Librarian's Choice
Librarian's Choice
Source/publisher:
Irin
Date of publication:
2017-09-13
Description:
"Rohingya exodus puts pressure back on UN rights probe
While the international community mulls action, deep-rooted Buddhist distrust of aid groups grows in Rakhine State...
An unfolding humanitarian emergency along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border is intensifying pressure on the UN to take action, with fears that an unprecedented exodus of Rohingya refugees fleeing a military clampdown in Myanmar?s Rakhine State could amount to ethnic cleansing.
A long-delayed UN fact-finding mission to Myanmar is renewing attempts to investigate allegations of serious rights violations, while the UN Security Council is set to hold a meeting on the crisis today after a request from Britain.
Since 25 August, more than 370,000 Rohingya refugees have surged over the conflict-torn Myanmar border into crowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, bringing stories of razed villages, executions, and forced expulsions.
The violence has underscored the urgency of the UN probe. The fact-finding mission was mandated in March by the Human Rights Council to investigate allegations of severe rights violations, particularly in Rakhine State, where the Buddhist majority has badly strained relations with international agencies and aid groups.
?We are working day and night to send a team as soon as it is practically possible to establish the facts,” Marzuki Darusman, an Indonesian lawyer who chairs the three-member team, told IRIN in a statement. "The fact-finding mission is very concerned about the reports coming out on recent developments.”..."
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-15
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Irin
Date of publication:
2017-09-15
Description:
"...Almost 400,000 Rohingya refugees have surged into Bangladesh from Myanmar?s Rakhine State over the last three weeks. They come on foot, plodding for days through underbrush and dirt trails; they arrive by boat, risking the monsoon season waves along the coast, or the currents of the Naf River, which divides the two countries along Bangladesh?s southern edge.Aid groups say the influx has exhausted relief supplies and pushed existing refugee camps ? filled by earlier waves of Rohingya refugees ? to the breaking point. With no space left in the camps, refugees are spreading out on roadsides, or spontaneously forming new settlements in open spaces.
?It?s beyond overcrowded,” says Vivian Tan, a spokeswoman for the UN?s refugee agency, UNHCR. ?A few days ago, we thought it was at saturation point. Since then, more people have arrived. And they?re still coming.”
For mile after mile, refugees line the roads around the overflowing camps. Some sit on old rice bags, filled with what belongings they managed to bring with them. Luckier ones carry a solar panel, or a chicken. Others carry their elderly relatives on their backs. For now, the Rohingya are safe in Bangladesh ? but they have nowhere to go..."
Verena Hölzl
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-15
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2017-05-01
Description:
"?National races? or taingyintha is among the pre-eminent political ideas in Myanmar today. It has animated brutal conflict over who or what is ?Rohingya? as well as communal violence that human rights researchers and advocates have variously characterised as a crime against humanity, ethnic cleansing and genocide. Although more scholars are struggling to make sense of how and why the ?Rohingya problem? appears to be so intractable, little explicit attention has been paid to how the conflict over Rohingya identity specifically, and contemporary politics in Myanmar generally, is contingent on the idea of national races. How did the idea of taingyintha become politically salient? How has it grown, developed and changed?..."
Nick Cheesman
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-14
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Times"
Date of publication:
2017-09-11
Description:
"...
The Myanmar Times
Monday, 11 September 2017
| Myanmar Edition
The Myanmar Times
You are here
Home » Business » Myanmar?s bargaining power rises along the Belt and Road
Myanmar?s bargaining power rises along the Belt and Road
Thompson Chau 11 Sep 2017
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: EPA
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi meets Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: EPA
AS Hong Kong?s second Belt and Road Summit started today in the city The Myanmar Times asked two experts from The Economist Intelligence Unit and Lau China Institute at King?s College, London for their input regarding the dynamics of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China in relation to Myanmar and ASEAN.
Much of the focus on China?s grand scheme in Myanmar has surrounded the development of the proposed Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and deep-sea port in Rakhine State. However, the BRI has a much broader implication on Myanmar both economically and politically.
Back in 2014, Professor Kerry Brown, professor of Chinese Studies and director of the Lau China Institute at King?s College, London, wrote that China can no longer reign supreme in many ASEAN member states, despite its economic muscle.
?Chinese investment and trade are all welcome [in Cambodia], but the days of Beijing supremacy are long over," he wrote in an article.
?A similar pattern can be seen in Vietnam, Myanmar, the Philippines and Laos. The era of stark choices between friends and enemies fostered by the Cold War has left a region with blurred allegiances and almost constantly changing loyalties,” he argued, adding that ?China can search for leverage in vain in this new context, but it knows than even endless amounts of trade, aid, and financial largesse don?t buy much any longer.”
Myanmar?s trump card
These days, Nay Pyi Taw has more options beyond Beijing.
?Myanmar occupies a unique position. It has travelled in the last few years from being a relatively dependent partner of China because of its diplomatic and economic isolation to one which, because of reforms and changes in the country, now has a much more diverse group of relations.
?This has allowed it more autonomy and a less severe form of China-centric links. It?s newly evolving relations with the US and the EU mean it simply has, very suddenly, more options,” he said.
Still, China?s leverage over some ethnic armed groups in Myanmar can be seen as a political ?trump card” over Nay Pyi Taw. The ethnic peace process is a top priority for State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the participation of those ethnic armed groups is essential for the peace process..."
Thompson Chau
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-11
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry
Date of publication:
2014-06-05
Description:
Date:
June,
2014...
The Republic of the Union
of Myanmar
Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry...
Notification No.
50
/ 2014...
The
8th
Waxing
Day of
Nayon
1374 M.E.
( 5th
June,
2014)
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw: Laws and bylaws/rules/regulations proposed (bills) and/or adopted in 2014, Burma/Myanmar laws, decrees and regulations (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw), 2014
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
339.49 KB
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Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (ICG) Asia Report N°290
Date of publication:
2017-09-05
Description:
"Extreme Buddhist nationalist positions including hate speech and violence are on the rise in Myanmar. Rather than ineffective bans on broad-based groups like the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion (MaBaTha), the government should address underlying causes and reframe the debate on Buddhism?s place in society and politics."....Executive Summary:
The August 2017 attacks by al-Yaqin or Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which the Myanmar government has designated a terrorist organisation, have pushed Rakhine state into renewed crisis. They also are being used by radical Buddhist nationalists in the rest of the country to promote their agenda. While dynamics at play in Rakhine are mostly driven by local fears and grievances, the current crisis has led to a broader spike in anti-Muslim sentiment, raising anew the spectre of communal violence across the country that could imperil the country?s transition.
Since the start of the political liberalisation in 2011, Myanmar has been troubled by an upsurge in extreme Buddhist nationalism, anti-Muslim hate speech and deadly communal violence, not only in Rakhine state but across the country. The most prominent nationalist organisation is the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion (commonly referred to by its Burmese-language acronym, MaBaTha), made up of monks, nuns and laypeople. The government has focused considerable effort on curtailing this group and pushing the top Buddhist authority in Myanmar to ban it. Yet these efforts have been largely ineffective at weakening the appeal of nationalist narratives and organisations, and have probably even enhanced them. However uncomfortable it may be, a more nuanced understanding of the sources of social support for MaBaTha, as opposed to simplistic one-dimensional portrayals, is vital if the government and Myanmar?s international partners are to find effective ways to address the challenges posed by radical nationalism and reduce risks of violence..."
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Inter-Communal violence and discrimination - Myanmar - General articles and analysis, Burmese Buddhism and Society
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
434.62 KB 1.01 MB
more
Source/publisher:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Description:
108 results...The special rapporteurs during this period were:
Mr. Tomás OJEA QUINTANA
Argentina, 2008-2014...
Mr. Paulo Sergio PINHEIRO
(Brazil), December 2000-April 2008...
Mr. Rajsoomer LALLAH
(Mauritius), 1996-2000
(resigned on 02/11/2000)...
Mr.Yozo YOKOTA
(Japan), 1992-1996
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-04
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
United Nations
Description:
These search results include news published from 2014-present.
For older news, visit the News Archives.
Yanghee Lee
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-04
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2017-09-04
Description:
"Reshmi Banerjee gives an overview of climate change-related risks for Myanmar...According to the 2016 Climate Risk Index, Myanmar is the second most vulnerable country in the world to the effects of climate change. The intensity and regularity with which cyclones make landfall have increased with every year, with the delta region affected by tropical storms and the dry zone impacted by debilitating droughts. Researchers at the Centre for Climate System Research at Columbia University, in collaboration with the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, have stated that the county could see a rise in temperature by 1.3 and 2.7 degrees by the middle of the century along with increase in precipitation by 2%-12% in 2011-40, 6%-27% by 2041-70. This is evident from the 2010 severe drought, a year which saw temperatures rise up to 47.2 degrees Celsius, a sure sign of global warming hitting the country hard. Dry seasons have become longer with shorter rainy seasons, thus inviting hardships for people in the form of water shortages and flooding respectively..."
Reshmi Banerjee
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-04
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Climate Change - Burma/Myanmar: general
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2017-03-09
Description:
"Martin Michalon explains the effects of tourism on the Inlay Lake Region...
Although Inlay Lake is a major tourism highlight in Myanmar, it also faces severe environmental threats, which jeopardize the whole region?s economic system. Because of weak governance under previous governments, tourism heavily used and abused the local environment, instead of benefiting it. The NLD government has formulated promising intentions, but the weighty legacy of previous regimes, top-down governance, red tape and personal interests might hamper their efforts. This post is part of PhD research in Geography on the development of tourism in Inlay Lake region. It is mainly based on more than 200 interviews with local stakeholders, from farmers to ministry officials, to boat drivers and hotel managers..."
Martin Michalon
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-04
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tourism in Burma - articles and studies
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Google
Description:
About 512,000 results (September 2017)
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-03
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
BBC
Date of publication:
2017-04-06
Description:
"The leader of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has given a wide ranging interview to the BBC?s Fergal Keane... We met in the cavernous interior of the foreign affairs ministry where the old regime once plotted its campaigns against international sanctions and isolation.
On the walls are the portraits of past Burmese leaders, beginning with her father General Aung San, assassinated on the eve of independence in 1947, and continuing into the era of thuggish military rule, face after forgotten face for whom nobody had ever voted in a democratic election.
The new leader, elected with an overwhelming popular mandate, arrived surrounded by civil servants and guarded by police, fresh from meetings and with many more planned later in the day.
Her interview with me was the first this year and a rare encounter with the media..."
Fergal Keane (interviewer)
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-03
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Al Jazeera
Date of publication:
2017-09-00
Description:
Useful collection of material on the Rohingya and their situation....
"The Rohingya are often described as "the world?s most persecuted minority".
They are an ethnic Muslim group who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingya Muslims who live in the Southeast Asian country.
The Rohingya speak Rohingya or Ruaingga, a dialect that is distinct to others spoken in Rakhine State and throughout Myanmar. They are not considered one of the country?s 135 official ethnic groups and have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982, which has effectively rendered them stateless..."....Analysis/description under several headings interspersed with 11 videos, texts, pictures...:
Who are the Rohingya?...Where are the Rohingya from?...How and why are they being persecuted? And why aren?t they recognised?...How many Rohingya have fled Myanmar and where have they gone?...Chart showing Rohingya movement since the late ?70s...What do Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government say about the Rohingya?...What does Bangladesh say about the Rohingya?...What does the international community say about the Rohingya?...What is the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army?...
Al Jazeera Staff
Date of entry/update:
2017-09-02
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Discrimination against the Rohingya, Statelessness in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Advisory Commission on Rakhine State
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-30
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
more
Source/publisher:
Advisory Commission on Rakhine State
Date of publication:
2017-08-24
Description:
"After one year of consultations held across Rakhine State and in other parts of the country and the region, the Advisory Commission submitted its final report to national authorities on 23 August. The report recommends urgent and sustained action on a number of fronts to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation and offer a sense of hope to the State?s hard-pressed population. The final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by Kofi Annan, puts forward recommendations to surmount the political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges that currently face Rakhine State. It builds on the Commission?s interim report released in March of this year. ?Unless concerted action ? led by the government and aided by all sectors of the government and society ? is taken soon, we risk the return of another cycle of violence and radicalisation, which will further deepen the chronic poverty that afflicts Rakhine State”, said Kofi Annan, Chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The final report addresses in depth a broad range of structural issues that are impediments to the peace and prosperity of Rakhine State. Several recommendations focus specifically on citizenship verification, rights and equality before the law, documentation, the situation of the internally displaced and freedom of movement, which affect the Muslim population disproportionally. An overview of the thematic focus areas of the report and its recommendations can be found here. The report is the outcome of over 150 consultations and meetings held by the Advisory Commission since its launch in September 2016. Commission members have travelled extensively throughout Rakhine State, and held meetings in Yangon and Naypyitaw, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Geneva. ?The Commission has put forward honest and constructive recommendations which we know will create debate,” Commission Chair Kofi Annan said. ?However, if adopted and implemented in the spirit in which they were conceived, I firmly believe that our recommendations, along with those of our interim report, can trace a path to lasting peace, development and respect for the rule of law in Rakhine State.” With the submission of its final report, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine has completed its mandate. However, the Commission?s report recommends a national mechanism be established to ensure the effective implementation of its recommendations. ?We propose a ministerial-level appointment to be made with the sole function of coordinating policy on Rakhine State and ensuring the effective implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission?s recommendations,” says Commission Chair Kofi Annan. ?The appointee should be supported by a permanent and well-staffed secretariat, which will be an integral part of the Central Committee on Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State and support its work.”
Kofi Annan (Chair), U Win Mra, U Aye Lwin, Dr Tha Hla Shwe, Dr Mya Thida, Daw Saw Khin Tint, U Khin Maung Lay, Mr Ghassan Salamé, Ms Laetitia van den Assum
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-29
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf
Size:
9.27 MB
more
Source/publisher:
Advisory Commission on Rakhine State
Date of publication:
2017-08-24
Description:
"After one year of consultations held across Rakhine State and in other parts of the country and the region, the Advisory Commission submitted its final report to national authorities on 23 August. The report recommends urgent and sustained action on a number of fronts to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation and offer a sense of hope to the State?s hard-pressed population. The final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by Kofi Annan, puts forward recommendations to surmount the political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges that currently face Rakhine State. It builds on the Commission?s interim report released in March of this year. ?Unless concerted action ? led by the government and aided by all sectors of the government and society ? is taken soon, we risk the return of another cycle of violence and radicalisation, which will further deepen the chronic poverty that afflicts Rakhine State”, said Kofi Annan, Chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. The final report addresses in depth a broad range of structural issues that are impediments to the peace and prosperity of Rakhine State. Several recommendations focus specifically on citizenship verification, rights and equality before the law, documentation, the situation of the internally displaced and freedom of movement, which affect the Muslim population disproportionally. An overview of the thematic focus areas of the report and its recommendations can be found here. The report is the outcome of over 150 consultations and meetings held by the Advisory Commission since its launch in September 2016. Commission members have travelled extensively throughout Rakhine State, and held meetings in Yangon and Naypyitaw, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Geneva. ?The Commission has put forward honest and constructive recommendations which we know will create debate,” Commission Chair Kofi Annan said. ?However, if adopted and implemented in the spirit in which they were conceived, I firmly believe that our recommendations, along with those of our interim report, can trace a path to lasting peace, development and respect for the rule of law in Rakhine State.” With the submission of its final report, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine has completed its mandate. However, the Commission?s report recommends a national mechanism be established to ensure the effective implementation of its recommendations. ?We propose a ministerial-level appointment to be made with the sole function of coordinating policy on Rakhine State and ensuring the effective implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission?s recommendations,” says Commission Chair Kofi Annan. ?The appointee should be supported by a permanent and well-staffed secretariat, which will be an integral part of the Central Committee on Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State and support its work.”
Kofi Annan (Chair), U Win Mra, U Aye Lwin, Dr Tha Hla Shwe, Dr Mya Thida, Daw Saw Khin Tint, U Khin Maung Lay, Mr Ghassan Salamé, Ms Laetitia van den Assum
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-29
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
271.77 KB
more
Source/publisher:
Advisory Commission on Rakhine State
Description:
This site has the Commission?s public documents in English and Burmese dating back to August 2016
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-29
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
more
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (ICG)
Date of publication:
2017-08-27
Description:
"In the early hours of 25 August, militants from Harakah al-Yaqin � a Rohingya insurgent group that noww refers to itself in English as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army ? mounted coordinated attacks on 30 police posts and an army base in the north of Myanmar?s Rakhine state, in the townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung. The government reports that the attackers, equipped with hand-held explosive devices, machetes and a few small arms, killed ten police officers, a soldier and an immigration official. Reportedly, 77 insurgents also were killed and one captured. In response, the military is conducting ?clearance operations” across the area and police in rural outposts have moved to more secure locations in case of further attacks. Clashes continue in some locations, and there are reports of vigilantism against Rohingya communities. Both Rohingya and Buddhist residents are attempting to flee the areas affected. Time is not on the government?s side if Rakhine state is to be pulled back from the brink. It must quickly take bold measures to address legitimate Rohingya concerns...The Rohingya insurgent attacks that killed twelve Myanmar soldiers and officials and perhaps 77 of their own number is a serious escalation of a ten-month-old crisis. They make implementation of this week?s recommendations to address Rohingya grievances from Kofi Annan?s Advisory Commission both harder and more urgent."
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-27
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Description:
Archive from November 2007
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-24
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
"New Mandala" Myanmar Archive
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Advisory Commission on Rakhine State
Date of publication:
2017-08-24
Description:
"After one year of consultations held across Rakhine State and in other parts of the country and the region, the Advisory Commission submitted its final report to national authorities on 23 August. The report recommends urgent and sustained action on a number of fronts to prevent violence, maintain peace, foster reconciliation and offer a sense of hope to the State?s hard-pressed population.
The final report of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, chaired by Kofi Annan, puts forward recommendations to surmount the political, socio-economic and humanitarian challenges that currently face Rakhine State. It builds on the Commission?s interim report released in March of this year.
?Unless concerted action ? led by the government and aided by all sectors of the government and society ? is taken soon, we risk the return of another cycle of violence and radicalisation, which will further deepen the chronic poverty that afflicts Rakhine State”, said Kofi Annan, Chair of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.
The final report addresses in depth a broad range of structural issues that are impediments to the peace and prosperity of Rakhine State. Several recommendations focus specifically on citizenship verification, rights and equality before the law, documentation, the situation of the internally displaced and freedom of movement, which affect the Muslim population disproportionally. An overview of the thematic focus areas of the report and its recommendations can be found here.
The report is the outcome of over 150 consultations and meetings held by the Advisory Commission since its launch in September 2016. Commission members have travelled extensively throughout Rakhine State, and held meetings in Yangon and Naypyitaw, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Geneva.
?The Commission has put forward honest and constructive recommendations which we know will create debate,” Commission Chair Kofi Annan said. ?However, if adopted and implemented in the spirit in which they were conceived, I firmly believe that our recommendations, along with those of our interim report, can trace a path to lasting peace, development and respect for the rule of law in Rakhine State.”
With the submission of its final report, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine has completed its mandate. However, the Commission?s report recommends a national mechanism be established to ensure the effective implementation of its recommendations.
?We propose a ministerial-level appointment to be made with the sole function of coordinating policy on Rakhine State and ensuring the effective implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission?s recommendations,” says Commission Chair Kofi Annan. ?The appointee should be supported by a permanent and well-staffed secretariat, which will be an integral part of the Central Committee on Implementation of Peace and Development in Rakhine State and support its work.”
Kofi Annan (Chair), U Win Mra, U Aye Lwin, Dr Tha Hla Shwe, Dr Mya Thida, Daw Saw Khin Tint, U Khin Maung Lay, Mr Ghassan Salamé, Ms Laetitia van den Assum
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-24
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf pdf pdf
Size:
271.77 KB 9.27 MB 490.99 KB
more
Source/publisher:
U.S. Global Change Research Program
Date of publication:
2017-06-28
Description:
"As a key input into the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), the U.S. Global Change
Research Program (USGCRP) oversaw the production of this special, stand-alone report of the
state
of science relating to climate change and its physical impacts.
This report is designed to be an authoritative assessment of the science of climate change, with a
focus on the United States, to serve as the foundation for efforts to assess climate-related risks
and inform decision-making about responses. In accordance with this purpose, it does not
include an assessment of literature on climate change mitigation, adaptation, economic valuation,
or societal responses, nor does it include policy recommendations.
The Climate Science Special Report (CSSR) serves several purposes for NCA4, including
providing 1) an updated detailed analysis of the findings of how climate change is affecting
weather and climate across the United States; 2) an executive summary that will be used as the
basis for the science summary of NCA4; and 3) foundational information and projections for
climate change, including extremes, to improve ?end-to-end” consistency in sectoral, regional,
and resilience analyses for NCA4. As an assessment and analysis of the science, this report
provides important input to the development of NCA4 and its primary focus on the human
welfare, societal, economic and environmental elements of climate change..."
Donald Wuebbles, David Fahey, Kathleen Hibbard et al
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-12
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
25.31 MB
more
Source/publisher:
World Bank
Date of publication:
2005-07-01
Description:
Abstract:
"Justice sector reforms have frequently been based on institutional transplants, wherein the putatively ?successful? legal codes (constitutions, contract law, etc.) and institutions (courts, legal services organizations, etc.) of developed countries have this been imported almost verbatim into developing countries. Local level context and the systems of justice actually operating in many contexts were largely ignored. As such, justice sector reformers have failed to acknowledge, and thus comprehend, how the systems-which, at least in rural areas, are predominantly customary, idiosyncratic to specific sub-regional and cultural contexts, and residing only in oral form-by which many people (if not most poor people) in developing countries order their lives function. This paper attempts to bring customary systems into central focus in the ongoing debate about legal and regulatory reform. It first analyses the ongoing challenges and critiques of customary legal systems and examines why, despite these challenges, engaging with such systems is crucial to successful reform processes. It then turns to an examination of the ways in which customary systems have developed in three African Countries-Tanzania, Rwanda and South Africa-and how governments in each of these countries have tried to deal with different systems. Finally the paper draws out some of the lessons of these experiences and the implications they might have for ongoing policy reform initiatives."
Chirayath, Leila; Sage, Caroline; Woolcock, Michael;
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-01
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Legal Pluralism - global and regional
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
315.47 KB
Local URL:
World_Bank-2005-Customary_Law-engaging.pdf
World_Bank-2005-Customary_Law-engaging.pdf more
Source/publisher:
teacircleoxford
Date of publication:
2017-07-24
Description:
Death, Lies, and Videotape
"David Scott Mathieson explores the pernicious effects of fake news on complex conflicts...
The shaky mobile phone footage of Myanmar army soldiers questioning and beating men wearing civilian clothes shocked social media followers in recent weeks. Rights groups seized on the 17-minute long footage, claiming it demonstrated ongoing abuses by the military, or Tatmadaw, especially as government, military and ethnic armed groups leaders were meeting in the capital Naypyidaw for the Panglong 21st Century Peace conference in late May.
There is no denying the brute force impact of the footage, with soldiers striking handcuffed men with helmets, kicking them, and threatening them with sharp weapons, whilst demanding information, in Burmese, and through interpreters in Palaung, on suspected hidden weapons. Rights groups quoted in The New York Times claimed the footage was taken in recent days or weeks, yet it was determined subsequently to be two years old, pointing to the perils of premature social media posting of conflict reports..."
David Scott Mathieson
Date of entry/update:
2017-07-28
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2017-07-24
Description:
GENEVA (24 July 2017) ? "A United Nations Special Rapporteur has issued a strongly worded statement accusing the Government of Myanmar of policies reminiscent of the previous military government, and of presiding over a worsening security and human rights situation.
Yanghee Lee, ending a 12-day visit to the country, listed a catalogue of concerns including reports of killings, torture, the use of human shields by security forces, deaths in custody and an ongoing humanitarian crisis for the Rohingya people and other minorities forced from their homes.
Her own movements had been severely restricted, she added, and access to crisis-hit areas remained off-limits even to international organizations. People who met her faced harassment, and the Government had sought to place unprecedented pre-conditions on her visit..."
Date of entry/update:
2017-07-26
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Euro-Burma Office (EBO) Myanmar
Description:
Important site. NEWS: 23639 well-chosen articles (as of April 2018); 17912 (as of July 2017) from the Burmese and international media. Searchable archive back to June 2013...Also, EBO Political Monitors, EBO Briefing papers, EBO Research papers...You can subscribe to the daily selection (currently about 20 articles).
Date of entry/update:
2017-07-19
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
News - Burma/Myanmar selected news and commentary from various sources, News - . Favourites
Language:
English
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Source/publisher:
XVI Biennial Conference of the IASC, Utrecht July 2017
Date of publication:
2017-07-00
Description:
XVI Biennial Conference of the IASC, Utrecht July 2017
Track 8: What Role can the Commons play in the Struggle for Land Rights, in particular of
Indigenous Communities?..."Research into the Commons can contribute to the struggle for land rights of indigenous communities, if the research can suggest the means for the indigenous communities to articulate their claims and seek ways to have their land protected under statutory law in a way that does not distort their traditional tenure arrangements. The present research looks at this struggle for land rights in Myanmar to show how the application of the Theory of the Commons and its guiding principles can prepare a stepping stone for the preparation of procedures that eventually could become embedded in a legal and regulatory framework for land registration of customary communal agricultural land of upland ethnic groups..."
Kirsten Ewers Andersen
Date of entry/update:
2017-07-17
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Shifting ("swidden", "jhum", "taungya") cultivation - Burma/Myanmar, Customary tenure (Myanmar)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.04 MB
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Source/publisher:
Faculty of Arts Department of Social Inquiry & Community Studies Victoria University
Date of publication:
2007-06-00
Description:
Abstract:
"This study seeks to understand the dynamics and processes of community
development programs for children in Burma (Myanmar). It examines the ethical
dimensions of children?s participation, critiques the extent of participation of young
people in community development activity, explores the barriers and avenues for
increased participation and presents recommendations based on lived experience
which can be used to formulate policies that will enable/encourage greater
participation.
The development industry reaches to almost all areas of the globe and is not
confined by national boundaries, ethnicity, age, gender or other social stratification.
One of the most topical issues in contemporary development regards the rights of
the child. It is an area of increasing interest to United Nations agencies and to
human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the International Labour
Organisation. In addition, a number of international programs have been created to
focus upon improving the global situation of children, such as the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of the Child and Mandela and Machel?s "Global
Movement for Children." Such interest in the situation of children, however, rarely
includes discussion of the ethical issues involved in the construction of children as
appropriate subjects of development. Even rarer is examination or discussion of
the culturally and historically contingent nature of assumptions about children and
childhood that are built into many programs that focus upon children. The
implications of applying programs and techniques that incorporate "Western" or
"generic" understandings of children and childhood upon children from non
Western nations should be part of such discussions.
Development programs increasingly employ national workers, not only as
stakeholders and participants, but also as initiators of programs and as directors of
resource allocation. However, with this growing trend of the participation of
?beneficiaries? of development programs in identifying needs and planning and
implementing solutions, the voices of children have, until recently, been quiet."
Karl Goodwin-Dorning
Date of entry/update:
2017-07-16
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf pdf
Size:
3.61 MB 8.6 MB 5.19 MB
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Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (ICG) Asia Report N°287
Date of publication:
2017-06-29
Description:
Executive Summary:
"Myanmar?s latest peace conference, held on 24-29 May 2017, made welcome progress.
Following a deal brokered by China on the eve of the meeting, more armed groups
came to Naypyitaw than expected. On the final day, they agreed on 37 ?principles” for
a future peace accord, including a key provision that the state will be a federal democracy.
Yet despite these steps forward, fundamental questions remain regarding where
the peace process is heading and how many armed groups are ready to participate.
Without new momentum and broader participation, a negotiated end to the conflict
will remain elusive.
Until just days before the conference, the dynamics appeared much bleaker. The
event had been delayed by three months as the government struggled to convince
more armed groups to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). Only a few
of the planned subnational preparatory dialogues had been held, and others ?
involving the Shan and Rakhine armed groups ? had been blocked by the authorities,
adding to frustration. In a further setback, in April the powerful United Wa State
Party (UWSP) convened a summit of seven north-east-based armed groups. They
issued a statement rejecting the current National Ceasefire Agreement text ? an
accord signed in 2015 by eight armed groups and the government that paved the way
for political talks ? and announcing a new alliance, the Federal Political Negotiation
and Consultative Committee (FPNCC, ?Wa alliance”). A deadlock appeared inevitable
since the government and military continued to insist that only by signing the existing
ceasefire agreement could armed groups join the peace process.
What would have been a high-profile failure of Aung San Suu Kyi?s signature initiative
was only avoided through Beijing?s last-minute shuttle diplomacy. After
obtaining concessions from the Myanmar government and military, a Chinese envoy
convinced representatives of the seven north-eastern armed groups to attend the
conference. As a result, fifteen of 21 armed groups were present for the opening ?
the eight that signed the ceasefire agreement and the seven in the new Wa alliance
? a symbolically important win for the government. Beyond symbolism, this also set
an important precedent by allowing three previously-excluded groups ? the Kokang,
Palaung and Arakan armies ? to join negotiations. It also could open up new channels
of communication with groups in the Wa alliance.
Yet progress should not be overstated. The Wa alliance groups attended the opening
session and dinner but were not permitted to participate in substantive sessions
and returned to Kunming two days before the end of the conference. They remain
unwilling to sign the current ceasefire agreement and the government remains unwilling
to revise it. It is unclear how much appetite there is on all sides for concessions
needed to bring these groups into the peace process.
Discussions with the armed groups that signed the ceasefire agreement also were
far from smooth. Key ?principles” related to self-determination and the possibility
for states to have their own constitutions within a future federal structure could not
be agreed as groups opposed the quid pro quo requirement that they reject any
possibility of secession. This failure to achieve what should have been an acceptable
compromise ? state constitutions are a longstanding demand of ethnic communities
Building Critical Mass for Peace in Myanmar
Crisis Group Asia Report N°287, 29 June 2017 Page ii
and no group wishes to secede ? highlighted deficiencies in the process and lack of
trust. Furthermore, the principles that were agreed were pushed through the plenary
without discussion.
With its last-minute intervention, China has assumed a high-profile role in the process.
But the extent of its commitment remains unclear and its interests do not necessarily
align with those of a robust peace process. If it stays focused only on delivering
symbolic wins at critical moments, little may change. But if China is determined to see
sustainable peace on its border, it can use its considerable leverage as well as sophisticated
diplomacy and mediation to push all sides to compromise."
Richard Horsey
Date of entry/update:
2017-07-01
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies)
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
Format :
pdf
Size:
311.96 KB
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Source/publisher:
"Nikkei Asian Review"
Date of publication:
2017-05-31
Description:
" By most standards ? and against very low expectations ahead of the event ? Myanmar?s latest round of peace talks between May 24 and 29 made good progress. Following a deal brokered by China on the eve of the conference, many more armed groups came to Naypyitaw than had been expected. And on the final day, agreement was reached on 37 ?principles” that are to form part of a future peace agreement, including a key provision that the state will be a federal democracy.
These are welcome developments and represent a step forward. But there remain fundamental questions about where the peace process is heading and how many armed groups are ready to participate. Without new momentum and broader participation, a negotiated end to the conflict will remain elusive..."
Richard Horsey
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-30
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies)
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International
Date of publication:
2017-06-09
Description:
"The conflict in Myanmar?s Kachin and northern Shan States has now entered its seventh year, pitting the Myanmar Army against a range of ethnic armed groups in areas near the border with China. An escalation in fighting since November 2016 has seen a rise in the Army?s violations against civilians, which in some cases amount to war crimes. Ethnic armed groups have also committed serious abuses."
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-15
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International (ASA 16/6429/2017)
Date of publication:
2017-06-14
Description:
"Over the last seven months, fighting has intensified between the Myanmar Army and ethnic armed groups in Kachin and northern Shan States, areas with long-running conflicts as ethnic minorities have sought greater autonomy and respect for their rights. This report documents war crimes and other human rights violations by the Myanmar Army, including extrajudicial executions, torture, forced labour, and indiscriminate shelling. Most victims are civilians from ethnic minorities in the region, continuing a legacy of abuse that has rarely led to accountability for the soldiers or commanders responsible.".....TOPICS:
Myanmar...
Asia and The Pacific...
Armed Conflict...
Armed Groups...
Child Soldiers...
Impunity...
Disappearances...
Unlawful Killings...
Internally Displaced People...
Torture and other ill-treatment...
Racial Discrimination...
War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity...
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-15
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Amnesty International reports on Burma/Myanmar, Armed conflict in Burma - Impact on village life, including health and education, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
Language:
English (full report); Burmese & Chinese - executive summary
Format :
pdf pdf pdf
Size:
1.8 MB 395.37 KB 707.27 KB
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Source/publisher:
"Tom Dispatch.com
Date of publication:
2017-06-01
Description:
"...it?s not surprising that when foreign policy elites think about what will replace a U.S. superpower in relative decline -- speculation that has grown more feverish in the Trump era -- they, too, look East. But no longer to Japan, which is passé, or South Korea, which has also perhaps peaked. Instead, they tremble before China, which has already surpassed the United States in gross economic output, while steadily enhancing its military capabilities. It seems like the only country remotely capable of challenging the United States as the world?s sole superpower.
The anxiety of declining U.S. influence became so intense during the Obama years that the notion of a Group of Two (G2) gained considerable currency: if we can?t beat ?em, went the thinking at the time, then maybe we should join ?em. However seriously intended such a proposal to co-rule the world with China might have been, the Obama administration never followed up beyond agreements on climate change and bilateral investment..."
John Feffer
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-11
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
ALTSEAN-Burma
Description:
BURMA/MYANMAR: COMPREHENSIVE ACTION NEEDED TO HALT ONGOING MILITARY RAMPAGE
April 2017....
Burma/Myanmar: Significant Reforms Needed Before Human Rights Due Diligence Possible
April 2016 ....
Post-Election Burma/Myanmar: Human Rights Developments
(Nov 15 - Jan 16)....
Burma/Myanmar Post-Election Outlook: Trials for Triumph
November 2015....
Burma/Myanmar Election Day: Free-est & Fairest is Not Free and Fair
November 2015....Fear & Voting in Burma/Myanmar: 2015 Election
October 2015....UNGA 2015: Developments since the 2014 UNGA Resolution on Burma
October 2015....Regime Continues Anti-Rohingya Policies
March 2015....Burma update since 2014 UNHRC Resolution
March 2015....Crackdowns on Peaceful Assembly and Association in the Context of Business Activities
January 2015....Developments After the 2013 UNGA Resolution
October 2014...New arrests and imprisonment of activists and human rights defenders in Burma
September 2014....Burma: Sliding Backwards from Reform
September 2014....Land Confiscation in Burma: A Threat to Local Communities & Responsible Investment
May 2014....Reforms in Burma: On the Downward Slope
April 2014......75 more - from June 2005
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-11
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
ALTSEAN-Burma archive
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2017-06-09
Description:
"Recovering Influence and Checking Rivals...The developing friendship between Burma and the United States prompted China to start searching for new ways to shore up the relationship. In 2012, academic-style journals in China ran several articles analyzing what went wrong with Beijing?s Burma policy and what could and should be done to rectify it. One proposed measure was to launch a public relations campaign in Burma aimed at overhauling China?s current negative image in the country. Beijing also began furiously reaching out to other elements of Burmese society—including the NLD and other democrats—utilizing the CPC?s ?government-to-government,” ?party-to-party,” and ?people-to-people” strategy that lies beyond the CPC?s previous limited circle of regime leaders and their business cronies.
In addition to these ?soft power? tools, Beijing also has access to a range of more kinetic options as well as an ability to either facilitate or frustrate any efforts by Burmese leaders to assert control over and establish a durable peace in the totality of Burmese territory. Since 2011, China has been carefully implementing this mix of hard and soft power tools to regain a position of leverage with both the Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi governments..."
Bertil Lintner
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-11
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2017-06-08
Description:
Part 4 of a 5-part series...
2011-to present: Burma-US Relations, Its Complicated:...
"Western sanctions did not cause Burma?s economic—and strategic—fall into the hands of the Chinese, as many foreign observers have argued. But Western policies certainly made it easier for China to implement its designs for Burma. This, in return, caused some in the West to criticize a policy of isolating Burma and ?handing it over to China.” These concerns were outlined as early as June 1997 in a Los Angeles Times article by Marvin Ott, an American security expert and former CIA analyst. ?Washington can and should remain outspokenly critical of abuses in [Burma]. But there are security and other national interests to be served?it is time to think seriously about alternatives,” Ott concluded.
But the turn took some doing. Between 2000-2008, the George W. Bush administration?s bipartisan Burma policy not only maintained sanctions put in place by Congress during the Clinton administration but added new ones in an attempt to support Burma?s democratic forces. In the wake of the 2007 Saffron Revolution?s popular uprising and the regime?s disastrous response to Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the Bush administration did seek to take advantage of additional space to support civil society on the ground by expanding humanitarian assistance and other programs inside the country, but overall it maintained a hard line against the regime?s leadership..."
Bertil Lintner
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-08
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2017-06-07
Description:
1978 to 1988: Rapprochement and Stalemate..."
Part 3 of a 5-part series...
1978 to 1988: Rapprochement and Stalemate...
"This decade was a period of gradual rapprochement between Burma and China—and a virtual standstill in the previously extremely heavy fighting between Burmese government forces and the CPB. Following Ne Win?s trips to China and Cambodia in 1977, Deng Xiaoping paid a politically important visit to Rangoon on January 26-31, 1978. Diplomatic relations on the ambassadorial level between China and Rangoon had been restored in 1970, but it was not until Deng?s visit that the hitherto strained relationship between the two countries could be described as reasonably normal. Aid to the CPB was downgraded, but not completely cut off. The official Chinese policy from 1979-88 was also characterized by the rather contradictory Chinese concept of differentiating between ?party-to- party” relations and ?government-to government” ties—a meaningless distinction in the Chinese context since the party in any case formed the government in Beijing..."
Bertil Lintner
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-08
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"China Daily" via Google
Description:
23,000 results, June 2017
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-07
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2017-06-06
Description:
1962 to 1978: Brothers No More:...
"It is generally assumed that Sino-Burmese relations took a turn for the worse in 1967, when anti-Chinese riots broke out in Rangoon. The fervor of the Cultural Revolution influenced the Chinese community in the Burmese capital and many young Sino-Burmese began wearing red Mao badges.
This violated an official Burmese regulation banning the display of such political symbols in public, and the young ?Red Guards” were ordered to take off their badges. When some of them resisted, anti-Chinese riots broke out in June and July that year.
Chinese shops and homes were ransacked and looted, and many Sino-Burmese were killed. A mob even attacked the Chinese embassy in Rangoon before the situation was brought under control. However, the role of the authorities in this affair was a matter of dispute: the Chinatown riots in Rangoon came at a time when there were acute shortages of rice and basic food supplies in Rangoon. According to eyewitnesses, the police did not interfere with the killings and the looting until the Chinese embassy was attacked. It is widely believed that Burma?s military government encouraged the riots in order to deflect attention from the country?s internal problems at that time.
The incident was followed by the withdrawal of ambassadors from both capitals and the expulsion of the ?Xinhua” (New China News Agency) correspondent in Rangoon. Beijing also suspended its aid program to Burma, granted under the 1960 friendship treaty. Radio Beijing began broadcasting fierce attacks on the Ne Win government branding it ?fascist.” On January 1968, heavily armed CPB units crossed from China into northeast Burma. The Chinese Communist Party decided to lend all-out support to its fellow communist Burmese-sister party..."
Bertil Lintner
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-07
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2017-06-05
Description:
Pauk-Phaw and its Evolution..."Pauk-phaw” was a term coined in the 1950s to describe the supposedly friendly and close relationship between China and Burma. It may be translated as ?fraternal” but, according to Burma expert David Steinberg, it ?has a closer Chinese connotation of siblings from the same womb [and] was used uniquely for Burma.” A memorial to honor the pauk-phaw relationship was erected in Mangshi in China?s Yunnan province in 1956 and the term was invoked as recently as September 2010, when Burmese junta leader Snr Gen Than Shwe paid an official visit to China.
But despite such diplomatic niceties, relations between China and Burma have not always been especially cordial. China, a vast, mainly inland, empire, has always looked for outlets to the sea for its land-locked western and southwestern provinces. That policy began as far back as the 18th century and manifests itself today in the ?One Belt, One Road” development strategy proposed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to open new trade routes between China and Eurasia. The Burma corridor gives China access to South- and Southeast Asia as well as the entire Indian Ocean region, and has, therefore, always been of utmost strategic importance to whoever is in power in China..."
Bertil Lintner
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-07
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"Global Times" via Google
Description:
3390 results (June 2017)
Date of entry/update:
2017-06-06
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
China-Burma relations
Language:
English
more