Bago, where, according to credible reports, the country’s military, Tatmadaw, opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades, fragmentation grenades and mortars. “The military seems intent on intensifying its pitiless policy of violence against the people of Myanmar, using military-grade and indiscriminate weaponry”, she said. Security forces also reportedly prevented medical personnel from helping the wounded, as well as charging relatives a “fine” of roughly $90 to claim the bodies of those who were killed, according to the High Commissioner’s Office (OHCHR), which added that some individuals are now resorting to the use of makeshift or primitive weapons in self-defence. Ms. Bachelet also highlighted the need to cut off the supply of arms and finances to the military leadership that aid its commission of serious human rights violations, noting the report of the UN Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, which contains clear recommendations for impactful action in relation to the military. ‘Clear echoes of Syria’ The High Commissioner cautioned that the situation in Myanmar clearly echoes that of Syria in 2011, as it descended into conflict, with the past ten years showing the horrific consequences for millions of civilians. “There too, we saw peaceful protests met with unnecessary and clearly disproportionate force. The State’s brutal, persistent repression of its own people led to some individuals taking up arms, followed by a downward and rapidly expanding spiral of violence all across the country”, she said. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the time warned that the failure of the international community to respond with united resolve could be disastrous for Syria and beyond, Ms. Bachelet added. “I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict. States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated.” People forced into hiding, Internet cut Over 700 people are reported to have been killed in the crackdown by the security forces since the military overthrew the Government on 1 February. Thousands more have been injured, many of them seriously. At least 3,080 people are currently in detention and there are reports that 23 people have been sentenced to death following secret trials – including four protesters and 19 others who were accused of political and criminal offences – according to OHCHR. The mass arrests have forced hundreds of people to go into hiding, and reports suggest that many journalists, civil society activists, celebrities and other public figures are being sought, many simply because of the dissent they have been expressing on-line, it added. Wireless broadband and mobile data services were also cut indefinitely on 2 April, leaving the vast majority of people without access to vital sources of information and communication..."
Source/publisher: UN News
2021-04-13
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: The UN Country Team in Myanmar on Monday, reiterated its call for an end to violence against civilians, amid reports of dozens of deaths in the latest crackdown on protests against the military takeover.
Description: "More than 80 people lost their lives on Friday as security forces reportedly used heavy weapons against protesters in the town of Bago, located about 90 kilometres (56 miles) northeast of the commercial capital Yangon, according to media reports. “[We are] following events in Bago with reports of heavy artillery being used against civilians and medical treatment being denied to those injured”, the Country Team (UNCT) said in a post on Twitter. “The violence must cease immediately”, it stressed. Hundreds killed Hundreds of civilians, including at least 44 children, have been killed in the crackdown across Myanmar since the military coup on 1 February. Countless more have been seriously injured and more than 2,600 are in detention, including many held incommunicado or forcibly disappeared. There are also reports that several hundred people have fled areas hit hard by violence, including many who have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. UN agencies have also reported sharp increases in food and fuel prices in many parts of the country, on the back of supply chain and market disruptions. Humanitarians worry that if the price trends continue, they will “severely undermine” the ability of the poorest and most vulnerable to put enough food on the family table. UN Special Envoy visiting region The UN Special Envoy for Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, on Friday, on a regional visit to press for efforts to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. Ms. Schraner Burgener, however, will not visit Myanmar, she said in a tweet. “I regret that Tatmadaw [Myanmar’s military] answered me yesterday that they are not ready to receive me”, the Special Envoy said. “I am ready for dialogue. Violence never leads to peaceful sustainable solution”, she added. In the Thai capital, the Special Envoy is scheduled to meet with UN regional officials as well as ambassadors accredited to Myanmar who are in Bangkok. In addition to Thailand, the Special Envoy is consulting on visits to other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, as well as other neighbouring countries. “As she has highlighted repeatedly, a robust international response to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar requires a unified regional effort involving neighbouring countries who can leverage influence towards stability in Myanmar”, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said..."
Source/publisher: UN News
2021-04-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Informal meeting of the United Nations General Assembly to hear a briefing by the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on #Myanmar​, Christine Schraner Burgener. Briefing pursuant to operative paragraph 21 (c) of General Assembly resolution A/RES/75/238. [ https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/75/238​ ] The operative paragraph 21(c) of General Assembly resolution 75/238 on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, “requests the Secretary-General … to provide all assistance necessary to enable the Special Envoy on Myanmar to effectively discharge her mandate and to report to Member States every six months, or as warranted by the situation on the ground”..."
Source/publisher: United Nations ( New York )
2021-02-26
Date of entry/update: 2021-03-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Sexual violence carried out by Myanmar's security forces against the country's Muslim Rohingya minority was so widespread and severe that it demonstrates intent to commit genocide as well as warrants prosecution for war crimes and crimes against humanity, a UN report charged on Thursday (Aug 22). The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said it found the country's soldiers "routinely and systematically employed rape, gang rape and other violent and forced sexual acts against women, girls, boys, men and transgender people in blatant violation of international human rights law." Its report on sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar covers the Kachin and Shan ethnic minorities in northern Myanmar as well as the Rohingya in the western state of Rakhine. The report, released in New York, charges that the genocidal intent of Myanmar's military toward the Rohingya was demonstrated "by means of killing female members of the Rohingya community, causing Rohingya women and girls serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting on the Rohingya women and girls conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of the Rohingya in whole or in part, and imposing measures that prevented births within the group." Myanmar's government and military have consistently denied carrying out human rights violations, and said its military operations in Rakhine were justified in response to attacks by Rohingya insurgents..."
Source/publisher: "The Straits Times" (Singapore)
2019-08-23
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: UN United Nations Rohingya Bangladesh Myanmar Bangladesh in foreign media
Topic: UN United Nations Rohingya Bangladesh Myanmar Bangladesh in foreign media
Description: "The UN's independent investigator on Myanmar says it's not safe for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled to Bangladesh to return because Myanmar has failed to dismantle its "system of persecution" of Rohingyas. Yanghee Lee said in a report to the General Assembly circulated Friday that living conditions for the remaining Rohingyas in northern Rakihine state "remain dreadful", reports Associated Press. The Rohingya can't leave their villages and earn a living, she said, making them dependent on humanitarian aid whose access "has been so heavily diminished that their basic means for survival has been affected." "While this situation persists, it is not safe or sustainable for refugees to return," said the UN special rapporteur appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, adds AP. Lee also expressed concern that a household-counting exercise in Rohingya villages "is an effort to erase the Rohingya from administrative records and make their return less possible." She said the government's requirement that any refugee who returns must be issued "a national verification card" is not a solution to citizenship for the Rohingya, the news agency also adds..."
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Source/publisher: "Prothom Alo" (Bangladesh)
2019-10-07
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar has ratified the so-called “child soldier treaty”, the Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday. Union Minister for International Cooperation U Kyaw Tin presented Myanmar’s Instrument of Ratification of the treaty—formally known as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (CRC-OPAC)—to the UN secretary general during the UN Treaty Event of 2019 at the world body’s headquarters in New York on Sept. 27, the ministry said. The instrument was presented via the chief of the UN Office of Legal Affairs. “The significance of this protocol is that while it bars the states from using children under the age of 18 for military purposes, it also requires states to make sure all armed groups distinct from [state] armed forces ensure there is no military use of children under the age of 18,” said U Aung Myo Min, director of Equality Myanmar. The protocol was adopted by the UN General Assembly on May 25, 2000 and entered into force on Feb. 12, 2002. Myanmar is the 169th country to ratify the protocol. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the ratification as a further significant step toward the protection of child rights..."
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Source/publisher: "The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
2019-10-01
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Virginia Gamba, congratulates the Government of Myanmar for ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (OPAC). Myanmar’s Union Minister for International Cooperation, His Excellency Mr. U Kyaw Tin, deposited the accession instrument during a ceremony that took place on the margins of the 74th General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York. “The international engagement taken today by the Government of Myanmar to better protect its children is a welcome step. It is a commitment to put in place all the necessary measures to protect them from recruitment and use by both its armed forces and armed groups active in the country”, said Virginia Gamba. Provisions on the demobilization and reintegration of all children under 18 and children presumed present in the ranks of Myanmar’s armed forces are also included in OPAC, a commitment already under implementation through the Security Council-mandated Joint Action Plan signed with the United Nations in 2012. The Special Representative calls on the Government of Myanmar to swiftly translate this commitment into tangible measures for the protection of boys and girls and to end and prevent all six grave violations against children, including the killing and maiming of children and rape and other forms of sexual violence. She further recommends the Government of Myanmar to refrain from enrolling children, including on a voluntary basis, into military academies..."
Source/publisher: UN Office of the SRSG for Children and Armed Conflict via Reliefweb
2019-09-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-28
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The European Parliament has called on the UN Security Council to adopt targeted sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations in Myanmar. It also called on the Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC). So far, the UN Security Council has been divided over any concrete action against Myanmar for opposition of veto powers – China and Russia. The European Parliament adopted a resolution with 546 votes in favour, 12 against and 94 abstentions on Thursday on “Myanmar, notably the situation of the Rohingya”. Over 730,000 Rohingyas fled brutal military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine state since August 2017, which according to the UN independent investigators, amounts to genocide and crimes against humanity. The Rohingyas took shelter in Bangladesh, and two attempts of repatriation failed as the refugees said the guarantee of citizenship and safety was not ensured. The remaining 600,000 Rohingya in Rakhine still face the threats of genocide, according to the UN investigators. They are subjected to ongoing discriminatory policies and practices, systematic violations basic rights, while there are tight military controls in place limiting access to aid agencies and media in Rakhine. On April 29 this year, the EU extended a ban on selling arms to Myanmar and prolonged sanctions against high-ranking officials over their role in the Rohingya crisis. The embargo on weapons and other equipment that could be used for repression would stay in place until at least April 30, 2020. In Thursday’s resolution, Members of European Parliament (MEPs) expressed grave concern about the ongoing and long-lasting conflict and called upon Myanmar government and the security forces to immediately stop the violations..."
Source/publisher: The Phnom Penh Post (Cambodia) via "Asia News Network" (Thailand)
2019-09-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The 600,000 Rohingya remaining inside Myanmar face systematic persecution and live under the threat of genocide, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar says in a new report. “The threat of genocide continues for the remaining Rohingya”, said Marzuki Darusman, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission, recalling that a year ago the Mission said it had found “genocidal acts” in Myanmar’s 2017 “clearance operations” that killed thousands and caused more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee for their lives to Bangladesh. “Myanmar is failing in its obligation to prevent genocide, to investigate genocide and to enact effective legislation criminalizing and punishing genocide,” Darusman said. The report, published today, will be presented on Tuesday to the Human Rights Council, which created the Mission in 2017. It says Myanmar’s ethnic groups have a common – but not identical – experience of marginalization, discrimination and brutality at the hands of the Myanmar armed forces, the Tatmadaw. The report includes much new information about human rights abuses resulting from the Tatmadaw’s decades-long fight against the country’s minority ethnic groups. On the Tatmadaw’s conflict with the Arakan Army, the report says: “In an attempt to prevent civilian support to the insurgency, the Tatmadaw has cut the lifelines of ethnic Rakhine communities, restricting both people’s freedom of movement and humanitarian access” so that many cannot make a living or get food.....မြန်မာနိုင်ငံရှိရိုဟင်ဂျာများ ဖိနှိပ်ညှင်းပန်းခံရ၊ ဂျန်နိုဆိုက် အန္တရာယ်လက်ရောက်တွင် နေထိုင်နေရသည်ဟု ကုလကျွမ်းကျင်ပညာရှင်များကဆို။..."
Source/publisher: The United Nations Human Rights Council (A/HRC/42/50)
2019-09-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf pdf
Size: 3.68 MB 386.41 KB
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Description: "Cross-party MPs say it is still unsafe for Rohingya refugees to return home and call for tougher sanctions on Myanmar and greater support to Bangladesh September 10th, 2019, London - A cross-party group of MPs has warned that continued violence and discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar mean conditions are still unsafe for returns, leaving Bangladesh hosting over a million refugees. They urged the UK Government to step up pressure on Myanmar, including introducing tougher sanctions and referring the situation to the International Criminal Court. The recommendations are part of a series made in a new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the Rights of the Rohingya, which is published today. The APPG, chaired by Anne Main MP and co-chaired by Rushanara Ali MP, received oral and written evidence from a wide range of humanitarian and human rights organisations, Rohingya civil society groups and UK Government officials. The report condemns the impunity for the atrocities of August 2017, described by UN officials as ‘ethnic cleansing’, which forced more than 700,000 Rohingya people across the border to Bangladesh. The MPs call for measures to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on the Government of Myanmar, including by working with the European Union to expand targeted sanctions to include companies run by the military. It also calls on the UK Government to use its leadership role at the UN Security Council to draft a resolution that refers the situation to the International Criminal Court. Rushanara Ali MP, co-chair of the APPG on the Rights of the Rohingya, said: “For years, parliamentarians have been raising the alarm about the atrocities inflicted on the Rohingya community in Myanmar. The events of August 2017 were the latest in a history of ongoing human rights violations and discrimination for which the Myanmar military have never been held accountable. Without justice, recognition of their rights and citizenship, the Rohingya community will remain in limbo as refugees in Bangladesh and across the region. The UK must show leadership and uphold human rights and international laws on the world stage. At the UN Security Council, the UK should work with like-minded partners to end the stalemate and refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court immediately. We must bring to justice those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.”..."
Source/publisher: "Reliefweb" via Government of the United Kingdom
2019-09-09
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf
Size: 445.45 KB
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Sub-title: Myanmar Report Shows Need for Bold Action in High-Risk Situations
Description: "United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres should act to prevent future UN failures in the face of atrocities, a coalition of 16 organizations said in a joint letter to the secretary-general that was released today. The May 2019 report of an independent investigation by a Guatemalan diplomat, Gert Rosenthal, raised serious concerns about the UN’s handling of the human rights crisis in Myanmar. The secretary-general should promptly carry out reforms to prevent what the report called the recurrence of the “systematic” failures and “obvious dysfunctional performance” and to ensure individual accountability for those failures. “The UN leadership promised it would never again turn a blind eye to atrocities after ignoring massive civilian deaths in Sri Lanka a decade ago, but it happened again,” said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch. “The UN leadership needs to avoid another catastrophe, including by holding officials who failed to act during Myanmar’s ethnic cleaning campaign accountable.”..."
Source/publisher: "Human Rights Watch"
2019-09-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar's civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi has washed her hands of the Rohingya crisis, a United Nations rights investigator said on Tuesday (Sep 3) ahead of a meeting between South Korea's President Moon Jae-in and the tarnished democracy icon. Yanghee Lee, a university professor in Seoul who is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights to Myanmar, said Suu Kyi was "terribly misguided and misinformed" about the abuses against the stateless Muslim minority in her country. The Nobel laureate was under house arrest for years when Myanmar was a military dictatorship before her party won elections in 2015 by a landslide, in the first fully free vote for generations. Hopes were high that she would usher in a new era of freedom, but more than 740,000 Rohingya have since been driven out of the Buddhist-majority country and into Bangladesh in a 2017 army crackdown..."
Source/publisher: "CNA"
2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-06
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Myanmar is holding insurgent suspects incommunicado in a practice that may be covering up torture, UN human rights experts said on Tuesday (Sep 3). Myanmar's human rights record has been under international scrutiny since a 2017 army-led campaign forced more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims into neighbouring Bangladesh. The army has said they were targeting terrorists, but the United Nations has said the campaign was executed with "genocidal intent". Since late 2018, government troops have been battling the Arakan Army, an ethnic armed group that recruits from Rakhine state, where Buddhists make up the majority. The three UN experts - Yanghee Lee, Agnes Callamard and Nils Melzer - said they had grave concerns about the army's use of incommunicado detention in the recent conflict, as well as allegations of torture, ill-treatment and deaths in custody..."
Source/publisher: "CNA"
2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Senior United Nations personnel and some international humanitarian organisations have supported Myanmar government polices against Rohingya Muslims by backing their acceptance of National Verification Cards, human rights advocacy group Fortify Rights says in a new report. The accusation is made in “Tools of Genocide: National Verification Cards and the denial of citizenship of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar”, a 102-page report released in Bangkok on September 3. The release of the report comes as the International Criminal Court is considering whether to seek a full investigation into allegations that Rohingya Muslims were the victims of crimes against humanity during a “clearance operation” by the Tatmadaw in northern Rakhine State that began in August 2017. The operation, launched after coordinated attacks on security posts by the militant Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, was accompanied by widespread reports of killings, mass rape, torture and the torching of villages and sent about 740,000 people fleeing to safety to neighbouring Bangladesh..."
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Source/publisher: "Frontier Myanmar"
2019-09-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-03
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Through their bilateral Joint Working Group on repatriation, the Government of Myanmar conveyed to the Government of Bangladesh the names of 3,450 Rohingya refugees who have been cleared for return to Rakhine State, Myanmar. UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, sees Myanmar’s engagement in this process as a positive step in the affirmation of the right to return of Rohingya refugees. UNHCR has been assisting the Government of Bangladesh in surveying these refugees on whether they wish to return to Myanmar and to confirm the voluntariness of any individual decision to do so. Over the past few days, together with Bangladeshi officials, UNHCR has visited refugee families in their shelters to establish whether they wish to return to Myanmar. So far, none of those interviewed have indicated a willingness to repatriate at this time. UNHCR will continue assisting the Government of Bangladesh in this process to ensure that all those cleared for return are interviewed. UNHCR appreciates the consistent commitment by Government of Bangladesh to ensure that the refugees’ decisions will be respected..."
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Source/publisher: UNHCR
2019-08-22
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-23
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Tatmadaw is responsible for systemic persecution and violence and has compromised post-2015 election democracy and free market transition, says a UN report
Description: "The United Nations Human Rights Council, charged last year with investigating the Myanmar army’s (Tatmadaw) business empire as the biggest single corporate owner amid findings of abuses and war crimes in three states, presented a complex construct of domestic and investor ties to be rolled back and unwound altogether under diplomatic and commercial imperatives. The report focuses on widespread violations in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine states, the first two with longstanding independence movements in gem-producing regions, and the last the source of the 850,000 Rohingyas’ escape to Bangladesh after company-supported “cleansing operations” that may fit the universal genocide definition. Senior generals leading the two main Myanmar Economic Holdings (MEHL) and Cooperation (MEC) conglomerates are already under personal international sanctions and asset freezes, and the UN Council’s work, to be debated at the September General Assembly, is designed to reinforce the military’s isolation..."
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Source/publisher: "Asia Times"
2019-08-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The United Nations hurled a fresh accusation at security forces and insurgents in Myanmar. An investigator said their actions in the restive states of Rakhine and Chin may amount to war crimes. Government troops, known as the Tatmadaw, have been battling ethnic rebels, the Arakan Army, for close to two years now..."
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Source/publisher: CNA
2019-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "A new UN report is calling on the international community to cut ties with Myanmar's military, and the companies it controls and relies on. It has accused the military of using the wealth of its vast business holdings to help fund atrocities against ethnic groups -- in particular, referring to the military's genocidal intent against the Rohingya minority. The report cited two main enterprises - Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation. UN investigators warn that foreign firms doing business with them could be complicit in international crimes..."
Source/publisher: CNA
2019-08-05
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The United Nations has condemned itself for what a new report calls an obviously dysfunctional performance; one that led to what the UN says was a 'genocidal' campaign against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: The Newsmakers
2019-06-26
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The United States announced sanctions on Tuesday against the Myanmar military's Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing and other leaders it said were responsible for extrajudicial killings of Rohingya Muslims, barring them from entry to the United States..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: TRT World
2019-07-17
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "I have just completed my mission to Myanmar’s neighbours Thailand and Malaysia. I thank the Governments of both countries for facilitating my visit. Myanmar continues to deny my access; however as I am mandated by the Human Rights Council, I continue to collect information regarding the human rights situation in Myanmar, including from people on the ground. My meetings with different interlocutors in both Thailand and Malaysia have provided me with ample information for my update to the Human Rights Council in September and my report to the General Assembly in October, some of which I will share with you today. Following my visit, it is extremely clear to me that the human rights situation of Myanmar has created and is continuing to create, serious regional issues for South and South East Asia. These issues include for example, the existence of nearly 1.5 million refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand; trafficking and smuggling of people from Myanmar through the region; and the drug trade within and outside the region. It is incumbent on Myanmar’s neighbours to acknowledge these most serious issues, that Myanmar has produced them and that they continue to have significant impacts on countries in the region. It is of great concern to me that Myanmar appears to be increasing pressure and engaging the Governments of neighbouring countries in its efforts to violate rights and avoid scrutiny. This includes obstructing me in carrying out my mandate. While I was in Thailand, I had to abort part of my visit due to interference. This is very serious and not to be taken lightly. Additionally, while I was in Thailand, I was extremely disturbed to hear about Singapore’s deportation of six Myanmar nationals whom they claim to have been supporting the Arakan Army (AA). The six were arrested upon their return to Myanmar, and I am told that they are now detained incommunicado. I am extremely concerned about their situation, in view of recent cases of deaths of Rakhine men while in custody on suspicion of association with the Arakan Army in Rakhine State. I am also worried about the fate of their families and other Rakhine people living in Singapore. I urge Singapore to uphold its customary international law obligation not to return people to where they would be in danger of being subjected to torture. The conflict between the Tatmadaw and the AA is raging on, and the reports I have received indicate that human rights violations and abuses against the civilian population are worsening. The Government ordered mobile internet shutdown in nine townships in northern Rakhine and southern Chin has been in place for nearly a month now – this is unprecedented and it is also unacceptable. As you know, it is now monsoon season in Myanmar and there have been terrible floods in three townships in Rakhine State. There is no access to mobile internet in any of those townships, meaning that people were not adequately prepared for or warned of the floods that occurred. This has resulted in displacement and houses being destroyed. Humanitarian actors and natural disaster responders, including Government actors, were impeded by the lack of internet access, rendering the Government’s disaster preparedness planning ineffective. The question is, did the Myanmar Government impose the internet ban to inflict more harm on the people living in Rakhine? The internet blackout has also prevented individuals wanting to engage with me from being able to make contact. It is challenging to get information on what is happening on the ground under these circumstances, but I have been told that three villages in Rakhine have been burned down by the Tatmadaw in the last two weeks. We have seen this before. We saw it happen to minorities in Shan and Kayin States in the 1990s and 2000s. We saw it happen to the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017. And we are seeing it happen to other minorities in Rakhine State now..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via UN Human Rights Council
2019-07-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "Human rights violations in Myanmar are creating increasingly serious issues for South and South East Asia, a UN expert said today, urging stronger action by regional countries to address potential peace and security concerns. Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee cited the nearly 1.5 million refugees from Myanmar in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, trafficking and smuggling of people from Myanmar and the drug trade within and outside the region as examples of deepening concerns. Lee, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, continues to be denied access to the country and concluded her 11-day mission to Thailand and Malaysia today. “It is incumbent on Myanmar’s neighbours to acknowledge these most serious issues and that they have been created by Myanmar. The continuing gross violations of human rights in Myanmar jeopardise the lives of people around that country and relentlessly impact Myanmar’s neighbours in such a way that could threaten South and South East Asian peace and security.” The Special Rapporteur urged regional states to take a stronger position. “When states in this region engage with Myanmar, human rights should firmly be on the agenda. I therefore most strongly urge ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to prioritise human rights in Myanmar, and to hold the Government of Myanmar to its obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights.” During her visit, Lee received reports that the conflict between the Tatmadaw and the rebel Arakan Army (AA) rages on, and that human rights violations and abuses against the civilian population are worsening. The total number displaced by the conflict since January could now be as high as 55,000 across Chin and Rakhine States. “The situation is urgent and deserves more attention from the international community,” said the expert. The Government’s almost month-long mobile internet shutdown in nine townships in northern Rakhine and southern Chin was unprecedented and unacceptable, Lee said. “It is now monsoon season in Myanmar and there have been terrible floods in three townships in Rakhine State. There is no access to mobile internet in any of those townships, meaning that people were not adequately prepared for or warned of the floods that occurred. This has resulted in displacement and houses being destroyed.” Lee also spoke to people from Myanmar who have grave concerns about the way that hate speech and misinformation campaigns are being waged on social media. It appears that these campaigns are getting more sophisticated, coordinated and strategic, using coded language to get around content restrictions to continue to spread hateful messages. She said social media companies are taking inadequate and inconsistent action; anything done should be in a transparent manner and in close consultation with civil society and technology organisations in Myanmar. She was distressed that on her mission she received reports of women and girls, some as young as nine, being trafficked from northern Myanmar to neighbouring countries for sex work. Years of conflict in northern Shan and Kachin States has left families financially desperate, making women and girls vulnerable to human trafficking. The Special Rapporteur said it is incumbent on the international community to bring about criminal justice in Myanmar. She also said that victims need to receive reparations for the harm caused to them and they have a right to know the truth about what happened to them, their family members and their communities. Solid guarantees that violations that have occurred in the past, and continue to occur now, will not happen again in the future are also essential. “The first step for this to happen is for the Government and the military to reverse its stance of denial, and to recognise what the people of Myanmar have suffered at their hands. The countries in this region, and ASEAN, have a large role to play in persuading Myanmar to bring about this fundamental shift.” ENDS Ms. Yanghee Lee (Republic of Korea) was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council in 2014 as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. She is independent from any government or organization and serves in her individual capacity. Ms. Lee served as member and chairperson of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2003-2011). She is currently a professor at Sungkyunwan University, Seoul, and serves on the Advisory Committee of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. Ms. Lee is the founding President of International Child Rights Center. The Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via UN Human Rights Council
2019-07-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Sub-title: Oral statement delivered by Amnesty International during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council
Description: "Oral statement delivered by Amnesty International during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar at the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council. Mr. President, We thank the Special Rapporteur for her update. We agree that the human rights situation in Myanmar remains critical. In Rakhine State, there has been a major escalation in fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group, since January 2019. Amnesty International has documented serious violations by the military against civilians, including unlawful attacks, arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, and forced labour. All communities – including Rakhine, Rohingya, Mro, Khami, and Chin – are being affected, regardless of their ethnicity and religion.1 Similarly serious violations are also ongoing in Kachin and Shan States in northern Myanmar, despite the announcement of a temporary ceasefire by the military in December 2018, recently extended by two months until 31 August 2019. These include unlawful killings, arbitrary arrests, torture and ill-treatment, and the use of landmines. These ongoing violations show the consequences of ongoing impunity for a military which stands accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide. The prospect of meaningful justice and accountability in Myanmar is currently almost non-existent. We urge the Council to continue to explore all avenues for international justice and support the swift operationalization of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM). Mr. President, There is a worrying erosion of the freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly across the country, and we are concerned by a surge in politically-motivated arrests and imprisonment in recent months. Filmmaker Min Htin Ko Ko Gyi has been detained since 12 April 2019 for criticising the military’s role in politics on social media,2 while Rakhine journalist Aung Marm Oo is hiding after learning – through the media – that he faces criminal charges under Myanmar’s notorious Unlawful Associations Act.3 Politically-motivated arrests and detention are made possible by a range of laws which have long been criticised for violating the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Repealing or else amending these laws is one area where the current civilian-led government could make important progress, but with less than 18 months until general elections, time is running out. Ms. Lee, Given continuing violations in the country and the authorities’ refusal to cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms, including your mandate, what additional measures do you think this Council should take to address the situation?..."
Source/publisher: Amnesty International
2019-07-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-07-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "In this Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mid-term report, ARTICLE 19 assesses the progress made by the Government of Myanmar in implementing freedom of expression-related recommendations received during its second UPR in November 2015. With just over 18 months until its third cycle review, the report sets out the urgent steps the government must take if it is to demonstrate a genuine commitment to improving the human rights situation in the country. During its 2015 UPR, Myanmar received 108 recommendations relevant to freedom of expression, of which it supported 56 and noted 52. In early 2016, the NLD government took office after a landslide general election victory and on the back of commitments to implement sorely needed democratic reforms. However, civic space has continued to shrink in the past three years amidst an escalating human rights crisis in the country. Increased international scrutiny has not prompted remedial action from the Myanmar government, as authorities have largely ignored recommendations from the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar and others. Little progress has been made on the repeal or reform of the laws most frequently used to target government critics, while legislative proposals expected to come before Parliament in the coming months threaten to further erode already weak legal protections for the right to freedom of expression, in particular for ethnic and religious minorities. ‘Hate speech’ has continued to thrive, in part because of the absence of principled leadership by senior politicians in speaking out against discriminatory hatred, and the lack of a comprehensive plan to promote pluralism, diversity and inclusion in Myanmar. Myanmar authorities have continued to repress and criminalise dissent and criticism of the State and its policies, in particular in relation to ongoing conflicts and human rights abuses perpetrated by the State. The operating environment for the media and civil society remains fraught, with human rights defenders, protesters, journalists and media workers routinely threatened with arrest and prosecution simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression. Against this backdrop, self-censorship is widespread and government officials seek to control and manipulate the flow of information in the country. To honor commitments made during its previous UPR, Myanmar must immediately take steps to end arbitrary arrests of those exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, initiate a comprehensive program of legislative reform, ratify key human rights conventions, and take steps to tackle the advocacy of discriminatory hatred towards ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar..."
Source/publisher: Article 19
2019-06-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Starting from 25 August 2017, targeted violence against Rohingya communities in Rakhine State, Myanmar, forced hundreds of thousands of people - mostly women and children - to flee their homes, reaching a total of 909,861 refugees as of 15 March 2019 1 and leading to what has been defined as one of the largest and the ‘fastest growing’ refugee crisis in the world2 . The Rohingya refugee crisis is a protection crisis, where refugees were forced to flee to Bangladesh to seek refuge from persecution, discrimination, gender-based violence and other serious human rights violations. The crisis has also a particular gendered nature, because of the significant number of women and girls now in the refugee camps who had experienced severe forms of abuses and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) while fleeing Myanmar. Many refugees have witnessed family members killed, sexually assaulted and abused or endured long separation and are in deep psychosocial distress. Additional risks and needs are placed onto them in displacement, as a result of the current living conditions, with one-third of refugee families having at least one specific protection vulnerability that requires specialized protection attention3 . Additionally, 55 percent of all refugees being children, the majority of whom do not have access to formal education, adding to their vulnerability as education is an essential protection factor. While the overall influx has significantly slowed since the onset of the crisis, in 2018 a total of 16,765 Rohingya refugees continued to cross into Bangladesh4. As of August 2018, at the peak of last year’s monsoon season, around 200,000 individuals were estimated to be at risk of landslides and floods, while an additional 49,000 were already affected in some way by weather-related incidents as a result of monsoon rains. Bangladesh is in fact prone to natural hazards and disasters, and camps are yearly exposed to two seasons at risk of cyclone in April-May and October-December, as well as the monsoon season from June to September when heavy rains further generate floods, flash-floods, water-logging and landslides. In coastal areas, particularly in Teknaf, storm surges also represent a significant threat. Fire is also a serious hazard across all camps, given the widespread presence of flammable materials, light construction materials used, high congestion and proximity of shelters. Considering the aforementioned risks, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and emergency preparedness and response (EPR) are key planning and programming priorities and must be integrated into regularly yearly humanitarian cycles, in order to effectively prevent exposure to further risk and protect girls, boys, women and men of different ages and diversity determinants. In support of the Government of Bangladesh and its people who welcomed the Rohingya refugees, opening their borders and their homes to them, the humanitarian community rapidly scaled up its operations to provide life-saving assistance and protection. The majority of refugees who arrived since August 2017 settled in camps in expansion areas adjacent to existing registered camps of Kutupalong and Nayapara, and makeshift settlements in Teknaf and Ukhia Upazilas. By the end of 2018, a total of 34 camps had been demarcated. An additional camp in Choukhali, in Northern Teknaf, is currently being developed. Severe congestion in most camps, especially in the Kutupalong Mega-camp (home to more than 600,000 refugees and divided into 23 camps) presents serious general and specific protection risks. As refugees spontaneously settled in these largely unplanned settlements, density is as high as 10m of land per person, compared to the international UNHCR emergency standard of 45m5 . Over-congestion and a difficult terrain, mainly constituted by steep slippery slopes and flood-prone low-lying areas, make it very challenging to improve refugees’ access to humanitarian services, in particular for those with impaired mobility and disabilities. As such, access and outreach of mobile teams and volunteers, as well as ensuring that vital information reaches all persons, in particular during cyclone and monsoon seasons, should be a key priority for all Sectors. Close proximity of shelters increases fire hazards and heightens the risks of spreading of communicable disease, should a weather-related emergency arise. Deforestation, including caused by collection of firewood, also exacerbates risks of landslides and flooding, and impairs a peaceful coexistence with the host community. These harsh conditions can also trigger or intensify psychosocial and mental distress, increase community tensions and prevalence of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and violence against children. In order to mitigate environmental risks, relocations to safer locations, structural improvement works and stabilization of the terrain, as well as the building of essential infrastructure for basic service provision were successfully carried out by SMSDS Agencies as much as possible. In 2018 and at the beginning of 2019, the humanitarian community strived to stabilize and improve the camp conditions; including in order to mitigate risks in the 2019 monsoon and cyclone seasons. However, the situation in most camps continues to pose serious challenges for mobility and physical protection from the natural elements, particularly during the monsoon season and is expected to severely worsen during a cyclone (i.e. non-permanent shelters and absence of cyclone safe shelters for the largest majority of the refugee population). Among the several lessons-learned and good practices from 2018, community based protection networks of volunteers have been established and have continued to work closely within the rest of the community. In this regard, women volunteers form a substantial part of the community networks and their inclusion and direct participation is crucial to an equitable and efficient mobilization and providing information related to the emergency linking them to existing static and mobile protection teams. It is within this historical background and operational context and based on the lessons-learnt from the 2018 emergency response, that the Protection Sector, jointly with its GBV and CP Sub-Sectors, is leading the cyclone emergency preparedness and response protection plans in 2019; with substantial support of the Sector Lead Agencies and in partnership with all protection partners..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb via UN High Commissioner for Refugees
2019-04-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-27
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.6 MB
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Description: "The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFM) urged the international community on Tuesday to cut off all financial and other support to Myanmar’s military, saying its commanders need to be isolated and brought before a credible court to answer charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. FFM Chairperson Marzuki Darusman said the measures were needed because Myanmar has not done enough to resolve the nation’s conflicts and protect human rights, including those of over a million ethnic Rohingya civilians who have been forced into exile. “There has been no movement toward a resolution of the crisis,” Darusman said at the conclusion of a 10-day visit to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. “The situation is at a total standstill.” The FFM’s 444-page report, submitted to the Human Rights Council in September 2018, documented how Myanmar’s military brutally and systemically violated the human rights of ethnic minorities throughout the country. It focused on the military’s ‘clearance operations’ against the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State in 2017, when security forces killed thousands of Rohingya civilians, raped and sexually abused women and girls and burned their villages in an explosion of violence that forced the exodus of more than 700,000 people in two months. Both military and civilian sides of Myanmar’s government persistently deny the facts and disclaim any responsibility for crimes under international law. Following this violence, Myanmar authorities have leveled empty Rohingya villages with bulldozers, effectively destroying criminal evidence, while making no substantive progress in resolving the ethnic animosities that have helped fuel the crisis..."
Source/publisher: UN Human Rights Council via "Progressive Voice"
2019-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-26
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "A United Nations fact-finding mission has urged cutting off all business with Myanmar's military as part of efforts to hold the army accountable for human rights abuses. In a statement on Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Council said there had been no progress towards resolving the crisis over Myanmar's mostly-Muslim Rohingya minority, more than one million of whom have fled military "clearance operations" in the northwest Rakhine region. "The situation is at a total standstill," said Marzuki Darusman, chairman of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar. Reporting Myanmar's Rohingya story (9:53) Myanmar authorities have razed deserted Rohingya villages and those remaining in the country live in displacement camps in fear of further military reprisals. "Due to the gravity of the past and continuing violations, attention must be given to the political, economic and financial ties of the Myanmar military - to identify who and what should be targeted so we can cut off the money supply as a means of increasing the pressure and reducing the violence," Christopher Sidoti, a member of the mission, said in the statement. The mission found that the military committed atrocities against many ethnic groups living within Myanmar. It also faulted armed ethnic groups for committing human rights abuses. Myanmar denies allegations of human rights violations, saying its security forces have not targeted civilians and have taken action only in response to attacks by Rohingya fighters. UN officials and others have likened the actions to ethnic cleansing, or even genocide. The fact-finding mission is to hand its findings to a new group of the Human Rights Council, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, in September. That organisation was set up to handle criminal prosecution of violations of international law. The crisis in Rakhine has soured Myanmar's relations with the United States, which had rolled back economic sanctions over the past decade to support political change in the country as it transitioned towards democracy. The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on Myanmar security forces and Washington has barred Myanmar military officials involved in the Rakhine operations from US assistance. Britain has also cut some support and the UN, as well as independent rights advocates, want governments to do more to hold the military accountable..."
Creator/author: Jorge Silva
Source/publisher: Al Jazeera
2019-05-14
Date of entry/update: 2019-05-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ''The statement was made in an interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on his oral update on the situation, at the Human Rights Council. The statement read as follows: “The Government of Myanmar is duty-bound to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of human rights violations. Yet impunity at domestic level necessitates international action: to secure criminal accountability, to provide redress and to deter repetition of crimes under international law. In May, the government announced a new inquiry into rights violations in Rakhine State. Its mandate, composition and legal framework remain unclear – and there is no indication this will be more effective than previous national inquiries – which have not shed light on the facts, have rarely led to prosecutions and have failed to provide redress. Justice cannot be further delayed. The International Commission of Jurists supports calls for establishing an international accountability mechanism...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
2018-07-04
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Myanmar: cooperation with UN needed, UN must put rights up front (UN statement) MARCH 12, 2018 The ICJ today delivered a statement at the UN Human Rights Council calling on Myanmar to cooperate with UN mechanisms and for all UN agencies in the country to make human rights central to their approach. The statement, made in the interactive dialogue with the international Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar, and the Special Rapporteur, read as follows: “The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the update of the Independent International Fact Finding Mission. In relation to crimes under international law, the ICJ encourages the experts to continue to develop further specific recommendations for securing criminal accountability and providing redress. The ICJ also welcomes the report of the Special Rapporteur, and strongly supports the renewal of her mandate and tenure. As a UN Member State, the Government of Myanmar should fully cooperate with all the organs and mechanisms of the UN, in accordance with its obligations under the UN Charter. At this session, the government asked for ‘concrete evidence’ of alleged human rights violations, and committed to taking action against perpetrators, but permission to enter the country is still refused to the Fact Finding Mission, to the Special Rapporteur and to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. To demonstrate a genuine commitment to truth and accountability, the Government must allow them full access to areas of concern, particularly to Rakhine State and to conflict areas in Kachin State and Shan State. Humanitarian actors and independent media must also be immediately allowed full and unimpeded access, particularly to Rakhine State, as recommended by the government’s own Advisory Commission...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
2018-03-12
Date of entry/update: 2019-02-01
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ''It is organized by the ICJ, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch in cooperation with ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The issues of documenting violations, possible evidence-gathering mechanisms and the role of the International Criminal Court will be discussed...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
2018-09-10
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 90.27 KB
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Description: ''“The creation of this evidence-gathering mechanism is a welcome concrete step towards justice,” said Matt Pollard, Senior Legal Adviser for the ICJ. “But this is a stopgap measure, effectively creating a prosecutor without a court, that only underscores the urgent need for the Security Council to refer the entire situation to the International Criminal Court, which was created for precisely such circumstances,” he added. The Council’s decision follows on conclusions and recommendations by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFM). The FFM’s 444-page full report described large-scale patterns of grave human rights violations against minority groups in the country, particularly in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States. It also highlighted the need for criminal investigations and prosecutions for crimes under international law, something the FFM concluded that national courts and commissions within Myanmar could not deliver. “National justice institutions within Myanmar lack the independence, capacity and often also the will to hold perpetrators of human rights violations to account, particularly when members of security forces are involved. The latest government-established inquiry in Rakhine State also seems designed to deter and delay justice,” Pollard said...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
2018-09-27
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ''The statement, delivered during an interactive dialogue with the UN International Fact Finding Mission, read as follows: “The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has monitored justice and human rights in Myanmar for more than five decades. The ICJ has an established presence in the country supporting justice actors to protect human rights through the rule of law. With this experience, the ICJ views the Independent International Fact Finding Mission’s conclusions as painting an authoritative picture of the general situation in Myanmar, particularly in its highlighting of the pervasive damage of military impunity upon human rights, rule of law and the nascent democratic process. The rule of law cannot be established, let alone flourish, without accountability for perpetrators of human rights violations and redress for victims and their families. The Fact Finding Mission’s findings of crimes under international law, including crimes against humanity in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states, and the identification of alleged perpetrators, necessitate immediate action...''
Source/publisher: International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
2018-09-18
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-31
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: ''United Nations member countries thwarted an attempt by China to slash proposed funding for investigations into Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. This ensures that a newly established UN body will have the necessary financing to gather and preserve criminal evidence for future trials. After marathon negotiations – during which China called for cutting the proposed budget in half – the UN General Assembly’s budget committee approved without a vote some US$28 million for investigations in Myanmar, only slightly less than the proposed US$29 million budget...''
Creator/author: Louis Charbonneau
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
2018-12-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "?These are primitive people. At the end of the day they will go where they are told to go.? These were the words of a senior UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff member in 1993, during a meeting convened to discuss potential solutions for the 250,000 Rohingya refugees who had recently fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The dismissive tone of the statement was emblematic of the organisation?s engagement with the Rohingya, which for many years showed limited respect for their rights and a readiness to abandon UNHCR?s own protection principles. Drawing on previously unpublished material from the UNHCR archives, this article shows how, in both the 1970s and 1990s, large numbers of Rohingya refugees were returned to Myanmar in a manner that was premature, involuntary and unsafe. The article concludes by asking whether a similar scenario could develop in relation to the 700,000 Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh in the second half of 2017..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher: "Humanitarian Exchange Magazine" - The Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN)
2018-10-00
Date of entry/update: 2018-10-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : html
Size: 82.27 KB
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Description: The ICJ today delivered a statement at the UN Human Rights Council calling on Myanmar to cooperate with UN mechanisms and for all UN agencies in the country to make human rights central to their approach. The statement, made in the interactive dialogue with the international Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar, and the Special Rapporteur, read as follows: ?The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the update of the Independent International Fact Finding Mission. In relation to crimes under international law, the ICJ encourages the experts to continue to develop further specific recommendations for securing criminal accountability and providing redress.
Source/publisher: International Commission Of Jurists via "Progressive Voice"
2018-03-12
Date of entry/update: 2018-03-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Description: "Vulnerable peoples are living at deadly risk in a growing number of no-go zones around the world, says Minority Rights Group International (MRG) in the 2017 Peoples under Threat index and online map. This year?s index, which seeks to identify those countries around the world that are most at risk of genocide, mass killing or systematic violent repression, highlights how lack of access from the outside world allows killing to be perpetrated unchecked in disputed territories, militarized enclaves and, in some cases, whole countries. ?More and more governments are refusing access to international monitors, claiming that it is an interference in their in their internal affairs or even that they cannot guarantee monitors? safety. What exactly are they trying to hide?? says Mark Lattimer, MRG?s Executive Director..."
Source/publisher: reliefweb
2017-07-17
Date of entry/update: 2017-12-29
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 137.57 KB
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Description: Conclusion: "...Let me conclude by reiterating my firm belief that Myanmar?s young democracy can only progress if human rights are fully mainstreamed into its institutional, legal and policy framework. Building a culture of respect for human rights must be a priority now and in the future. While I am aware of the need to give space and time for the new Government to address the many complex challenges facing the country, I must remain constructively and critically engaged and vocal in encouraging and advocating for greater progress on human rights. I must also continue to hold Myanmar accountable to its international human rights obligations. That is my mandate as Special Rapporteur. The international community also has a responsibility in this regard. In the rush to forge or strengthen political or economic ties, international actors must continue to prioritize human rights, particularly in business and investment relations. International actors should not undermine human rights priorities, including by remaining silent when confronted with human rights concerns or at worst, becoming complicit in perpetuating human rights abuses. The international community must remain fully engaged on human rights issues in Myanmar. It should also remain committed to providing necessary assistance and support to further the reforms in line with international human rights standards. It is vital that all actors work together to ensure human rights are respected and protected across Myanmar. At the start of my visit, I stated that my objective, as Special Rapporteur, is to continue to work closely with the Government and people of Myanmar, for the promotion and protection of human rights in the country. I reaffirm that pledge to you now"...... The Alternate URL contains the Special Raporteur?s programme, with list of people and institutions met.
Creator/author: Yanghee Lee
Source/publisher: UN Information Centres via Reliefweb
2016-07-01
Date of entry/update: 2016-07-02
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Abstract: "For two decades, Myanmar sat at the top of the international human rights agenda. With recent political changes, this may now be a thing of the past, but the bad old days hold important lessons that should not be forgotten. This article draws on interviews conducted mainly inside Myanmar over a period of 15 years to evaluate, contrast and compare the impact of different international human rights policies on the ground. It is argued that while the effects of both Western ostracism and regional business as usual have been largely counterproductive and often harmful to the Myanmar people, principled engagement by the United Nations and other international organisations has shown significant potential to help promote human rights. This is a lesson which may be worth heeding in other repressive states."
Creator/author: Morten B. Pedersen
Source/publisher: Australian Journal of International Affairs, 67:2, 190-202
Date of entry/update: 2016-03-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 188.6 KB
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Description: Operational highlights: "l UNHCR strengthened protection in northern Rakhine State (NRS) by improving monitoring programmes and intervening with the authorities where needed. It also increased support for persons with specific needs, and carried out programmes to assist women and girls, as well as community self-help initiatives... l The establishment of the NRS Protection Working Group boosted protection monitoring, and advocacy efforts, besides improving collaboration with education and health authorities... l In south-eastern Myanmar, some 65,000 displaced people benefited from UNHCR projects and gained access to safe water, basic health care and primary education... l UNHCR coordinated the Protection, Shelter/Non-food Items (NFIs) and Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) clusters in response to the conflict-related internal displacement in Kachin State, providing assistance to some 50,000 people..."
Source/publisher: UNHCR
2011-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: Operational highlights: " Joint inter-agency assessments of the situations in Kachin and Rakhine States led to the launching of two UN response plans. UNHCR leads the protection sector in the two States as well as the shelter, non-food items (NFIs) and camp coordination and camp management (CCCM) clusters...  UNHCR assisted more than 50,000 people displaced by confl ict in Kachin State, providing them with NFIs, shelter, community- based camp management structures, and focusing on extremely vulnerable individuals...  In Rakhine State, UNHCR assisted more than 75,000 displaced people by providing shelter and NFIs...  In south-eastern Myanmar, the Offi ce responded to the needs of some 65,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), including extremely vulnerable individuals, by providing them with safe water, basic health care, sanitation, vocational training, NFIs and civil documentation...  UNHCR began preparing for potential voluntary repatriation to Myanmar and established cross-border coordination and collaboration procedures with UNHCR offi ces in Thailand and other countries in the region...  Advocacy to improve the situation of people without citizenship in Rakhine State was pursued..."
Source/publisher: UNHCR
2012-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.01 MB
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Description: Operational highlights: " UNHCR participated in inter-agency efforts to respond to the emergency situation and the needs of 140,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in Rakhine State...  The organization led shelter-support efforts and was a key construction actor, assisting 25,000 of an identi ed 70,000 vulnerable IDPs in Rakhine State with adequate shelter ahead of the monsoon season. In Kachin State, UNHCR provided 24,000 people with temporary shelter through construction and renovation work..."
Source/publisher: UNHCR
2013-00-00
Date of entry/update: 2015-10-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 1.1 MB
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