Discrimination/violence against women: standards, mechanisms and commentary - international and Myanmar-specific

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Source/publisher: United Nations
Date of entry/update: 2014-11-29
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) urges the general public to join our campaign against military impunity. WLB is committed to ending a nationwide pattern of sexual violence in conflict and to holding military junta accountable for sexual violence in conflict. For over seven decades, the Burmese military has waged war in the ethnic states of Burma/Myanmar. Their use of systematic and widespread violence includes using rape as a weapon of war. WLB has consistently condemned this crime and has advocated for effective action against the Burmese military through international justice and accountability mechanisms. Since the Burmese military forcibly seized power on Feb 1, 2021, they have cracked down on the peaceful movement by arresting, detaining, torturing innocent civilians, and even killing protesters. In addition, there is strong evidence claiming that the Burmese military has been intentionally committing sexual war crimes in ethnic war-torn areas for many years. The current junta security forces are committing widespread acts of sexual violence against detained women. Therefore, on the occasion o f the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, we, the Women’s League of Burma, call for the following: - Immediately send international missions, including the United Nations, to monitor and intervene to end arbitrary arrests, torture, killing and Sexual violence by the Burmese military, including the current state administration council. - Refer the State Administration Council officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or similar international tribunal to bring justice for survivors and to end sexual violence in conflict and the killing and arrest of peaceful protesters. The military must be held accountable for their atrocity crimes..."
Source/publisher: Women's League of Burma
2021-06-19
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
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Size: 29.8 KB 429.76 KB
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Description: "Myanmar: Several thousand protesters marched in southeast Myanmar on Tuesday (Jul 28) to demand the military's withdrawal from the area and an end to rights abuses after soldiers allegedly killed an unarmed woman from the Karen ethnic group. In a rare acknowledgement of wrongdoing, the military confirmed that two soldiers had been arrested for the shooting of Naw Mu Naw, 40, and robbery of her gold jewellery in Dwe Lo township in Karen state on July 16. The court-martial of the arrested men was already underway, military spokesman Zaw Min Tun told AFP on Tuesday. But the killing has reignited anger in a state that has for decades been the scene of a bloody civil war between the military and ethnic Karen militants. Naw Mu Naw's murder sparked a wave of protests over the last two weeks, but Tuesday's was by far the biggest. An estimated 5,000 people turned out -- many dressed in traditional clothes and waving the Karen blue, white and red flag as they marched to state capital Hpa-an. Advertisement "We demand the military withdraw because we're worried we might also be shot and killed," said 57-year-old Khwe Ni. Karen National Union (KNU) rebels signed a ceasefire in 2012 with the military after more than 60 years of fighting, one of a number of groups to join the country's now flagging peace process. Unrest has flared up again in a state divided into two parallel jurisdictions, one centrally run and one under governance of the KNU, which collects taxes and runs local police, schools and healthcare. The Karen accuse the military of building roads and other infrastructure to encroach on their territory. Zaw Min Tun told AFP the military would not withdraw from the area, but said "rules would be tightened", without giving further details. Tens of thousands of Karen refugees still live in camps along the Myanmar-Thai border. Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson called for the two soldiers to be handed over to a civilian court, condemning the lack of transparency in military trials..."
Source/publisher: Agence France-Presse (AFP) (France) via "CNA" ( Singapore)
2020-07-29
Date of entry/update: 2020-07-30
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Topic: Khawng Nu’s story
Topic: Khawng Nu’s story
Description: "This story was originally published on Medium.com/@UN_Women Across the world, millions of women and girls live in the long shadows of human trafficking. Whether ensnared by force, coercion, or deception, they live in limbo, in fear, in pain. Because human trafficking operates in darkness, it’s difficult to get exact numbers of victims. However, the vast majority of detected trafficking victims are women and girls, and three out of four are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Wherever there is poverty, conflict and gender inequality, women’s and girls’ lives are at-risk for exploitation. Human trafficking is a heinous crime that shatters lives, families and dreams. On World Day against Trafficking in Persons, three women survivors tell us their stories. Their words are testament to their incredible resilience and point toward the urgency for action to prosecute perpetrators and support survivors along their journeys to restored dignity, health and hope. Karimova comes full circle. When she was 22 years old, Luiza Karimova left her home in Uzbekistan and travelled to Osh, Kyrgyzstan with the hopes of finding work. However, without a Kyrgyz ID or university degree, Karimova struggled to find employment. When a woman offered her a waitressing job in Bishkek, the capital city in the north of Kyrgyzstan, she welcomed the opportunity..."
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Source/publisher: UN Women via Reliefweb
2019-07-29
Date of entry/update: 2019-10-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "SUNY Cortland hosted two women activists from Myanmar on Thursday, Sept. 5, for a day of conversations about the collision of faith, feminism and ethnicity in their country, which is struggling with longstanding inequality among various groups of people. Thet Su Htwe, M.D., a Muslim doctor who runs sexuality education programs that go against conservative cultural norms, and Kyaw Thein, a member of Myanmar’s oppressed Rohingya minority who faced discrimination in the male-dominated field of civil engineering, met with the campus community during several events throughout the day. Two of the events were open to the public, who were invited to attend free of charge. “Being Muslim and Female in Myanmar: Two Perspectives,” was presented by Htwe and Thein as a sandwich seminar from noon to 1 p.m. in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. “Education in Myanmar and the Challenges of Diversity” featured Htwe and Thein in a panel discussion from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 104. Moderated by Jeremy Jimenez, a Cortland assistant professor of foundations and social advocacy, the panel also included Thamora Fishel, associate director of Cornell University’s Southeast Asia Program; Rhoda Linton, a longtime advocate for women’s education and empowerment in Burma; and Cornell University doctoral students..."
Source/publisher: "SUNY Cortland"
2019-08-30
Date of entry/update: 2019-09-14
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Sub-title: Fresh attempt at repatriations agreed but refugees fear they will return to persecution and violence
Description: "Myanmar and Bangladesh are to make a fresh attempt to begin repatriating the Rohingya Muslims who fled ethnic cleansing in Rahkine state in 2017, though the community say they have not been consulted. More than 700,000 Rohingya fled over to border to Bangladesh after a military-led crackdown in Rahkine state which saw villages razed, women raped and thousands killed. A UN fact-finding mission declared the violence had “genocidal intent”. A document prepared by UN agency UNHCR to be sent to the Rohingya community to inform them of the repatriation plan said: “The Government of Myanmar has confirmed that 3,450 Rohingya refugees are eligible to return. This is a welcome first step as it acknowledges that your right to return is recognized.” According to UNHCR, the Bangladesh government shared the names of Rohingya approved for repatriation with the UN agency on 8 August. Louise Donovan, a UNHCR spokeswoman in Cox’s Bazar, said: “If any express the intention to return voluntarily, UNHCR will meet with them on an individual basis and in a confidential setting to confirm the voluntariness of their decision and complete a voluntary repatriation form. The refugees will make the decision themselves.” She emphasised that “refugees who decide to exercise their right to return must be able to return to their places of origin or a place of their choice.” However, the situation is complex as UNHCR have no access to Rahkine state so are unable to verify first hand the conditions the Rohingya would be returning to. “Responsibility for ensuring conditions are conducive for safe and dignified return rests with Myanmar,” said Donovan..."
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Source/publisher: "The Guardian"
2019-08-16
Date of entry/update: 2019-08-17
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "The 25th of November marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and the start of the international campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Violence against women and girls continues to be one of the most widespread and systematic violations of human rights. For far too long, we have lived in a society where women and girls who experience violence are blamed and their testimonies are systematically put in doubt. The voices of millions of other women and girls continue to be silenced or muffled due to systemic injustice. UNODC confronts gender-based violence by enhancing the capacity of police, prosecutors, judges and other members of the criminal justice system to prevent and respond to gender-based violence. In 2018, UNODC Myanmar, with support of the UNFPA Women and Girls First Initiative, carried out a number of training workshops with the Myanmar Police Force and with the Union Attorney General's Office. The training covered gender awareness, understanding root causes, myths and stereotypes of violence against women, preventive approaches and survivor centered and gender-sensitive responses to criminal investigations and trials. Through discussions at these training events, police officers and prosecutors highlighted the need for a coordinated multi-sector criminal justice response to gender-based violence. Criminal justice responses work best when health, social and other sectors join the common effort to protect and empower women and hold perpetrators accountable. To this end, UNODC supported the Myanmar Police Force in hosting the first Inter-Agency Workshop on Coordinating Policing and Justice Responses to Gender-based Violence, held on 19-20 of November in Nay Pyi Taw. Members of Supreme Court of the Union, the Union Attorney General's Office, the Myanmar Police Force, the Ministry of Health, and the Department of Social Welfare met to discuss coordination challenges and strategies to improve responses to cases of violence against women and girls. Special attention was paid to ensuring that all solutions put the needs and the security of the victim first, while ensuring the right to a fair trial for all. The meeting was also coordinated with UNFPA and UNICEF and attended by UN Women and WHO..."
Source/publisher: UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
2018-11-25
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-24
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Creator/author: Dr. Hnin Shwe Zin Hlaing
Source/publisher: IOM Myanmar
2019-06-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-22
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description: "International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch welcome the opportunity to provide input to the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children on the topic of safeguards for the protection of the rights of children born from surrogacy arrangements. We appreciate the Special Rapporteur’s attention to new issues arising from innovations around assisted reproduction. We share the view that these developments raise important human rights issues. International Women’s Health Coalition and Human Rights Watch have decades of experience examining issues relevant to this topic in countries around the world. IWHC has a long history advocating to advance sexual and reproductive rights at the global and regional levels. The organization currently supports grantee partners’ advocacy on these issues in Argentina, Brazil, Cameroon, Egypt, Fiji, India, Kenya, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Turkey and Uruguay. We are also currently doing documentation work on the impact of the global gag rule in Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, as well as documentation on the impact of refusals to provide care on the ground of conscience in Chile. Human Rights Watch has extensive experience documenting human rights abuses including trafficking of children and women, sexual exploitation of children and women, violations of the sexual and reproductive rights of women and girls, and criminalization of sexual and reproductive actions and decisions. We have conducted research on these topics in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Indonesia, Ireland, Mauritania, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Ireland, Papua New Guinea, Poland, South Africa, Sierra Leone, the United States of America and Zimbabwe. The issue of surrogacy arrangements, particularly compensated surrogacy arrangements, requires careful consideration of several sets of intersecting rights, and the interests of multiple rights holders. This is particularly important given that human rights analysis around surrogacy is relatively nascent and given the key principles of universality and interdependence of human rights. We have reviewed the Special Rapporteur’s previous work on this issue and appreciate the strong focus that work has brought to the rights and interests of children born of surrogacy arrangements. Our goal, in this submission, is to highlight the other rights and rights holders also essential to this discussion. We are concerned by any over-broad view of the applicability of the prohibition on the sale of children to surrogacy that would unnecessarily, disproportionately or in a discriminatory fashion limit the options of surrogacy as a means of founding a family and exercising reproductive rights. The optional protocol prohibits “any act or transaction whereby a child is transferred by any person or group of persons to another for remuneration or any other consideration.” People acting as surrogates may do so for no remuneration (money paid for work or a service) or no consideration (money in exchange for benefits, goods, or services), and in other cases may receive compensation that constitutes fair recompense for lost wages and other opportunity costs, health care and nutrition expenses, and restitution for the significant burdens and risks associated with pregnancy. We submit that such arrangements do not and should not in and of themselves constitute sale of children under the optional protocol. In this submission we outline our recommendations regarding: 1) relevant human rights that should inform discussions around surrogacy; 2) relevant rights holders who should be part of discussions regarding surrogacy; and 3) longstanding human rights principles that should guide and inform legal and policy framework development on this issue..."
Source/publisher: Human Rights Watch
2019-06-03
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-11
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, supports the identification, counselling and referral to services for all survivors, including men and boys. The role model programme seeks to encourage men to challenge sexual harassment and violence in exile, and rethink complex gender issues which sometimes lead to violent disputes. “We need to educate these young men. So we need to explain what we’re doing and what they can do,” says Mohammed, 23, another role model volunteer in the settlements, where residents are safe, housed and fed, but have few opportunities to work or study formally. “Many of these young men say: We are useless!” Mohammed says. “Many are uneducated. They feel they can do things with a young woman … and feel they can get away with it.” Mohammed is part of a group of five young men in their late teens and twenties, working alongside an imam in the settlement to challenge these attitudes. The young men, who are all community volunteers, are trained to identify issues arising from domestic violence, early marriage, dowry payments, polygamy and aggressive behaviour towards women. The were trained through role-playing as perpetrators, victims and bystanders, according to UNHCR programme coordinator Jahidur Rahman. “Our role in this was to show how to change bystanders into change makers,” Rahman says. The programme is new and, to launch it, the organizers set up meetings in mosques and community centres. The young role models were encouraged to work through sports, as a path to build trust with the community. In a direct outreach to women and girls who make up more than half the population of the camps, a network of refugee women volunteers go door-to-door throughout the settlement. If they suspect evidence of sexual violence, they contact camp authorities and have the victim moved to a woman-friendly space. “I heard about the discussions concerning sexual violence, and I wanted to get involved,” Imam Mohammed says. “The camp staff asked me to identify the biggest problems in the community. From the list, I saw a major problem of child marriage, and a rising divorce rate. I sat down with community leaders, and we prepared a document for the camp authorities. I included the Holy Koran, which prohibits violence against wives, and which discourage dowries when there is no money.” Early marriage and dowries are often linked. Parents who arrange the marriage of a daughter are relieved from supporting her, but the price is a dowry. And money in the camps is scarce. Ahmed, another role model leader, explains how the process becomes enmeshed in violence..."
Creator/author: Don Murray
Source/publisher: The UN Refugee Agency
2019-05-24
Date of entry/update: 2019-06-08
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: The world’s cities are growing at an unprecedented rate. The United Nations projects that 60 percent of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2030 due to accelerating migration and urbanization. In ''Myanmar, as in other rapidly urbanizing countries, urban growth is placing increasing pressure on municipalities and other governing bodies to deliver quality public services that are responsive to local needs. In this environment, effective urban planning is of the utmost importance, but urban planning that is not inclusive, that overlooks or ignores the life experiences and unique needs of certain demographic groups, will inevitably deny those groups equal access to the social, economic, and political benefits of urban life. The Asia Foundation has conducted the first multi-city survey in Myanmar that specifically focuses on the well-being and life experiences of urban dwellers. The pilot City Life Survey polled 1,400 residents of the cities of Yangon, Taunggyi, and Hpa-an with the aim of analyzing various facets of urban life in Myanmar—from work, public transit, and taxation to green spaces. It provides preliminary data for municipal leaders to become better informed and more responsive to their constituents’ needs. With gender-disaggregated data and an equal representation of men and women respondents, the report offers new insight into the different urban life experiences of these two fundamental demographic groups...''
Source/publisher: Asia Foundation
2018-08-15
Date of entry/update: 2019-01-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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Description: "Gender equality recognizes that while women and men are physically different, they are entitled to the same opportunities for self realization and the same human dignity. Enhancing women?s security, establishing institutional practices and laws that do not reinforce power imbalances, and providing appropriate mechanisms for redress ‐‐ are essential elements to ensure equality. Whilst laws and policies may state formally that men and women are equal, they must also take into account the prevailing conditions that prevent women from actually experiencing equality. Myanmar acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997. As part of its treaty obligations, Myanmar has committed to ensuring that its laws uphold women?s rights and advance women?s equality. This Briefing Paper aims to provide background information relevant to women?s rights and protection in Myanmar, analysis of existing laws and their compliance with CEDAW norms, and comparative experience from three ASEAN neighbours. The Paper supports the creation of Anti‐Violence Against Women Laws as part of larger law reform strategies..."
Source/publisher: Gender Equality Network (GEN)
2013-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2014-12-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: Burmese/ မြန်မာဘာသာ (Metadata: English)
Format : pdf
Size: 3.97 MB
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Description: "Gender equality recognizes that while women and men are physically different, they are entitled to the same opportunities for self realization and the same human dignity. Enhancing women?s security, establishing institutional practices and laws that do not reinforce power imbalances, and providing appropriate mechanisms for redress ‐‐ are essential elements to ensure equality. Whilst laws and policies may state formally that men and women are equal, they must also take into account the prevailing conditions that prevent women from actually experiencing equality. Myanmar acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1997. As part of its treaty obligations, Myanmar has committed to ensuring that its laws uphold women?s rights and advance women?s equality. This Briefing Paper aims to provide background information relevant to women?s rights and protection in Myanmar, analysis of existing laws and their compliance with CEDAW norms, and comparative experience from three ASEAN neighbours. The Paper supports the creation of Anti‐Violence Against Women Laws as part of larger law reform strategies..."
Source/publisher: Gender Equality Network (GEN)
2013-01-00
Date of entry/update: 2014-12-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 2.48 MB
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Source/publisher: United Nations
2013-09-24
Date of entry/update: 2014-06-07
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : pdf
Size: 253.78 KB
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Description: "In 1994, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women stated, ?[rape] remains, the least condemned war crime; throughout history, the rape of hundreds of thousands of women and children in all regions of the world has been a bitter reality.? Despite the pervasiveness of sexual violence during periods of armed conflict, rape and other forms of sexual violence have traditionally been mischaracterized as private acts, the unfortunate but inevitable behaviour of individual soldiers. The revelations of the existence of ‘rape camps? in Bosnia-Herzegovina, dramatically altered the awareness of systematic sexual violence against women as a facet of warfare. It has become recognised that sexual violence is not purely an unfortunate ancillary effect of armed conflict but rather a tool by which the civilian population is terrorized, dominated, driven from their homes and destroyed. However, although the rapes in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia have attracted a wealth of academic discussion and analysis, numerous other occurrences of widespread and systematic sexual violence have received comparatively little attention. This paper will focus on the systematic use of sexual violence against women in situations of non-international armed conflict, due to both the prevalence of internal conflicts in recent history, and the relative lack of legal provisions of international humanitarian law which apply to conflicts of this nature. The discussion will focus on the use of sexual violence as both a weapon of warfare, i.e. in order to actively achieve a specific political or military objective, and as a form of heinous repression by which the civilian population is dominated, though in practice the distinction between the two concepts may be somewhat fine. It is of the utmost importance to recognise that sexual violence happens systematically. It is only through acknowledging and responding to the occurrence of organised and strategic sexual violence that senior political and military officials can be held accountable. The term systematic is not used to denote the invention of a new crime, but rather to describe certain forms of sexual violence which have been deliberately planned or officially sanctioned by senior military or government figures for the achievement of a specific objective. Part One of the paper will detail the systematic use of sexual violence, in relation to internal armed conflicts and will outline the various purposes which sexual violence has been intended to achieve. Particular emphasis will be given to the conflicts in Peru, Rwanda and Kosovo, though the conflicts in Kashmir Sierra Leone, Liberia and Chechnya are also particularly pertinent to the discussion. Although the characterisation of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia has been the subject of varying determinations by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and is considered by several academics as having been both an international and a non-international conflict, the details of the mass rape which occurred in Bosnia-Herzegovina have been well documented and will not be discussed in depth. Part One will also examine the factors which fuel systematic rape, with particular regard to the promulgation of gender and ethnicity based stereotypes and propaganda. Sexual violence in situations of armed conflict amounts to a clear breach of international law. Part Two will consider the importance of the fact that sexual violence has occurred systematically for the characterisation of such acts as violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. In this respect, the adequacy of international humanitarian law in relation not only to the physical victims but also to the witnesses of sexual violence warrants analysis, as sexual violence of this nature is often intended to cause harm to those other than the physical victims. Part Two will also examine the characterisation of rape as a crime against humanity and will analyse the genocidal rape discourse which has evolved following the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia..."
Creator/author: Bob Last
Source/publisher: University of Nottingham School of Law (Dissertation)
2000-10-06
Date of entry/update: 2004-07-19
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
Format : html
Size: 348.06 KB
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