GA 2000 BURMA RESOLUTION (FULL TEXT

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Situation of human rights in Myanmar

General Assembly resolution 55/.. of ...November 2000


The General Assembly,

Reaffirming that all Member States have an obligation
to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
freedoms as stated in the Charter of the United
Nations and elaborated in the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human
Rights and other applicable human rights instruments,

Aware that, in accordance with the Charter, the
United Nations promotes and encourages respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms for all and
that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states
that the will of the people shall be the basis of the
authority of government, and therefore  expressing its
grave concern that the Government of Myanmar has still
not implemented its commitment to take all necessary
steps towards democracy in light of the results of the
elections held in 1990,

Recalling its resolution 54/186 of 17 December 1999,
and Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/58 of
3 March 1992 in which the Commission, inter alia,
decided to nominate a special rapporteur with a given
mandate, and resolution 2000/23 of 18 April 2000 in
which the Commission decided to extend for one year
the mandate of its Special Rapporteur on  the situation
of human rights in Myanmar,

Recalling the observation made by the Special Rapporteur
that the absence of respect for the rights pertaining
to democratic governance is at the root of all the major
violations of human rights in Myanmar,

Still gravely concerned at the deterioration of the
human rights situation in Myanmar, especially at the
unabated suppression of the exercise of political
right and the freedom of thought, expression,
association and movement in Myanmar, as reported by
the Special Rapporteur, and deeply concerned that
new obstacles have been placed on Aung San Suu Kyi
and other National League for Democracy members,

Also gravely concerned that the legal system is
effectively used as an instrument of oppression,
and at the increasing intimidation and detention
of lawyers,

Recognizing that the systematic violations of
civil, political, economic, social and cultural
rights by the Government of Myanmar have had a
significant adverse effect on the health and
welfare of the people of Myanmar,

Noting with interest the two recent visits to
Myanmar by the Special Envoy of the Secretary
General, and the co-operation extended by the
Government of Myanmar in this regard,

Deeply regretting the failure of the Government
of Myanmar to cooperate fully with the relevant
United Nations mechanisms, in particular the Special
Rapporteur, who still has not been invited to Myanmar
despite assurances by the Government of Myanmar last
year that they would seriously consider a visit,


1. Expresses its appreciation to the Special Rapporteur
of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar for his interim report, and
calls upon the Government of Myanmar to implement fully
the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur;

2. Urges the Government of Myanmar to cooperate fully
and without further delay with the Special Rapporteur,
and to allow him urgently, without preconditions, to
conduct a field mission and to establish direct
contacts with the Government and all other relevant
sectors of society, thus enabling him fully to
discharge his mandate;

3. Notes with satisfaction the continued cooperation
with the International Committee of the Red Cross,
allowing the International Committee to communicate
with and visit detainees in accordance with its
modalities of work, and hopes that the program will
be pursued further;

4. Deplores the continuing violations of human rights
in Myanmar, including extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions, enforced disappearances, rape,
torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced labour,
including the use of children, forced relocation, and
denial of freedom of assembly, association, expression
and movement, as reported by the Special Rapporteur;

5. Expresses its grave concern at the increasingly
systematic policy of the Government of Myanmar to
persecute the democratic opposition, National League
for Democracy members and sympathisers and their
families, as well as ethnic opposition parties, and
at the use by the Government of intimidatory methods
such as arbitrary arrest and detention, abuse of the
legal system including harsh long-term prison sentences,
mass rallies and media campaigns, which has forced many
to refrain from exercising their legitimate political
rights;

6. Urges the Government of Myanmar to, without delay,
cease all activities aimed at preventing the free
exercise of internationally recognised human rights
including freedom of association, assembly, movement
and speech, and in particular to remove all restrictions
on Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's and other National League for
Democracy members' freedom of movement, and their freedom
to communicate with the outside world;

7. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to release
immediately and unconditionally detained political
leaders, and all political prisoners, including
journalists, to ensure their physical integrity and
to permit them to participate in the process of
national reconciliation;

8. Expresses its concern that the composition and
working procedures of the National Convention do
not permit either members of Parliament-elect or
representatives of the ethnic minorities to express
their views freely, and urges the Government of Myanmar
to seek new and constructive means to promote national
reconciliation, and to restore democracy, including
through the establishment of a time frame for action;

9. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar, taking
into account the assurances it has given on various
occasions, to take all necessary steps towards the
restoration of democracy in accordance with the will
of the people as expressed in the democratic elections
held in 1990 and, to this end without delay, to engage
in a substantive political dialogue with political leaders,
including Aung San Suu Kyi, and representatives of ethnic
groups and, in this context, notes the existence of the
Committee representing the People's Parliament;

10. Notes with grave concern that the Government of
Myanmar has failed to cease its widespread and systematic
use of forced labour of its own people, and to meet all
the three ILO recommendations on this issue; this failure
has compelled the International Labour Organization to
strictly limit further cooperation with the Government,
and has prompted the International Labour Conference to,
subject to certain conditions, adopt a number of measures
to secure compliance by the Government of Myanmar with
the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry
established to examine the observance of the Forced
Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29);

11. Takes note of the recent visit by the ILO technical
cooperation mission to Myanmar, and the cooperation
extended to the mission, while awaiting the result of
the mission;

12. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to fully
implement concrete legislative, executive and
administrative measures to eradicate the practice of
forced labour, in conformity with the relevant
recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry;

13. Welcomes the reopening of most university courses,
but remains concerned that the right to education
continues to be a right that is only exercised by those
willing to refrain from exercising their civil and
political rights and at the reduction in the length of
the academic year, the division and separation of the
student population to distant campuses, and the lack
of adequate resources;

14. Deplores the continued violations of human rights,
in particular those directed against persons belonging
to ethnic and religious minorities, including summary
executions, rape, torture, forced labour, forced
portering, forced relocations, use of anti-personnel
land mines, destruction of crops and fields, and
dispossession of land and property, which deprives
these persons of all means of subsistence and results
in large-scale displacement of persons and flows of
refugees to neighbouring countries, thus causing
negative effects for these countries, and an
increasing  number of internally displaced persons;

15. Urges the Government of Myanmar to end the
systematic enforced displacement of persons and other
causes of refugee flows to neighbouring countries and
to create conditions conducive to their voluntary
return and their full reintegration in conditions of
safety and dignity, and to allow the safe and
unhindered access of humanitarian personnel to assist
in the return and reintegration process;

16. Also deplores the continuing violations of the
human rights of women, especially women who are
refugees, are internally displaced or belong to ethnic
minorities or the political opposition, in particular
forced labour, trafficking, sexual violence and
exploitation, including rape, as reported by the
Special Rapporteur;

17. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to
implement fully the recommendations made by the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women, in particular the request to prosecute and
punish those who violate the human rights of women
and to carry out human rights education and gender-
sensitization training, in particular for military
personnel;

18. Deplores the recruitment of children as soldiers,
in particular children belonging to ethnic minorities,
and strongly urges the Government of Myanmar and all
other parties to the hostilities in Myanmar to end
the use of children as soldiers;

18. Expresses its concern at the growing incidence of
HIV/AIDS infection and urges the Government of Myanmar
urgently to address this issue which will have serious
long term impact on the development of the Union of
Myanmar, and to ensure that the health system receives
sufficient funding to enable health workers to meet the
rights of all people to the highest possible standard of
health care;

19. Expresses its grave concern at the high rates of
malnutrition among pre-school aged children, which
constitute serious violations of their rights to
adequate  food and the highest attainable standard
of health, and  may have serious repercussions for
the health and  development of the affected children;

20. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar to
ensure full respect for all human rights and
fundamental freedoms, including economic and social
rights, and to fulfil its obligation to restore the
independence of the judiciary and due process and
to end the impunity and bring to justice any
perpetrators of human rights violations, including
members of the military, and to investigate and
prosecute alleged violations committed by government
agents in all circumstances;

21. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on
the visit of his Special Envoy to Myanmar, endorses
the appeal of the Special Envoy for the initiation
of a process of dialogue that would lead to national
reconciliation, and supports his efforts to achieve
this;

22. Requests the Secretary-General to continue his
discussions on the situation of human rights and the
restoration of democracy with the Government of Myanmar,
to submit additional reports to the General Assembly
during its fifty-fifth session on the progress of these
discussions, and to report to the Assembly at its
fifty-sixth session and to the Commission on Human
Rights at its fifty-seventh session on the progress
made in the implementation of the present resolution;

23. Decides to continue its consideration of this
question at its fifty-sixth session

Adopted by consensus, 8 November 2000