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ASSESSMENT OF 2001 CHR RESOLUTION O
- Subject: ASSESSMENT OF 2001 CHR RESOLUTION O
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 08:06:00
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS: RESOLUTION ON BURMA 2001
COMPARED WITH EARLIER RESOLUTIONS
There seems to be a view in some of the news reports that this year's
resolution on Burma at the Commission on Human Rights is somehow more
accommodating and friendly to the regime than in previous years. This
interpretation can only be the result of a superficial reading of the text,
which is in fact stronger than in previous years. It is true that the list
of "welcoming" paragraphs is longer, but these relate to specific actions
like facilitating the exploratory visit of the Special Rapporteur, the
initiation of the talks between the Generals and the Lady, the release of
some political activists, the opening of some university courses and
continued cooperation with the ICRC.
When it comes to criticising the human rights situation -- for instance in
the paragraphs expressing "grave concern" and those which "deplore", the
text goes further than in previous years. For instance, (in operative para
4(a)) this year the Commission deplores:
"The deterioration of the human rights situation and the continuing pattern
of gross and systematic violations of human rights in Myanmar, including
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, enforced disappearances,
rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced labour, forced
relocation and denial of freedom of assembly, association, expression and
movement;"
while the corresponding para in last year's text did not contain the first
phrase:
"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;"
Similar strengthening of the text may be seen throughout (see below).
The resolution also contains new language on the involvement of the ethnic
nationalities in the political process - e.g. in para 1(e) which
specifically refers to its hopes that they will be involved in the talks.
****************
BELOW ARE THE TEXTS OF THIS YEAR'S RESOLUTION AND THOSE OF LAST YEAR'S
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (CHR) AND GENERAL ASSEMBLY (GA), WITH REFERENCES
IN SQUARE BRACKETS TO THE EARLIER RESOLUTIONS TO FACILITATE COMPARISON
Economic and Social Council
Distr.
GENERAL
E/CN.4//2001/L.20
12 April 2001
Original: ENGLISH
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-seventh session
Agenda item 9
Situation of human rights in Myanmar
QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN ANY
PART OF THE WORLD
Albania, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuyprus, Czech
Republice, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovak Republic,
Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, United States of America: draft resolution
2001/?Situation of human rights in Myanmar
The Commission on Human Rights,
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 as elaborated in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other applicable
human rights instruments, [CHR 2000]
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, (GA 2000)
Welcoming the co-operation extended to the Special Envoy of the
Secretary-General as well as to the newly-appointed Special Rapporteur
during their respective recent visits to Myanmar, while regretting the
failure of the Government of Myanmar to cooperate fully with some of the
relevant United nations mechanisms, in particular the former Special
Rapporteur, [NEW]
Aware 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 gravely concerned that the Government of Myanmar still has not
implemented its commitment to take all necessary steps towards democracy in
the light of the results of the elections held in 1990, [CHR 2000]
Recalling the observation made by the former 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, [MODIFIED
CHR 2000. WITH INSERTION OF "FORMER")
Mindful that Myanmar is a party to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 on the protection
of war victims and the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention,
1948 (No. 87) of the International Labour Organization, [CHR 2000]
Noting the resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference at its
87th Session on the widespread use of forced labour in Myanmar, and also
the resolution adopted by the International Labour conference at its 88th
Session forseeing a broad range of measures aimed at ensuring the
observance by Myanmar of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry
established to examine the application of the forced Labour Convention,
which came into effect of 30 November 2000, [UPDATE AND EXTENSION OF CHR 2000]
Recalling previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission
on Human Rights on the subject, most recently Assembly resolution 55/112 of
4 December 2000 and Commission resolution 2000/23 of 18 April
2000, [UPDATE OF CHR 2000]
1. Welcomes
(a) The interim report of the former Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar (A/55/359), the observations on the
situation and the recommendations contained therein; (NEW)
(b) The initial observations presented to the Commission by the newly
appointed Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; (NEW)
(c) The assistance of the Government of Myanmar in facilitating the
recent exploratory visit by the newly appointed Special Rapporteur to
Myanmar, and hopes that the Special Rapporteur will soon be able to return
to Myanmar in order to discharge his mandate fully; (NEW)
(d) The report of the Secretary-General on the visit of his Special
Envoy to Myanmar(A/55/509), and 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 such a dialogue
[SLIGHTLY MODIFIED GA 2000]
(e) The initiation of contacts between the Government and Aung San Suu Kyi,
Secretary-General of the National League for Democracy, and hopes that such
talks will be extended at an appropriate time to include, among others,
representatives of ethnic minorities and thereby will facilitate
broad-based and inclusive national reconciliation and the restoration of
democracy [NEW]
(f) The release from detention of a number of democratic political
activists; [NEW]
(g) The continued cooperation with the International Committee of the Red
Cross, allowing the Committee to communicate with and visit detainees in
accordance with its modalities of work, and hopes that the program will be
pursued further; [SLIGHTLY MODIFGIED GA 2000]
(h) The reopening of some 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 concerned at the reduction in the length of the academic year, the
division and separation of the student population to distant campuses, and
inadequate allocation of resources; [MODIFIED AND MORE CRITICAL GA 2000
--"SOME" SUBSTITUTED FOR "MOST" --]
2. Notes the establishment by the Government of Myanmar of a preparatory
process for a human rights committee and encourages it to continue this
process in conformity with the principles relating to the status of
national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights
annexed to General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 28 December 1993; [NEW]
3. Expresses its grave concern:
(a) At the systematic policy of the Government of Myanmar of
persecuting the democratic opposition, National League for Democracy
members 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, which has forced many to refrain from exercising their
legitimate political rights; [MODIFID GA 2000 - REMOVAL OF REFERENCE TO
MASS RALLIES AND MEDIA CAMPAIGNS]
(b) 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 constructive means to promote
national reconciliation and to restore democracy, including through the
establishment of a time frame for action; [MODIFIED GA 2000 REMOVAL OF "NEW
AND" BEFORE "CONSTRUCTIVE"]
(c) 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 recommendations of the International Labour Organization on that
issue; this failure has compelled the International Labour Organization
strictly to limit further cooperation with the Government, and has prompted
the International Labour Conference to reconsider any cooperation with
Myanmar and that governments, employers and workers take appropriate
measures to ensure that the Government of Myanmar cannot take advantage of
such relations to perpetuate of extend the system of forced or compulsory
labour referred to by the Commission of Inquiry established to examine the
observance of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29); [MODIFIED AND
SUBSTANTIALLY DEVELOPED GA 2000]
4. Deplores:
(a) The deterioration of the human rights situation and the continuing
pattern of gross and systematic violations of human rights in Myanmar,
including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, enforced
disappearances, rape, torture, inhuman treatment, mass arrests, forced
labour, forced relocation and denial of freedom of assembly, association,
expression and movement; [STRENGTHENED GA 2000]
(b) The lack of independence of the judiciary from the executive and the
wide disrespect of the rule of law, including of the basic guarantees of
due process, especially in cases involving exercise of political and civil
rights and freedoms, resulting in arbitrary arrests and detentions,
non-existence of judicial control over detentions, sentences passed without
trial, keeping the accused in ignorance of the legal basis of the charge
brought against them, trials held in secrecy and without proper legal
representation, want of knowledge by the family and counsel of the accused
about the sentence and detentions beyond the end of prison sentences; [CHR
2000]
(c) The continued violations of human rights of and widespread
discriminatory practices against, persons belonging to minorities,
including extrajudicial executions, rape, torture, ill-treatment and the
systematic programmes of forced relocation directed against ethnic
minorities, notably in Karen, Karenni, Rakhine Chin and Shan States and in
Tennasserim division, 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 result 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; [STRENGTHENED AND UPDATED GA 2000]
(d) The continuing violations of the human rights of women, in
particular forced labour, trafficking, sexual violence and exploitation,
often committed by military personnel, and especially directed towards
women who are returning refugees, internally displaced or belong to ethnic
minorities or the political opposition; [CHR 2000]
(e) The continuing violations of the rights of children, in particular
through the lack of conformity of the existing legal framework with the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, through conscription of children
into forced labour programmes, through their sexual exploitation and
through recruitment and other exploitation by the military, through
discrimination against children belonging to ethnic and religious minority
groups and elevated rates of infant and maternal mortality and
malnutrition; [SLIGHTLY MODIFIED CHR 2000]
(f) The severe restrictions on the freedoms of opinion, expression,
assembly and association, the restrictions on citizens' access to
information, including censorship controls on all forms of domestic media
and many international publications, and the restrictions imposed on
citizens wishing to travel within the country and abroad, including the
denial of passports on political grounds, and gross interference in private
life, family, home or correspondence; [CHR 2000]
5. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar
(a) To develop further a constructive dialogue with the United Nations
system, including the human rights mechanisms, for the effective promotion
and protection of human rights in the country; [UPDATED CHR 2000)
b) To continue to cooperate with the Secretary-General or his
representative and to implement their recommendations; [MODIFIED CHR 2000]
(c) To cooperate fully with all United Nations representatives, in
particular to develop further the contacts established with the
newly-appointed Special Rapporteur, to allow him, without preconditions, to
return to Myanmar in the near future and to conduct a field mission
furthering his contacts with the government and all other relevant sectors
of society, and thus enable him fully to discharge his mandate;
[SUBSTANTIALLY UPDATED CHR 2000]
(d) To consider becoming a party to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol; [CHR 2000]
6. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar:
(a) To implement fully the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur;
(b) To ensure full respect for all human rights and fundamental
freedoms, including economic, social and cultural rights;
(c) In particular to ensure full respect for the freedoms of expression,
association, movement and assembly, the right to a fair trial by an
independent and impartial judiciary and the protection of the rights of
persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, and to put an end to
violations of the right to life and integrity of the human being and to the
practices of torture, abuse of women, forced labour and forced relocations
and to enforced disappearances and summary executions; [SLIGHTLY MODIFIED
CHR 2000]
(d) To take urgent and concrete measures to ensure the establishment
of democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the
democratic elections held in 1990 and, to this end, to extend the initiated
talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, Secretary-General of the National League for
Democracy, to a genuine and substantive dialogue with all the leaders of
political parties and of ethnic minorities, with the aim of achieving
national reconciliation and the restoration of democracy, and to ensure
that political parties and non-governmental organizations can function
freely [SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFED AND UPDATED CHR 2000]
(e) To take all appropriate measures to allow all citizens to
participate freely in the political process, in accordance with the
principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to accelerate
the process of transition to democracy, in particular through the transfer
of power to democratically elected representatives, the prevention of
intimidation and repression of political opponents and enabling the
building up of a pluralistic civil society with the active participation of
its members; [CHR 2000]
(f) To release immediately and unconditionally those detained or imprisoned
for political reasons, including those in "government guest houses", as
well as journalists, and to ensure their physical integrity and to permit
them to participate in a meaningful process of national reconciliation;
[MODIDIED GA 2000]
(g) To improve conditions of detention, in particular in the field of
health protection, and to illimminate unnessesary restrictions imposed on
the detainees; [CHR 2000]
(h) To ensure the safety and well-being and freedom of movement of all
political leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to permit unrestricted
communication with and physical access to Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political leaders; [CHR 2000]
(i) To fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women by bringing national legislation and practice
into conformity with these conventions, and to consider signing and
ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women as well as the Optional Protocol on
the convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in
armed conflicts; [EXPANDED CHR 2000 - ADDS OPT. PROTOCOL TO CRC]
(j) 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; [CHR 2000]
(k) And all other parties to the hostilities in Myanmar to respect fully
their obligations under international humanitarian law, including article 3
common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, to halt the use of
weapons against the civilian population, to protect all civilians,
including children, women and persons belonging to ethnic or religious
minorities, from violations of humanitarian law, to end the use of children
as soldiers and to avail themselves of services offered by impartial
humanitarian bodies; [CHR 2000]
(l) 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 and to re-enter into
a dialogue with the International Labour Organization and invite the
organization to establish a presence in Myanmar in order to enable it to
verify that such measures are taken; [EXPANDED GA 2000 - ADDS LAST 3 LINES]
(m) To cease the laying of landmines, in particular as a means of ensuring
forced relocation, and to desist from the forced conscription of civilians
to serve as human minesweepers, as indicated in the report of the
Commission of Inquiry; [CHR 2000]
(n) To end the enforced displacement of persons and other causes of
internal displacement and refugee flows to neighbouring countries and to
create conditions conducive to their voluntary return and full
reintegration in safety and dignity, including returnees who have not been
granted rights of full citizenship, in close cooperation with the
international community, through the United Nations system and its
specialized agencies, governmental and intergovernmental organizations, as
well as non-governmental organizations; [SLIGHTLY MODIFIED CHR 2000]
(o) To fulfil its obligations to restore the independence of the judiciary
and due process and to end impunity of and bring to justice any
perpetrators of human rights violations, including members of the military,
and to investigate and prosecute alleged violations of
international humanitarian and human rights law committed by government
agents in all circumstances; [SUBSTANTIALLY MODIFIED CHR 2000]
7. Decides
(a) To extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, as contained in
Commission resolution 1992/58 of 3 March 1992, for a further year, and
requests the Special Rapporteur to submit an interim report to the General
Assembly at its fifty-sixth session and to report to the Commission at its
fifty-eighth session, and to keep a gender perspective in mind when seeking
and analysing information; [CHR 2000]
(b) To request the Secretary-General to continue to give all necessary
assistance to the Special Rapporteur to enable him to discharge his mandate
fully; [UPDATED CHR 2000]
(c) To request the Secretary-General to continue his discussions with the
Government on the situation of human rights and the restoration of
democracy and with anyone he may consider appropriate in order to assist in
the implementation of General Assembly resolution 55/112 and of the present
resolution; [UPDATED CHR 2000]
(d) To request the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to
cooperate with the Director-General of the International Labour Office with
a view to identifying ways in which their offices might usefully
collaborate for the improvement of the human rights situation in Myanmar;
[CHR 2000]
(e) To request the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the
attention of all relevant parts of the United Nations system;
[CHR 2000]
(c) To continue its consideration of this question at its fifty-eighth session.
[ADOPTED BY CONSENSUS, 18 APRIL 2001]
***************
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2000
1 November
Main sponsor: Sweden
Situation of human rights in Myanmar
General Assembly resolution 55/112 of 4 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 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
*******************************
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS 2000
Distr.
GENERAL
E/CN.4/RES/2000/23
18 April 2000
Original: ENGLISH
Situation of human rights in Myanmar
Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/23
The Commission on Human Rights,
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 as elaborated in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other applicable
human rights instruments,
Gravely concerned at the systematic and increasingly severe violations of
civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights in Myanmar,
Recognizing that these severe violations of human rights by the Government
of Myanmar have had a significant adverse effect on the health and welfare
of the people of Myanmar,
Deeply regretting the failure of the Government of Myanmar to cooperate
fully with the relevant United Nations mechanisms, in particular the
Special Rapporteur, while noting the recent increased contacts between the
Government of Myanmar and the international community,
Aware 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 gravely concerned that the Government of Myanmar still has not
implemented its commitment to take all necessary steps towards democracy in
the light of the results of the elections held in 1990,
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,
Mindful that Myanmar is a party to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 on the protection
of victims of war and the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention,
1948 (No. 87) of the International Labour Organization,
Recalling the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW/C/2000/I/CRP.3/Add.2/Rev.1) on the
initial report submitted by Myanmar to that treaty monitoring body in
which, inter alia, it expresses its concern at violations of the human
rights of women, in particular by military personnel,
Noting the resolution adopted by the International Labour Conference at its
87th Session on the widespread use of forced labour in Myanmar, and also of
the recommendation of the Governing Body of the International Labour
Organization of 27 March 2000,
Recalling previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission
on Human Rights on the subject, most recently Assembly resolution 54/186 of
17 December 1999 and Commission resolution 1999/17 of 23 April 1999,
1. Welcomes:
(a) The report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/2000/38) on the situation
of human rights in Myanmar and the report of the Secretary-General
(E/CN.4/2000/29), and expresses its appreciation and support for the work
of the Special Rapporteur;
(b) The resumption of cooperation with the International Committee of the
Red Cross, allowing the Committee to communicate with and visit prisoners
in accordance with its standard working rules, and encourages continued
cooperation in that regard;
2. Notes the constructive dialogue between the Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination against Women and the Government of Myanmar at the recent
session of that Committee;
3. Notes the visit to Myanmar by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General
in October 1999 for the purpose of holding discussions with the Government
and with political leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives
of some ethnic minority groups, while regretting that two senior members of
the latter were arrested shortly after having met with the Special Envoy,
and calls upon the Government of Myanmar to enter into a constructive
dialogue with the Secretary-General in order to make better use of his good
offices;
4. Reaffirms the need to provide adequate protection and assistance for
persons fleeing from Myanmar and, in this context, takes note with
appreciation of the efforts of the Government of Thailand in providing
assistance and the expanded role played by the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees;
5. Expresses its grave concern:
(a) At the increased repression of any form of public political activity,
the arbitrary detention the imprisonment and the systematic surveillance of
those exercising their rights to freedom of thought, expression, assembly
and association, as well as
the harassment of their families;
(b) That, despite the partial reopening of some courses, most institutions
of higher education have remained closed for political reasons for over
three years;
(c) 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 is concerned that the
National Convention has not been convened since 1996 and thus is not in a
position to further the restoration of democracy and national reconciliation;
(d) That the Government of Myanmar has failed to review its legislation, to
cease its widespread use of forced labour of its own people and to punish
those exacting forced labour, which has forced the International Labour
Organization to exclude further cooperation with the Government until such
time as it has implemented the recommendations of the Commission of
Inquiry, except for the purpose of implementing those recommendations;
6. Deplores:
(a) The continuing pattern of gross and systematic violations of human
rights in Myanmar, including extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions, particularly in areas of ethnic tension, and enforced
disappearances, torture, harsh prison conditions,
abuse of women and children by government agents, arbitrary seizures of
land and property, and the imposition of oppressive measures directed in
particular at ethnic and religious minorities, including systematic
programmes of forced relocation, destruction of crops and fields, the
continued widespread use of forced labour, including for work on
infrastructure projects, production of food for the military and as porters
for the army;
(b) The lack of independence of the judiciary from the executive and the
wide disrespect of the rule of law, including of the basic guarantees of
due process, especially in cases involving exercise of political and civil
rights and freedoms, resulting in arbitrary arrests and detentions,
non-existence of judicial control over detentions, sentences passed without
trial, keeping the accused in ignorance of the legal basis of the charge
brought against them, trials held in secrecy and without proper legal
representation, want of knowledge by the family and counsel of the accused
about the sentence and detentions beyond the end of prison sentences;
(c) The continued violations of the human rights of, and widespread
discriminatory practices against, persons belonging to minorities,
including extrajudicial executions, rape, torture, ill-treatment and the
systematic programmes of forced relocation directed against ethnic
minorities, notably in Karen, Karenni, Rakhine and Shan States and in
Tennasserim Division, resulting in the large-scale displacement of persons
and flows of refugees to neighbouring countries, thus creating problems for
the countries concerned, and particularly the condition of statelessness,
the confiscation of land and the restrictions on movement faced by
returning Rohingya refugees, which have prevented the establishment of
stable conditions for their voluntary return in safety and dignity and for
their reintegration and have contributed to movements out of the country;
(d) The continuing violations of the human rights of women, in particular
forced labour, trafficking, sexual violence and exploitation, often
committed by military personnel, and especially directed towards women who
are returning refugees, internally displaced or belong to ethnic minorities
or the political opposition;
(e) The continuing violations of the rights of children, in particular
through the lack of conformity of the existing legal framework with the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, through conscription of children
into forced labour programmes, through their sexual exploitation and
exploitation by the military, through discrimination against children
belonging to ethnic and religious minority groups and elevated rates of
infant and maternal mortality and malnutrition;
(f) The escalation in the persecution of democratic group activists,
including elected representatives to the Parliament, students, trade
unionists and members of religious orders, for peacefully exercising their
rights to freedom of movement, expression, assembly and association, and
the Government's use of intimidatory measures to force elected
representatives and National League for Democracy members to resign from
their positions and to close their party offices;
(g) The severe restrictions on the freedoms of opinion, expression,
assembly and association, the restrictions on citizens' access to
information, including censorship controls on all forms of domestic media
and many international publications, and the restrictions imposed on
citizens wishing to travel within the country and abroad, including the
denial of passports on political grounds, and gross interference in private
life, family, home or correspondence;
7. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar:
(a) To establish a constructive dialogue with the United Nations system,
including the human rights mechanisms, for the effective promotion and
protection of human rights in the country;
(b) To continue to cooperate with the Secretary-General or his
representative and to broaden this dialogue, including through providing
access to any person deemed appropriate by them, and to implement their
recommendations;
(c) To consider becoming a party to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees and its Protocol;
8. Urges the Government of Myanmar to cooperate fully, and without further
delay, with all United Nations representatives, in particular the Special
Rapporteur, 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, and thus to enable him fully to
discharge his mandate, and, in this context, regrets that, notwithstanding
the recent indications that serious consideration would be given to a visit
by the Special Rapporteur, he has not so far been given permission to visit
the country;
9. Strongly urges the Government of Myanmar:
(a) To implement fully the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur;
(b) To ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms,
including the freedoms of expression, association, movement and assembly,
the right to a fair trial by an independent and impartial judiciary and the
protection of the rights of persons belonging to ethnic and religious
minorities, and to put an end to violations of the right to life and
integrity of the human being, to the practices of torture, abuse of women,
forced labour and forced relocations and to enforced disappearances and
summary executions;
(c) To take urgent and meaningful measures to ensure the establishment of
democracy in accordance with the will of the people as expressed in the
democratic elections held in 1990 and, to this end, to engage immediately
and unconditionally in a genuine and substantive dialogue with the leaders
of political parties, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and of ethnic minorities
with the aim of achieving national reconciliation and the restoration of
democracy, and to ensure that political parties and non-governmental
organizations can function freely, and in this context notes that the
National League for Democracy has established a committee to represent
temporarily members of Parliament elected in 1990 who are prevented by the
authorities from exercising their democratic mandate conferred on them by
the people of Myanmar;
(d) To take all appropriate measures to allow all citizens to participate
freely in the political process, in accordance with the principles of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to accelerate the process of
transition to democracy, in particular through the transfer of power to
democratically elected representatives, the prevention of intimidation and
repression of political opponents and enabling the building up of a
pluralistic civil society with the active participation of its members;
(e) To release immediately and unconditionally those detained or imprisoned
for political reasons, including those in "government guest houses", and to
ensure their physical integrity and to permit them to participate in a
meaningful process of national reconciliation;
(f) To improve conditions of detention, in particular in the field of
health protection, and to eliminate unnecessary restrictions imposed on the
detainees;
(g) To ensure the safety and well-being and freedom of movement of all
political leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to permit unrestricted
communication with and physical access to Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political leaders;
(h) To fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women by bringing national legislation and practice
into conformity with these conventions, and to consider signing and
ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women;
(i) 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;
(j) And all other parties to the hostilities in Myanmar to respect fully
their obligations under international humanitarian law, including article 3
common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, to halt the use of
weapons against the civilian population, to protect all civilians,
including children, women and persons belonging to ethnic or religious
minorities, from violations of humanitarian law, to end the use of children
as soldiers and to avail themselves of services offered by impartial
humanitarian bodies;
(k) To cease the widespread and systematic use of forced labour and use of
exploitative child labour, and to implement the recommendations of the
Commission of Inquiry of the International Labour Organization regarding
the implementation of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) of the
International Labour Organization, while noting the order by the Government
of Myanmar issued in May 1999 directing that the power to requisition
forced labour under the Towns Act and the Village Act not be exercised, as
well as the invitation to visit, addressed to the International Labour
Organization in
October 1999;
(l) To adopt, as a matter of urgency, appropriate measures to fulfil its
obligations as a State party to the Freedom of Association and Protection
of the Right to Organize Convention, 1948 (No. 87) of the International
Labour Organization and to implement the conclusions of the Commission of
Inquiry of the International Labour Organization;
(m) To cease the laying of landmines, in particular as a means of ensuring
forced relocation, and to desist from the forced conscription of civilians
to serve as human minesweepers, as indicated in the report of the
Commission of Inquiry;
(n) To end the enforced displacement of persons and other causes of refugee
flows to neighbouring countries and to create conditions conducive to their
voluntary return and full reintegration in safety and dignity, including
returnees who have not been granted rights of full citizenship, in close
cooperation with the international community, through the United Nations
system and its specialized agencies, governmental and intergovernmental
organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations;
(o) To fulfil its obligations to end impunity of perpetrators of human
rights violations, including members of the military, and to investigate
and prosecute alleged violations committed by government agents in all
circumstances;
10. Decides:
(a) To extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, as contained in
Commission resolution 1992/58 of 3 March 1992, for a further year, and
requests the Special Rapporteur to submit an interim report to the General
Assembly at its fifty-fifth session
and to report to the Commission at its fifty-seventh session, and to keep a
gender perspective in mind when seeking and analysing information;
(b) To request the Secretary-General to continue to give all necessary
assistance to the Special Rapporteur to enable him to discharge his mandate
fully, and to pursue all efforts to ensure that the Special Rapporteur is
authorized to visit Myanmar;
(c) To request the Secretary-General to continue his discussions with the
Government on the situation of human rights and the restoration of
democracy and with anyone he may consider appropriate in order to assist in
the implementation of General Assembly resolution 54/186 and of the present
resolution;
(d) To request the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to
cooperate with the Director-General of the International Labour Office with
a view to identifying ways in which their offices might usefully
collaborate for the improvement of the human rights situation in Myanmar;
(e) To request the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the
attention of all relevant parts of the United Nations system;
(f) To continue its consideration of this question at its fifty-seventh
session.
56th
meeting
18 April 2000
[Adopted without a vote. ]