Librarian's Choice
Librarian's Choice
Source/publisher:
Burma News International (BNI)
Description:
Very valuable news site, specialising in the non-Burman groups....."The Burma News International was established in 2003 with four Burmese news organizations based in the western border of Burma, India and Bangladesh. It was later expanded, with other Burmese news organizations based in Thailand and the Thai-Burma border areas joining in. At present, it has ten independent Burma media/news organizations as members. They are: "Burma News International" (BNI - covers all ethnic groups)..."Chin World"...Independent Mon News Agency (IMNA)... "Kachin News Group" (KNG)..."Kaladan Press" (Arakan, Rohingya)..."Kantarawaddy Times" (Karenni)..."Khonumthung News" (Chin)..."KIC" (=Karen Information Committee, but this is usually in Burmese. "Karen News" is the English counterpart to "KIC")..."Mizzima News" (covers different ethnic groups)..."Narinjara News" (Arakan)..."Network Media Group" (NMG - covers all ethnic groups), "Phophtaw News Association" (covers all non-Burman groups)...Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.).....
" The Burma News International aims to promote Burma related news and reports in South Asia and South East Asia. It is also serves as a bridge for mutual-understanding, sharing experiences, expertise and resources and cooperation among the Independent Burma Media Organizations."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-22
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English, Burmese
Format :
php
Size:
201 bytes
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Source/publisher:
Burma Lawyers Council (BLC)
Date of publication:
2009-04-00
Description:
Contents:-
Part A: Special Features:
(A.1) Burma?s Judiciary: What changes will be required to create
a new system?...
(A.2) Opening of Advanced Internship Program at Peace Law
Academy...
(A.3) Housing, Land and Property Rights in Burma: Towards
New Strategies.....
Part B: Rule of Law:
(B.1) Unlawful Imprisonment of Lawyers under Contempt of
Courts Act...
(B.2) The Case of Ma Kay Thi Aung...
(B.3) The Issuance of Passports to Burmese Migrant Workers...
(B.4) Statement on the Unlawful Confiscation of Land in Burma...
(B.5) Statement on the SPDC Government Ministries...
(B.6) Statement on the Abolishment of the Union Solidarity and
Development Association.....
Part C: Criminal Accountability:
(C.1) Call For Investigation of Human Rights Abuses after
Cyclone Nargis.....
Part D: Constitutional Issues:
(D.1) Analysis of the SPDC Constitution from the Perspective
of Ethnic Nationalities...
(D.2) Part 2: Excerpt from Paper on the National Convention?s
Principles for a Constitution...
(D.3) The Failure of the SPDC Constitution to Protect Judicial
Independence
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-18
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.24 MB
Local URL:
LIOB_32.pdf
LIOB_32.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Burma Lawyers' Council (BLC)
Date of publication:
2008-12-00
Description:
Contents:-
Part A: Persecution of Lawyers:
(A.1) Burmese Lawyers Sent to Prison for Demanding Fair Trials...
(A.2) Statement Concerning Myanmar Lawyers...
(A.3) Unlawful Convictions of Burmese Political Prisoners are Crimes Against
Humanity...
(A.4) Struggle to Achieve Fair Trial Rights and Justice.....
Part B: Rule of Law:
(B.1) Conclusive Recommendations of the BLC General Secretary...
(B.2) Key Legal Questions Raised by the Suffocation of 54 Burmese Migrant
Workers...
(B.3) A Discussion of Five Burmese Cases from the Perspective of the Rule of
Law...
(B.4) Unlawful Detention in the Case of Min Ko Naing and 21 Other Democracy
Leaders.....
Part C: Special Features:
(C.1) A Legal Analysis on the Plight of Ethnic Nationalities in Burma...
(C.2) Part 1: Excerpt from Paper on the National Convention?s Principles for a
Constitution.....
Part D: Criminal Accountability:
(D.1) Momentum Building for Criminal Accountability Campaign
(D.2) The ICC's Indictment of the Sudanese President and its Relevance to
Burma.....
Part E: Political Developments:
(E.1) Dictators Cannot Bury Democracy...
(E.2) UN Credentials Challenge and United Opposition to the SPDC Roadmap.....
Part F: Recent BLC Activities:
(F.1) BLC Lawyers Train Karenni Refugees on Lawmaking...
(F.2) Legal Training on DVB Television
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-18
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
7.43 MB
Local URL:
LIOB_31.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Date of publication:
2009-00-00
Description:
CONTENTS:
v Abbreviations...
vi Acknowledgment...
1 Introduction:
1 Agroecological Zones and Administrative Divisions...
1 Land Use...
1 Workforce in Agriculture...
3 Expansion of the Irrigation Network...
3 Food Security Situation...
4 Rationale and Objectives.....
6 Energy Market and Outlook:
6 Energy Supply and Demand...
18 Potential Alternative Sources of Energy...
21 Justification of Biofuel as an Alternative Energy Source...
22 Obstacles to the Development of Biofuels in Myanmar.....
23 Resource Base for Biofuels Production:
23 Energy Security and Sustainability...
23 Biofuel Options...
24 Biodiesel Production...
27 Bioethanol Production...
33 Biomass Energy Consumption from Wood Fuel.....
38 Prioritization of Feedstocks:
38 Priority Feedstocks for Biodiesel Production...
40 Priority Feedstocks for Bioethanol Production.....
42 Agribusiness Models:
42 Existing Biofuel Business Model...
42 Opportunities and Constraints to Biofuel Business Development...
45 Integration of Small Farmers into the Agribusiness Chain and Options...
for Promoting Biofuel Business Ventures.....
47 Case Studies of Biofuel Ventures in Myanmar.....
56 Policy, Regulatory, and Institutional Support for Biofuel Development:
56 National Policies and Strategies for Biofuel Development...
57 Development Program and Plans to Address Agriculture Sector Objectives...
58 Institutional Analysis for Biofuel Development...
60 Investment and Financing Arrangements...
60 The Way Forward.....
61 Appendix 1: Oil Content of Different Land Races of Jatropha Curcas.....
62 Appendix 2: A Proposed Institutional Structure and Implementation Mechanism for
Biofuels Development.....
63 Appendix 3: Indicative National Biofuel Program for Myanmar.
U Hla Kyaw, Thandar Kyi, San Thein, U Aung Hlaing, U Tin Maung Shwe
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-17
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Biofuels, Rural development in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Total
Date of publication:
2009-10-15
Description:
"In September 2009, EarthRights International published a report entitled Total Impact that makes serious
allegations against Total. We would like to set the record straight..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-16
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
EarthRights International
Date of publication:
2009-12-16
Description:
On September 10, 2009 EarthRights International (ERI) published almost 200 pages of new research in two publications linking the oil giants Total S.A., Chevron Corporation, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand Exploration and Production Company Ltd. (PTTEP), and the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) to forced labor, killings, high-level corruption, and authoritarianism in connection to their Yadana natural gas pipeline in military-ruled Burma. The reports also document the flawed corporate social responsibility programs implemented by Total, the operator of the project, and reveal for the first time that the pipeline in Burma has generated more than US$7 billion dollars for the companies and the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)...
On October 15, 2009 Total publicly released a 12-page response to ERI...
This publication, Total Impact 2.0, is a detailed and fact-based rejoinder to Total's response to ERI. It finds that while the company may be softening to criticism and to the idea of engagement with a nongovernmental organization (NGO) such as ERI, it has yet again misled the general public, investors and policymakers regarding the impacts of their pipeline project in Burma. This report finds that the companies are still linked to violent abuses such as forced labor and killings in their project area, and that their project has generated multi-billion dollar revenues for the Burmese military regime.
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-16
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
United Nations
Description:
Main OHCHR page on the UPR..."The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed.
The UPR was created through the UN General Assembly on 15 March 2006 by resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council itself. It is a cooperative process which, by 2011, will have reviewed the human rights records of every country. Currently, no other universal mechanism of this kind exists. The UPR is one of the key elements of the new Council which reminds States of their responsibility to fully respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The ultimate aim of this new mechanism is to improve the human rights situation in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-13
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Human rights issues, UN human rights bodies and mechanisms, General information, overviews, guidelines and toolkits for the Universal Periodic Review
Language:
English (also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)
more
Source/publisher:
The Arakan Oil Watch
Date of publication:
2009-11-00
Description:
Rights Groups Call for China to Halt
Construction of Pipeline in Burma...China must halt oil and gas pipeline projects
in Burma (Editorial)...CNPC starts China-Burma Oil pipeline
construction with abuses...Hyundai Heavy to build US$ 1.4 billion Shwe Gas
Plant in Burma...Why Dealing with Burma Is a Very Bad Idea...Army continues forced labour along gas pipeline
in Burma?s Mon State...Singapore firm inks massive Myanmar gas deal...Burmese Junta Confiscates Public Oil Wells
and Refinery for Chinese Company
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-08
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
"The Shwe Gas Bulletin" (English)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
523.41 KB
Local URL:
SGB03-08.pdf
SGB03-08.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF)
Description:
Contains the Shan Human Rights Foundation Monthly newsletters from 1998
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-07
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Shan Human Rights Foundation Website, Armed conflict in Shan State - the human rights situation
Language:
Shan, Burmese, English
more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"Every year, around 50,000 people reportedly leave Burma in search of work elsewhere.
Estimates of the number of Burmese migrant workers who live outside Burma?s borders have
varied greatly however, and depend on whether both registered and illegal workers are taken
into account. While Burma?s Prime Minister, Thein Sein, claimed in December 2008 that a mere
46,057 Burmese migrant workers were legally employed abroad, Burma Economic Watch has
estimated that around two million migrant workers and refugees live elsewhere. In contrast,
Irrawaddy has reported that, of the estimated three million Burmese migrant workers who are
employed abroad, around half work illegally.3 In contrast to this figure, Moe Swe of the Burma
Workers? Rights Protection Committee (BWRPC) has put the overall figure at four million. It has
also been estimated that up to ten percent of the Burmese population resides outside of Burma.
Such patterns of migration are likely to persist, as the International Organisation for Migration
(IOM) has stated that it expects the flow of Burmese migrant workers to increase in the coming
years...Many Burmese migrant workers have not fled for a single reason or because of a single event.
Rather, many have left as a result of what Andrew Bosson has described as the ?cumulative
impact” of coercive measures and economic conditions, which push down families? incomes until
they can no longer survive in their present locations.14 For instance, the Burmese junta?s
policies of forced labour, land confiscation and compulsory cropping have further impoverished
an already desperate rural population. The result, Bosson argues, has not been a dramatic or
spontaneous exodus of migrant workers and refugees, but rather a slower process of ?gradual
displacement.”..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.38 MB
Local URL:
migrants.pdf
migrants.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...Burma is one of the largest sources of refugees in the world. Most people leaving Burma
have been displaced through the cumulative impact of various policies such as forced
labour; extortion, land confiscation, and forced agricultural practices. Family incomes and
food resources have been driven down until household economies have collapsed
completely and people are left with no options for survival. Simultaneously, there have
been many pull factors that have attracted migration. The governments of the four major
host countries this chapter will discuss later have often used this notion when arguing for
minimal support for refugees, for restrictions on employment and movement, when
defending their decision to close the registration of new asylum seekers, or when arguing
against the opening of a resettlement programme..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Refugees from Burma: general reports
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.13 MB
Local URL:
refugees.pdf
refugees.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"Despite intense international focus on the human rights situation in Burma in 2008, forced
displacement, as a result of conflict and human rights violations, was ongoing in the country.
Throughout 2008, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military regime
remained the main perpetrator in the majority of violations against civilians, particularly those
against ethnic minority groups. Further, the SPDC remained unwilling to fulfil their
obligations in relation to internally displaced persons (IDPs), flatly rejecting the assertion of
the presence of a large number of IDPs in Burma. As a result, during 2008, the junta?s
restrictions on humanitarian access continued to obstruct aid workers in Burma, particularly
in conflict-affected areas....In addition to the more traditional conflict-induced and development-induced displacement
discussed above, internal displacement in Burma is also caused by a combination of
coercive and economic factors which lead to the impoverishment and forced migration of
local populations. Such practices and policies employed by the SPDC and its allied
ceasefire armies include land confiscation, the use of forced labour, arbitrary taxation and
extortion, theft and looting, enforced agricultural quotas and procurement policies and
restrictions on the freedom of movement.25 As such, the systematic and widespread
violation of human rights is one of the leading causes of displacement in Burma today.
While many reports published throughout 2008 continued to refer to ?civilians fleeing
fighting”, the reality remains that conflict in Burma is typically of a low intensity and what
civilians flee from more often than not are the human rights abuses that invariably
accompany militarization and not overt fighting as is often implied. This is especially
prevalent in areas of ethnic armed conflict. In such contexts, it is misleading to use the term
?fighting”, as this implies that the villagers are fleeing from counter-insurgency measures
used by SPDC army units against armed resistance groups and that the conflict has spilled
over unintentionally into civilian villages where the villagers are easily labelled as ?collateral
damage”. Such assumptions could not be any further from the truth. For the most part,
the only real ?fighting” that ever takes place is when SPDC army columns attack undefended
civilian villages and opposition forces attempt to intervene to give the villagers a chance to
escape. In all such attacks, the villagers cannot be considered ?collateral damage”, but
rather the intended targets of them. Actual cases of SPDC army forces seeking out and
engaging the resistance are rare..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.39 MB
Local URL:
displacement.pdf
displacement.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...Under British Colonial rule, Burma was divided into two zones: the centrally located Ministerial
Burma?, which mostly consisted of the Buddhist Burman ethnic group, and the Frontier Areas?,
located in the mountainous regions situated along what are recognized today as Burma?s
international borders. These Frontier Regions were where most of the ethnic minorities resided.
While the British essentially destroyed the local government systems in Ministerial Burma and
employed their own systems of administration and government, the area also received some
development and investment. On the other hand, while the Frontier Areas retained their
systems of governance and some autonomy, their natural resources were exploited by the
British and they received little in regard to health, education, economic development, or political
representation at the national level.1 Even though Burma has long been free of British rule, this
system of exploitation and neglect continues to this day..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
872.11 KB
Local URL:
ethnic.pdf
ethnic.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"Women in Burma continued to suffer discrimination and violence throughout 2008, despite
representatives of the ruling junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)
arguing otherwise. The SPDC states that women in Burma enjoy full rights from the moment
they are born and often point to the relatively autonomous role they claim women in Burma
have traditionally enjoyed in any discussions on the rights of women. However, traditional
patriarchal notions about women?s proper role in society have helped foster a climate that
effectively obstructs any advancement towards women?s rights and gender equality.
Women?s abilities are seen as limited, and their activities therefore curtailed. In addition,
recent history has all but destroyed the collective capacity of Burmese women to attain real
equality...Women rarely receive equal pay for equal work and
are severely underrepresented in the civil service and in other decision-making positions.5
Significantly, since the military coup in 1962 women have been barred from any positions
with real political power as these jobs are reserved for the military, which women are all but
banned from.
Domestic laws regarding specific crimes often committed against women, such as domestic
violence and sexual violence, are sorely lacking: there is no law to address domestic
violence and only some sections of the Penal Code dating from 1860 and not changed
since, deal with sexual and gender based violence.6 Recent anti-trafficking laws have been
widely criticised for restricting women?s freedom of movement, as women under 25 have
been prohibited from travelling to neighbouring countries, leaving many vulnerable to relying
on traffickers to cross the borders...A most troubling aspect of women?s rights In Burma has been the continuing reports of
widespread gender-specific sexual violence and abuse committed by military forces in the
border areas. A significant number of rape cases have been documented since 2002. Their
systemic nature has led to concerns of specific targeting of some ethnic and religious
groups. However, the junta denies this, and the practices continue with the ostensible
sanction of those higher up the command chain..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
718.11 KB
Local URL:
women.pdf
women.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"Children comprise a highly vulnerable segment of any society and this is especially the case
in a country marred by conflict, such as Burma. In the case of Burma especially, children
form a large percentage of the total population, with UNICEF estimating the under-18
population of Burma to be 15,772,000 out of a total population of 48,379,000 in 2006. Thus,
children comprise around 33 percent of the people of Burma.1 Despite Burma having ratified
the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in 1991 under the then ruling State Law and
Order Restoration Council (SLORC), the rights of children in Burma today remain as tenuous
as ever. Over the course of 2008, various civil society actors such as exile media and
International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) provided accounts of the rights of
children being violated both in urban and rural environments. The CRC states clearly that
children require ?special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection.” This
proved to be a luxury that was not afforded to Burma?s children over the course of 2008.
The Burmese regime was furthermore in breach of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) in its treatment of the rights of children throughout the year, in another
example of the State Peace and Development Council showing scant concern for either the
rights of its citizenry or for the stipulations of international law.
Patterns of abuse in Burma are strongly connected to patterns of military control, thus the
nature of abuse which children face in Burma largely depends on the extent to which they
live under State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military control. For those living
under consolidated SPDC control, the intensive militarisation of Burmese society, which
relies on abusive mechanisms of civilian control and exploitation of their resources,
undermines almost every aspect of children?s rights. Militarisation requires extensive
national budgetary spending on the military. Such expenditures come at the expense of
other areas, such as health and education. According to figures released by the
International Institute for Strategic Studies in 2007, the SPDC was spending around 40
percent of the national budget on the military, opposed to 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent on
health and education respectively..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.23 MB
Local URL:
children.pdf
children.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"A strong education system has long been seen as the standard pre-requisite of overall
national progress for both developed and developing nations. A country populated with
educated citizens generally results in economic growth, innovation, public health and often a
political system that voices the concerns and needs of its people.
To all outward appearances, the SPDC has made legitimate attempts to position itself as a
patron of education for all. In reality, this position amounts to little more than an elaborate
show performed for an international audience. The disparity between government
propaganda and the actual goals of the Burmese education system is striking. The vision of
the Ministry of Education is stated to be, ?To create an education system that can generate a
learning society capable of facing the challenges of the Knowledge Age.? 1 In October 2008,
the state-run New Light of Myanmar ran an editorial emphasizing the importance of teachers
providing an all-around developmental experience, stating that teachers should ?train and
inculcate the students with knowledge, education and skill as well as with the habit of helping
and understanding others and observing ethics and morality.? 2 Despite these lofty
pronouncements, the SPDC treats the education system as something to be feared,
watching closely as primary school students—when given an opportunity—grow into
university students, who have proven to be some of the government?s most vocal protesters
and opponents. In light of this culture of paranoia and suspicion, the SPDC has erected
multiple barriers to accessing education.
In addition to these obstacles, and despite legislation ensuring free and compulsory primary
education, attending school is often an extravagance families struggle to afford. According
to the United Nations Children?s Fund, while enrolment is high at 80%, less than 55% of
enrolled students complete the primary cycle.3
With this high drop-out rate, the number of children left without significant skills increases,
leaving them highly vulnerable to various exploitive trades, such as forced labour, forced
conscription into the army or the sex trade.
An almost complete lack of free speech and expression results in an environment in which
rote learning is standard, and critical thinking is highly discouraged. If a student manages to
successfully reach the university level, he or she incurs a new level of restrictions from the
junta. University students and their teachers are feared most of all; as a group, they
represent the future of democracy and freedom to their families and the world.
Despite these significant hurdles, the Burmese culture highly values education and parents
place great importance on sending their children to school. The struggle for these families is
in overcoming the junta?s roadblocks in order to achieve their educational goals..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
547.2 KB
Local URL:
education.pdf
education.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"The right to freedom of movement, assembly and association were all severely curtailed in
Burma throughout the course of 2008, a year marked by natural disaster, political repression
and ongoing, intractable armed conflict. The Burmese military junta continued to flout its
obligations to uphold Articles 13 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR), despite its signatory status. Article 13 states that; ?Everyone has the right to
freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. Everyone has the
right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country”, while Article 20
establishes the rights of assembly and association thus; ?Everyone has the right to freedom
of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an
association.” 1
The citizens of Burma however, failed to benefit from the protections of the UDHR, or any
other international or domestic laws that enshrine freedom of movement, assembly and
association throughout the year. The trend of previous years that were characterised by
tight movement restrictions on the population was maintained, and in some respects these
rights were restricted even further. The movement of those in the ethnic rural areas that
have witnessed low-level armed conflict, in particular the Karen, Mon, Shan and Karenni
States was rigidly controlled by the armed forces and to a lesser extent the non-state armed
groups. The movement of internally displaced persons (IDPs), particularly those who were
displaced from villages and sent to relocation sites by the military, or who fled into jungle
hiding sites was severely curbed. Movement restrictions on the population in Arakan State,
in particular the Rohingya ethnic minority, were stringently imposed. In spite of the harsh
movement restrictions imposed by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), 2008
saw the continued illegal migration from these states and others into neighbouring countries
such as Thailand, India and Bangladesh. Domestic travel in general was also restricted,
especially in the rural ethnic regions where travellers faced arbitrary taxation at the hands of
the Burmese military and non-state armed groups (NSAGs)..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.17 MB
Local URL:
movement.pdf
movement.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...
As in years past, freedom of expression in the arts was met with stringent censorship. The
regime imprisoned poet Saw Wai for publishing a Valentine?s Day poem with a hidden
message denouncing General Than Shwe. The editor of the magazine Cherry, Htay Aung,
was dismissed for publishing a poem about the ancient history of Depayin that could have
been construed as a reference to the 2003 Depayin Massacre, which targeted National
League for Democracy (NLD) leaders and supporters. The State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) censorship board also banned popular American film, Rambo, which
denounced the violence of the regime.
The Internet, televised media, and printed press also continued to be strictly censored
throughout 2008. During Cyclone Nargis and in its aftermath, the regime prevented the
unaffected regions of the country from obtaining accurate information on the destruction and
humanitarian crisis. The SPDC not only restricted access to the cyclone hit regions, banning
the use of cameras or video recorders, but they also limited the print media to releasing
positive images of the regime handing out food and supplies and providing shelter. While
the regime has always censored access to the Internet, for the first time in 2008, authorities
arrested blogger Nay Phone Latt for his reporting on the September 2007 Saffron
Revolution. In November of 2008, he received a sentence of 20 and half years in prison.
All media continued to be subject to the publishing guidelines of the Press Scrutiny Board.
Publishers and artists must submit their work to the censorship board in advance of
dissemination and then wait for comments and exclusions. Once it has been reworked, the
final product must be approved a second time by the board, before it goes to the public.
Such a lengthy process has made self-censorship the more convenient option amongst
weekly news journals. It has also prevented the immediate release of relevant information,
as was the case with delayed coverage of the cyclone and referendum. Understandably, the
Burmese public have turned to the internet and international media sources for information
on what is happening inside Burma as an alternative to junta mouthpieces such as the
Myanmarhlaing, and the Mirror.
Politically, the regime forced the entire eligible voting population of Burma to participate in a
tightly controlled and engineered referendum to approve a draft constitution that was the
product of a 14-year long, undemocratic National Convention. None of the requirements for
free and fair voting, including freedom to vote in privacy; availability of information related to
the issues, freedom from intimidation or bribery, and independent monitoring, were ensured
by the regime during the referendum process. Instead, individuals met with forced advance
voting, threats, and a new Referendum Law for the Approval of the Draft Constitution of the
Republic of the Union of Myanmar (issued on 26 February 2008), which prevented any
speech against the referendum or dissemination of political information.3 The end of the
year saw the regime preparing for the next step in the seven-step roadmap to democracy,
national elections in 2010. Evidence to date suggests that the campaigns and election will
be conducted under similarly repressive conditions as those that marred the referendum on
the draft constitution, eventually leading to the SPDC's goal of a transition to a disciplined
democracy?..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
858.82 KB
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...Buddhism has traditionally been synonymous with Burman nationalism. The idea of ultra-
Burman nationalism has been used by the military regimes to unite Buddhists in solidarity,
and to oppress non-Buddhists. Constant rhetoric, such as the saying Buddha Bata,
Myanmar Lumyo? meaning, To be Myanmar is to be Buddhist? is used by the junta to justify
their actions and this ideology remains at the centre of the SPDC?s political philosophy.
Consequently, the SPDC has maintained efforts to assimilate all ethnic minority groups into
the mainstream Burman society to create a single national identity under the policy of one
race, one language, one religion?. Under this ideology, the SPDC promotes Buddhism over
all other religions. Evidence of this is seen in the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which
contains the Department for the Protection and Propagation of Sasana (Buddhist teaching).
Buddhist doctrine features heavily in the state mandated curriculum for all official elementary
schools, where students are required to recite Buddhist prayer daily. Moreover, the SPDC
continues to operate two Sangha universities, in Rangoon and Mandalay, to train Buddhist
monks under the control of the State Monk Coordination Committee. In 2008, there were no
official reports of forced conversion of non-Buddhists, however many students and poor
youth were pressured heavily by local authorities to convert to Buddhism. Job placement in
the public sector and advancement in the military was largely dependent on whether one
was a practicing Buddhist or not. Furthermore, one?s religious affiliation was a requirement
for all identification cards that citizens and permanent residents were required to be in
possession of at all times. In 2008, the military continued to abuse Christians and Muslims and their right to religious
freedom. It was reported that members of these religious minority groups were occasionally
used for forced labour to serve the military regime. In some cases forced labour was used to
destroy mosques, churches or graveyards in order to build Buddhist pagodas.7 Sometimes
these Buddhist pagodas would even be built using forced labour in areas with a low Buddhist
population even though, the Religious Affairs Ministry claims to only allow the construction of
religious monuments in situations that ?depends upon the population of the location.”
However, this rule seemed to be ignored for the building of Buddhist sites in non-Buddhist
areas. Christians and Muslims nonetheless, still experienced trouble when applying for
permission to build or repair their own religious sites. In many cases, Christians and
Muslims were eventually able to obtain the necessary permits to build, but only when the
groups in question had paid bribes to the authorities. There were also occasions when
these groups simply had their applications denied for various reasons, such as that the
church did not have a proper property permit. At other times, church or mosque leaders
were given informal permission to commence construction, only to have SPDC authorities
change their mind and destroy the buildings after they had been completed. This raises the
question of whether or not in these cases the authorities processed the applications solely in
order to collect the bribes required to have the petitions granted.8
In addition to oppressing religious minority groups in 2008, the SPDC increased its control
over Burma?s Buddhist population. Even though there are approximately 400,000 monks in
Burma, there are only nine state-endorsed monastic orders that are permitted to operate
under the SPDC sponsored Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (SMNC). Furthermore,
independent monastic orders are illegal since the establishment of the 1990 Sangha
Organisation Law. These laws have since been used to control the Sangha and limit its
rights to expression and assembly. For example, abbots are not allowed to deliver
instruction on any topics which could be related to politics and monks are restricted from
joining together in opposition to the government. Violations of this law, as witnessed during
the September 2007 Saffron Revolution?, result in grave consequences. Monks who were
accused of participating in the protests were defrocked in jail, where they were not allowed
to shave their heads or eat their meals in accordance with the monastic codes. Monks were
thus treated as laypersons and common criminals; treatment which comprises one of the
gravest offences one can commit within the Buddhist religion..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-06
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
833.12 KB
Local URL:
religion.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"For the people of Burma, 2008 has been another difficult year. The difficulties related to lack
of healthcare facilities continued, while other factors relating to poverty remained key
influences on the health of the nation. The enduring story from Burma from 2008 was the
humanitarian consequences of Tropical Cyclone Nargis, which hit the country on 2-3 May
2008. However, even at the beginning of the year, there were worrying reports and statistics
emerging from Burma regarding the health status of the population.
In January 2008, the United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF) released figures which
showed Burma had the second highest child mortality rate in the world, with between 270
and 400 children dying on a daily basis, many from preventable causes. By year end, the
combination of the estimated 130,000 deaths due to Cyclone Nargis and the increasing
HIV/AIDS crisis lead Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) to describe the current situation in
Burma as ?critical”, and also contributed to Burma being included in MSF?s list of the ten
worse humanitarian situations in the world. While it has been estimated that approximately
half of Burma's annual budgetary allocation goes towards military expenditure, less than half
a percent of Burma?s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is allocated to healthcare. Burma?s
per capita spending on healthcare has been reported to be "the lowest in the world". As a
direct result, deaths arising from easily preventable and readily treatable diseases are
common. Burma also has the second highest child mortality rate in all of Asia, with ten
percent of children dying before their fifth birthday; only Afghanistan?s child mortality rate is
higher.
While the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military regime makes little to no
effort to actively promote good health or to provide adequate healthcare, in some areas it
actively prevents the population?s access to healthcare through restrictions on movement
and other human rights abuses. For example, in August 2008, it was reported that medical
students were to be forced to take an exam on the current political situation in the country
before being allowed to take up medical placements in hospitals. Presumably, those
students who failed to toe the SPDC line would not have been permitted to commence their
placements. Although this was denied by the SPDC, it was confirmed by lecturers at
Rangoon?s Medical Institute..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma, Conflict and health, including violations of humanitarian and human rights standards as threats to health
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
717.01 KB
Local URL:
health.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"On 2 May 2008 the lower western regions of Burma were hit by Tropical Cyclone Nargis.
The scale of the cyclone and the devastation it left in its wake made the task of identifying
victims and those affected very difficult to accurately gauge. Estimates vary in range,
however, most sources agree that around 140,000 people may have lost their lives, and
around 2.4 million people were directly affected by the event. The actual story of the cyclone
and its effects have been covered extensively by the international and exile media as well as
those groups operating on relief and reconstruction efforts in the Irrawaddy and Rangoon
Divisions, which bore the brunt of the cyclone?s impact. Therefore, it shall not be necessary
to herein repeat the details of the event. This chapter will look at how the disaster may have
served to facilitate human rights violations in the early phases of the relief effort, including
those abuses that were directly related to the cyclone, but not necessarily perpetrated in the
delta regions, where most examinations of the human rights element to the relief operations
have been focused..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Cyclone Nargis: Individual documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.2 MB
Local URL:
nargis.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"Burma is a country rich in biodiversity, with a wealth of natural resources. This biodiversity
however, is under threat in many ways, but particularly from the impacts of the projects
which exploit natural resources for energy. Oil, gas and hydroelectric projects are all a
valuable source of income for the regime, which exploits the country?s abundant natural
resources by signing deals with neighbouring countries for the extraction and export of these
resources. Seldom do those Burmese citizens living in the areas of the projects see any
benefits. Instead, they are often subjected to a wide variety of human rights abuses
associated with increased militarization around the projects; abuses including forced labour,
land confiscation and resettlement, among others. In addition, their drinking water supplies
are threatened, as is the fertility of their farmlands..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
975.6 KB
Local URL:
environment.pdf
environment.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"Once considered to be the rice bowl of Asia, in 2008 Burma continued to languish and suffer
under the corrupt military rule of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC),
Burma?s authoritarian military regime. Burmese citizens faced countless human rights
violations aimed at destabilising and destroying livelihoods and building up the military, the
junta?s wealth and the wealth of state affiliated businessmen. As a result, the country
remained among the worst in the world in terms of inflation, poverty, health and education.
While approximately 40 percent of Burma?s annual spending goes toward funding the
military, only three percent is spent healthcare.1 (For more information, see Chapter 11:
Right to Health). The ruling junta has demonstrated a complete lack of will to implement
basic, sound economic principles, and maintains a system that continues to deny many
social and human rights to its people. The consequences of such negligence have been
dire, bringing the once prosperous nation another year closer to economic and social
collapse. In a report released in December of 2008, Burma ranked 135th out of 179
countries on the Human Development Index, down three places from the year before.
Moreover, the United Nations estimated that more than a third of Burmese children are
malnourished and more than 30 percent of the population lives below the poverty line..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Food Security in Burma/Myanmar - web searches, specialised groups, reports and statistics, Right to food: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
885.76 KB
Local URL:
livelihoods.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...the use of forced labour remains
widespread and pervasive throughout the country. The routine disruption of work and life
has brought many communities to the brink of humanitarian crisis, with villagers in rural
areas struggling to find the time to grow food or earn a wage in between fulfilling the various
demands of the junta and its allied ceasefire groups...Reports of forced labour were received from sources across the country during the year
2007 and again in 2008, with particularly high rates of incidence reported in Arakan State,
Karen State and Shan State. In some states, military demands for labour, food or money
were often expressed in written order documents, although some officers have become
aware of the importance of these documents as evidence of human rights abuse and have
begun circumventing the problem by issuing their orders verbally at meetings. In August
2008 the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) published a collection of 59 translated order
documents issued by State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and Democratic Karen
Buddhist Army (DKBA) authorities in Toungoo, Nyaunglebin, Papun and Thaton Districts
between October 2007 and March 2008. Some of the orders covered general issues and
specified travel permission or restrictions on the sale of meat, but many included demands
for food, materials, services and various kinds of labour or attendance at meetings..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
974.09 KB
Local URL:
labour.pdf
labour.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
The increase in the rates of trafficking and smuggling from Burma in 2008 is testament to the
seriousness of the economic crisis that threatens to destabilize the country. More
importantly perhaps, it is also indicative of a country in which corruption is widespread and
lawlessness is pervasive. Lawlessness is especially apparent in ethnic rural areas suffering
from conflict and in remote mountainous areas. Transnational crime is estimated to be a
multi-billion dollar industry; however, Burma?s ?extra-legal economy, both black market and
illicit border trade, is reportedly so large that an accurate assessment of the size and
structure of the country?s economy is unavailable.” Live animals, commodities, drugs,
arms, and people, particularly women and children, were all trafficked or smuggled within
and from Burma in 2008. Known trafficking and smuggling destinations included: Thailand,
China, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Macau, South Korea, Pakistan, India, Laos, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam, and Japan.
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
792.6 KB
Local URL:
trafficking.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...opium has now become an integral factor in the civil conflict and one that
threatens to prolong the suffering of those involved in the cultivation of opium poppy...It is not merely the ethnic conflict regions that have suffered from the effects of drug use in
Burma however. Rates of drug addiction, though difficult to quantify, appear to be increasing
across the country. Two well documented shifts in drug habits also give cause for concern.
Firstly, the transition from opium smoking to heroin smoking and finally to heroin injection,
which has led in turn to HIV/AIDS rates increasing to match the levels of intravenous drug
use...It is not merely the ethnic conflict regions that have suffered from the effects of drug use in
Burma however. Rates of drug addiction, though difficult to quantify, appear to be increasing
across the country. Two well documented shifts in drug habits also give cause for concern.
Firstly, the transition from opium smoking to heroin smoking and finally to heroin injection,
which has led in turn to HIV/AIDS rates increasing to match the levels of intravenous drug
use human rights abuses have negated a good deal of the positive effects of this reduction.
Forced relocation, deprivation of livelihoods and lack of viable alternatives for farmers who
were forcibly evicted from their lands have all been the result of a push by the SPDC to
make Burma drug free by 2014 (in line with ASEAN?s stated goal of a drug region by 2015).
Thus, while the SPDC preens itself over the eradication of opium cultivation, and largely
ignores the problems it has caused in the process, the nation has rapidly become addicted
to alternative drugs, which pose just as dangerous a threat to Burma and its neighbours as
opium ever did. These are factors which have brought the debate surrounding drug
production and trafficking in Burma into the realm of human rights and developmental
discourse, international relations and conflict resolution..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
861.09 KB
Local URL:
drugs.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...Throughout 2008, the HRDU documented a total of at least 28 deaths and a further 64
injuries occurring through explosions and explosive devices in Burma. Each of these
incidents is described in detail over the following pages. However, it must be noted here, as
elsewhere throughout the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2008, that while these figures are
high, the HRDU believes that they are still quite conservative and that the number of
fatalities arising from exposure to landmines and other explosive devices in Burma is higher
than that reported..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.17 MB
Local URL:
landmines.pdf
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Title: Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2008 - Chapter 3: Extra-Judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...Reports published throughout 2008 by various local, national and international organizations
have collectively shown that extra-judicial, summary and arbitrary executions and killings
continued to take place throughout the year and that those responsible include the State
Peace and Development Council (SPDC) military junta, several of its allied ceasefire groups
and agents, as well as armed opposition groups. The vast majority of those cases which
were documented throughout 2008 were reported to have occurred within the rural, and
mostly ethnic, areas of eastern and western Burma...As in previous years, the SPDC, its agents and allied ceasefire armies frequently carried out
extra-judicial, summary, and arbitrary killings as a means to intimidate and terrorize an
already fearful population by making examples of those who dare to stand against them.
Not only are such practices conducted in direct violation of international law, but also
Burma?s own domestic laws...Throughout 2008, the SPDC largely worked to consolidate its control over areas secured
during previous offensives, with SPDC army units throughout the country, but especially in
many of the rural ethnic areas, being primarily engaged in expanding their influence and
control over the civilian villagers that live in these areas..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.04 MB
Local URL:
killing.pdf
killing.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...Throughout 2008, acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or
punishment, continued to be regularly reported across Burma. Reported acts of torture were
not confined merely to those in prisons or detention centres but were reportedly perpetrated
against regular citizens; men, women and children who live in a country oppressed by a
powerful few. The year saw the continuation of human rights abuses against those involved
in the Saffron Revolution of September 2007, with trials held in prisons and closed
courtrooms. Many activists and members of the opposition were sentenced to long periods
of time in prison and relocations of political prisoners to remote prison locations were
common throughout the year as the regime made it even more difficult for relatives to visit
those imprisoned. Over the course of 2008 the prison population also increased due to the
spike in arrests from the end of 2007. With conditions in prisons deteriorating, the human
rights situation for those in detention continued to worsen.
Conflict and discrimination against ethnic minorities also continued, with reports of torture
used against minority groups including the Karen, the Chin, the Shan and the ethnic
Rohingya..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
562.35 KB
Local URL:
torture.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit (HRDU)
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
"...Throughout 2008 Burma?s military junta maintained its campaign of oppression and tyranny
against ordinary Burmese citizens, ethnic minorities, monks, political opposition groups and
pro-democracy activists. Arrests and detention continued against, and were shaped by, a
milieu of extremely significant national events.
In August and September 2007, protests against the price increases of fuel erupted
throughout Burma. Pro-democracy activists led the initial demonstrations in Burma?s main
city, Rangoon. Approximately 400 people marched on 19 August 2007, in what turned out to
be the largest demonstration in the military-ruled nation for several years. The authorities
moved swiftly to quell the protests, rapidly arresting dozens of activists. Nonetheless,
protests continued around the country. Numbers were small, but demonstrations were held
in Rangoon, Sittwe and other prominent towns. The protests culminated with the Saffron
Revolution; tens of thousands of Buddhist monks joined in a number of protests from 17-26
September. In the brutal crackdown which followed, many were killed and mass arbitrary
arrests were carried out. Thousands of activists and monks were arrested and held in makeshift
detention compounds..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Disappearences: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
843.95 KB
Local URL:
arrest.pdf
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Source/publisher:
Human Rights Docmentation Unit of the NCGUB
Date of publication:
2009-11-23
Description:
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Arbitrary Detention and Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances...2. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment...3. Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions...4. Landmines and Other Explosive Devices...5. Production and Trade of Illicit Drugs...6. Trafficking and Smuggling...7. Forced Labour and Forced Conscription...8. Deprivation of Livelihood...9. Environmental Degradation...10. Cyclone Nargis – From natural disaster to human catastrophe...11. Right to Health...12. Freedom of Belief and Religion...13. Freedom of Opinion, Expression and the Press...14. Freedom of Assembly, Association and Movement...15. Right to Education...16. Rights of the Child...17. The Rights of Women...18. Ethnic Minority Rights...19. Internal Displacement and Forced Relocation...20. The Situation of Refugees...21.The Situation of Migrant Workers...EACH OF THESE CHAPTERS CAN HE INDEPENDENTLY READ AND DOWNLOADED
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
13.26 MB
Local URL:
HRYB2008.pdf
HRYB2008.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Asian Human Rights Commission via UN Human Rights Council (A/HRC/12/NGO/21)
Date of publication:
2009-09-07
Description:
"...The deeply flawed 2008 Constitution further entrenches arrangements for abuses of the sorts outlined above, and any serious attempts from the international community to take up issues of concern to the people of Myanmar in the lead up to and after the anticipated election must respond to the peculiar variety of unconstitutional constitutionalism that it envisages. In particular, the following aspects of the charter must be brought to the foreground and addressed before it is possible to proceed to more in-depth discussion about human rights in Myanmar under a government operating according to its parameters:..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-04
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
National and State constitutions, draft constitutions and amendments (commentary), Oral statements on Myanmar by NGOs to regular sessions of the Human Rights Council
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
36.07 KB
Local URL:
G0915635-AHRC-HRC2009.pdf
G0915635-AHRC-HRC2009.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Burma Büro Germany
Description:
"Für Frieden, Freiheit, Demokratie und Menschenrechte in Burma"... Monthly collection of news items on Burma in German. Archive from January 2007 to May 2012
Date of entry/update:
2009-12-03
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
Deutsch, German
more
Source/publisher:
International Labour Organisation
Date of publication:
2010-00-00
Description:
This ILO guidebook promotes the rights and responsibilities of domestic workers. Published in a variety of languages, it is aimed primarily at the domestic worker and explains the benefits and risks ssociated with domestic work while offering the worker advice on how to interact with her/his employer to achieve a mutually satisfactory working environment and system of remuneration and benefits for the worker.
Date of entry/update:
2009-11-30
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Domestic Workers - standards and guides
Language:
English (also available in Burmese, S?Gaw Karen, Pwo Karen, Laotian, Shan, Thai)
Format :
pdf
Size:
529.48 KB
Local URL:
Domestic_Work-Decent_Work-handbook(en).pdf
Domestic_Work-Decent_Work-handbook(en).pdf more
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG Articles & Papers)
Date of publication:
1996-04-08
Description:
Briefing Notes by Kevin Heppner, Karen Human Rights Group
April 8, 1996
"...Right now the opposition Karen National Union (KNU) is trying to conduct ceasefire negotiations with the SLORC (State Law & Order Restoration Council) military junta ruling Burma. Though the SLORC claims to be making every effort to bring peace to the country, they are still refusing to even discuss any political or human rights issues, and as a result the talks are making no progress. Many observers feel that the SLORC is not yet interested in a ceasefire, but wants to launch major attacks against the KNU first in order to weaken the KNU so it can be forced to accept what amount to surrender terms.
Regardless of the negotiations, SLORC continues to worsen the human rights situation for villagers throughout Karen areas. In some areas, such as Taungoo and Nyaunglebin, systematic abuse of the civilian population is being used partly with the intention of driving the KNU towards a ceasefire deal on very bad terms. However, in most areas the abuses are increasing as a direct result of SLORC moving in and exerting stronger control in areas where KNU forces have been weakened or eliminated. Even in areas close to central Burma which SLORC has always strongly controlled, the human rights situation is worsening because more Army Battalions are being sent in to strengthen control over the civilian population, and because SLORC?s use of forced labour is increasing nationwide. The sections below give summaries of the human rights situation prevailing in some example Karen regions, starting from the northern tip of Karen State and moving southward several hundred kilometres to Tenasserim Division..."
Kevin Heppner
Date of entry/update:
2009-11-26
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Study of internal displacement/forced migration in SPDC-controlled areas, Right to self-determination: specialist NGOs and academics (global, regional and Burma/Myanmar), Village and urban resistance
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
"Journal of Peasant Studies" (originally published by Yale Agrarian Studies Colloquium, 2008-04-25 and Karen Human Rights Group, 2008-11-10)
Date of publication:
2009-07-22
Description:
"This paper examines repression and state?society conflict in Burma through the
lens of rural and urban resistance strategies. It explores networks of
noncompliance through which civilians evade and undermine state control over
their lives, showing that the military regime?s brutal tactics represent not control,
but a lack of control. Outside agencies ignore this state?society struggle over
sovereignty at their peril: ignoring the interplay of interventions with local politics
and militarisation, and claiming a ?humanitarian neutrality? which is impossible in
practice, risks undermining the very civilians interventions are supposed to help,
while facilitating further state repression. Greater honesty and awareness in
interventions is required, combined with greater solidarity with villagers?
resistance strategies."...
Keywords: peasant resistance; humanitarian policy; Karen; Kayin; Burma;
Myanmar
Kevin Malseed
Date of entry/update:
2009-11-25
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
General/Strategic, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Land rights, Food Security and militarisation in Burma, Village and urban resistance, Discrimination against the Karen, Right to self-determination: specialist NGOs and academics (global, regional and Burma/Myanmar)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
203.29 KB
more
Source/publisher:
International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL)
Date of publication:
2009-11-10
Description:
Ten-Year Summary"
"The Union of Myanmar has remained outside efforts to ban antipersonnel mines. Government forces and armed ethnic groups have used antipersonnel mines regularly and extensively throughout the last decade. Between 2003 and 2007, six insurgent groups agreed to ban antipersonnel mines. Myanmar remains one of the few countries still producing antipersonnel mines.
Continuing hostilities between the Myanmar government and ethnic minority armed opposition groups have increased mine contamination, but political conditions have not permitted any humanitarian mine clearance program. The precise extent of mine or explosive remnants of war (ERW) contamination, although significant, remains unknown.
Landmine Monitor identified 2,325 casualties (175 killed, 2002 injured, and 148 unknown) from 1999 to 2008. Despite this high level of casualties, mine/ERW risk education was either non-existent or inadequate in areas with reported casualties. Assistance to mine/ERW survivors and persons with disabilities in Myanmar is marginal due to many years of neglect of healthcare services by the ruling authority. Myanmar governing authorities have not developed a victim assistance program or strategy..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-11-24
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English, Burmese
Format :
pdf
Size:
428.21 KB
Local URL:
LandmineMonitor09Bur.pdf
LandmineMonitor09Bur.pdf more
Source/publisher:
United Nations
Date of publication:
2009-11-19
Description:
This is the text of the draft resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar adopted by 3rd Committee on 19 November 2009. This will presumably be endorsed by the plenary in December.
Date of entry/update:
2009-11-23
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
47.17 KB
Local URL:
UNGA2009-AC.364L.36.pdf
UNGA2009-AC.364L.36.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Committee for Promotion and Protection of Child Rights (Burma)
Date of publication:
2009-02-00
Description:
"...There are an estimated 200,000 Burmese children living in Thailand, many of whom are working, with 20% of the migrant workforce thought to consist of children aged 15 to 17 years of age. It was
seen to be a standard practice for parents to send children out to work, especially once they have
reached the age of 13 years and seen to be physically capable of bringing in extra income for the
family. Children may voluntarily leave or be taken out of school to work alongside their parents in the
factory or fields, as domestics or as service workers in shops and restaurants. Researchers have found
that children working in Mae Sot factories and the agricultural area are subject to the worst forms of
child labour, working long hours and being exposed to hazardous chemicals and conditions that are in
direct violation of Thai labour law. The difficulty of obtaining registration and the work permit makes for a tenuous existence. Consequently, young people can be coerced or forced into bad
employment situations...
As parent?s lives are consumed by the need to work and make money, children can be denied the love,
care and guidance essential to their healthy growth and development and may be separated from or
even abandoned by parents. Some parents abuse and exploit their children by telling them not to come
back home if they cannot earn a fixed amount per day. Consequently these children go out on the
streets looking for daily work to survive; this can include begging, collecting recyclable rubbish and
carrying heavy loads. This pressure is seen to change the moral character of children with some
turning to stealing. Children who are unemployed, neglected, abandoned, or orphaned can end up
permanently on the streets. Being out of school and on the streets increases the risk of being trafficked
and recruitment by gangs, who physically threaten and may even kill children who try to escape...
Statelessness is a real risk for children who are unable to receive identity registration in Burma and
for those born in Thailand of migrants, especially unregistered parents. Despite the ratification of
conventions, such as the United Nation?s Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC), and the
International Convention of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that stipulate birth registration of all
children born in Thailand, in reality only registered migrants who hold a work permit can register
their child?s birth. A change in the Civil Registration Act, effective from the 23rd August 2008, will
allow all children born on Thai soil, regardless of their status, to register their births and obtain a birth
certificate; however it remains to be seen how this will be implemented. In the meantime the
Committee for Promotion and Protection of Child Rights (Burma) (CPPCR), a Burmese CBO
established in 2002, provides a registration service for children from Burma that in some cases, has
been recognized by some Thai schools and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
(UNHCR)..."
Date of entry/update:
2009-11-23
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Migrant children and youth, Children, Burma-related legislation and human rights issues in Thailand, Child workers
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
3.39 MB
Local URL:
Feeling_Small.pdf
Feeling_Small.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Shan Women?s Action Network (SWAN)
Date of publication:
2009-11-17
Description:
Message from SWAN:
Debate continues to rage about whether or not tourists should visit Burma and risk giving money and
legitimacy to the Burmese military regime. We have fed into this debate by exposing atrocities such as
sexual violence, torture and murder by the regime?s troops in areas of Shan State out of bounds for foreign
visitors, and urging the denial of all forms of support for the regime while these abuses continue.
However, we realize that little attention has been given to more subtle forms of repression by the regime
in Shan State, particularly related to culture. Given that experiencing local ?culture” is a primary aim of
tourists visiting Burma, we feel it is important to expose how Shan State culture, religion and history are
being distorted and erased, and gradually replaced by the regime?s own homogenized and arti???? cially
imposed ?Myanmar culture.”
Most of this book deals with these aspects of culture which may be unknown to the average tourist.
We have focused on Shan culture, but the process of repression is cultures in Shan State and other parts of Burma.
We have also included photos of areas of great beauty in Shan State
that are out of bounds to tourists, but which may soon be lost forever
due to the regime?s development plans, funded by Thai and Chinese
investors. Finally, we have included information about some of the
prominent political prisoners from Central Burma languishing in
remote Shan State prisons ? they will never be physically seen by
tourists but their presence should be a constant reminder to us all
of the cruel reality of repression in Shan State and the rest of
Burma today.
Date of entry/update:
2009-11-22
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Tourism in Burma - critical
Language:
English
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