Librarian's Choice
Librarian's Choice
Source/publisher:
International Labour Office (GB.297/8/2)
Date of publication:
2006-11-00
Description:
Developments concerning the question
of the observance by the Government
of Myanmar of the Forced Labour
Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
Date of entry/update:
2006-11-16
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
International Labour Office
Date of publication:
2006-11-15
Date of entry/update:
2006-11-16
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB)
Date of publication:
2006-09-00
Description:
Executive Summary:
"Child involvement in armed conflict is a disturbing trend of modern times.
Nowhere is this trend more evident and extreme than in Burma, where children
are aggressively recruited and forced to join the military.
?While going to school, I was taken against my will by an unnamed
person. I was brought to Danyingone New Recruitment Center and then
to the 9th Basic Military Training School. I attended the training and
passed. I was brought to Hpa-An Township, Karen State, to serve in the
Signal Battalion.”
Former child soldier, recruited into the SPDC armed forces
in 2004 at age thirteen
The government of Burma, the State Peace and Development Council
(SPDC), has been expanding its armed forces—the ?Tatmadaw”—at an alarming
rate; and this expansion is sustained by the recruitment of children. In 1988 there
were approximately 200,000 men serving in the Tatmadaw, in 2004 estimates
were nearly 380,000 troops, and it is reported that the SPDC wants to increase
that number to 500,000.
This report examines the ongoing recruitment and use of child soldiers in
Burma. Most children interviewed for this report were forcibly recruited into army
ranks; they were coerced and deceived. Other child recruits cited economic
hardships and social pressures as their reasons for joining, the very conditions
that make them easy targets for SPDC recruiters.
Recruiters also use intimidation tactics to convince children to join the
armed forces. ?Join the military or go to jail,” were the ?options” that many children
were offered. This fear-inducing strategy is effective, almost guaranteeing that the
child will ?choose” to join the military.
Once recruited, children are detained at local army posts, police stations
or recruiting offices. They are instructed on how to fill out registration forms;
including lying about their age, as officially children under the age of 18 years are
not permitted to join the army. However authorities at all levels circumvent this
rule by forcing every recruit to say they are at least 18 years old.
?I was brought to the recruitment center, where they [military personnel]
immediately started cutting my hair and filling out forms for me. I was
only requested to give a thumb print. They asked me how old I was
and I told them that I was 14. They told me to say 18. Then I was
given a medical examination. At first the doctor wouldn?t let me join
the army because I didn?t have any pubic hair. But, the corporal who
recruited me bribed the doctor.”
Former child soldier, recruited into the SPDC armed
forces in 2003 at the age of fourteen
According to interviewees, children are then sent to complete military
training programs and subsequently sent to the frontlines to fight ?enemy” rebel
groups or serve as porters, cooks, or servants for higher ranking officers. If sent
to the frontlines they rarely know who they are fighting or why.
Children report that conditions in the detention centers and training camps
are horrible; the barracks are overcrowded and they are bullied by older recruits.
Moreover, children are routinely beaten if they make mistakes during training.
These conditions cause child soldiers to suffer from mental, emotional,
and physical exhaustion. Children, still in varying stages of development, are
unable to accommodate the stress generated by military activities. As reported
by many of the interviewees, child soldiers often cry themselves to sleep in quiet
humiliation, scared any show of weakness could invite additional reproach from
fellow soldiers and officers.
As soldiers, children are forced to perpetrate violence and commit human
rights violations. They take part in destroying villages suspected of supporting
ethnic insurgent movements; they also participate in extrajudicial killings. Children
are not prepared for the physical, emotional or psychological experience of war.
Therefore some run away from the army, some attempt suicide, while most attempt
to rationalize their experiences, which distorts their fundamental sentiments of
right and wrong.
The SPDC has promised action and in an effort to quell the recruitment
and use of child soldiers, has created the Committee for the Prevention of Military
Recruitment of Under-age Children.? However, rather than spending its
time aggressively fighting against the recruitment and use of child soldiers, the
committee focuses on contesting allegations from the UN and international and
national human rights groups about the use of child soldiers in the country.
The SPDC must stop recruiting and using children in the military. The
government?s official policies, which prohibit children from entering the military,
must be implemented and those who violate such policies should be punished.
The SPDC must play a central role in disarming, demobilizing, and rehabilitating
(DDR) former child soldiers and invite assistance from international and local
organizations willing to help with DDR programs.
The SPDC promises change; but despite promises, evidence continues
to point to SPDC?s continued recruitment, training, and deployment of child soldiers."
Date of entry/update:
2006-10-04
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children and armed conflict
Language:
Burmese
more
Source/publisher:
Université libre de Bruxelles, Faculté des sciences sociales, politiques et économiques -- Section de science politique
Date of publication:
2006-08-00
Description:
Introduction:
"L?étude politique des droits de l?homme ne peut se faire sans tenir compte du contexte politique, géographique et historique dans lequel ces derniers ont évolué. Souvent brandis comme l?étendard que des hommes et des femmes ont porté dans l?espoir de faire valoir leur individualité face à des gouvernements, ces valeurs n?en continuent pas moins d?être souvent traitées avec cynisme, ironie ou utopisme. Cela s?avère encore plus véridique lorsque nous choisissons de transposer l?étude de ces droits à la sphère des relations internationales où il existe un dilemme entre l?universalité proclamée des principes fondamentaux et le poids des états dans l?élaboration de politiques parfois nuisibles aux droits de l?homme mais justifiées par un recours systématique au principe de souveraineté étatique. Cependant, ce concept des droits de l?homme revient constamment, au travers de discours, articles, essais et discussions, alimenter la thèse selon laquelle ces droits, bien que proclamés déjà en 1789, restent à être pleinement réalisés en ce début de 21° siècle. S?ils sont déjà considérés comme acquis et immuables en occident principalement, il n?est pas inutile de rappeler que les valeurs qu?ils défendent (liberté, égalité
) sont des concepts relativement nouveaux dans l?histoire humaine et que leur application au niveau international est loin d?être évidente. Notre optique n?est pas de se livrer à une condamnation de l?application du respect des droits de l?homme que certains diront secondaires à la prise en compte de considérations économiques, politiques ou géostratégiques mais plutôt de comprendre comment la défense des droits de l?homme trouve sa place dans la justification des politiques internationales en comparant leur promotion faite en occident et leur application dans une région aussi lointaine que l?Asie.
Ce mémoire analysera donc l?importance du non-respect des droits de l?homme au sein des relations internationales en analysant le cas de la Birmanie, également connue sous le nom de Myanmar.2 Nous partirons du principe que le gouvernement militaire birman ne respecte pas les droits contenus dans la Déclaration Universelle des Droits de l?Homme de l?ONU de 1948 et que cela complique ses relations avec des gouvernements étrangers ainsi qu?avec des institutions internationales qui ont un devoir de veiller à ce que leur politique extérieure avec des pays tiers tienne compte du respect des droits de l?homme. Les instances analysées sont les Etats-Unis, l?Union Européenne (UE) et l?Organisation des Nations Unies (ONU) et nous nous focaliserons sur la place que tiennent les droits de l?homme dans leurs rapports avec la Birmanie. Le choix de ces trois protagonistes permet de mettre en évidence une institution internationale (l?Organisation des Nations Unies) ainsi que deux niveaux différents d?organisations politiques au sein de ce que l?on nomme communément l?"occident" : un état (les Etats-Unis) et une institution régionale (l?Union Européenne).
Le noeud de ce travail portera donc sur la question suivante : « Dans quelle mesure le non-respect des droits de l?homme influence-t-il les relations qu?entretient la Birmanie avec les Etats-Unis, l?UE et l?ONU depuis 1988 ? » L?idée n?est pas de savoir si le gouvernement birman nuit aux droits de l?homme ou pas. Ce fait est unanimement reconnu aussi bien par la communauté internationale que par le gouvernement birman lui-même. La question est plutôt de savoir jusqu?à quel point les considérations éthiques relatives au respect des droits de l?homme devancent les intérêts économiques, politiques ou géostratégiques dans la région du sud-est asiatique..."
Bryan Carter
Date of entry/update:
2006-09-30
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations
Language:
Francais, French
Format :
pdf doc
Size:
508.88 KB 456.5 KB
Local URL:
Mémoire-bc.pdf, 
Mémoire.doc
Mémoire-bc.pdf, Mémoire.doc more
Source/publisher:
Shan Sapawa Environmental organisation (Sapawa) via Burma Rivers Network
Date of publication:
2006-09-15
Description:
A new report ?Warning Signs: An update on plans to dam the Salween in Burmas Shan State” by the Shan Sapawa Organization launched today details how preparations for a giant hydropower dam at Tasang on the Salween River in southern Shan State have been continuing. Among the four dams being planned on the Salween River, preparations for the Tasang Dam, 130 kms north of Chiang Mai, are the most advanced.
The report, reveals how, despite a dearth of public information about the dam plans, the Thai contracting company MDX has been building roads, staff buildings and local power generating facilities near the site of the 228-meter-high dam, which will have the largest installed capacity as well as being the tallest in Southeast Asia.
The dam site is located in the main area of conflict in Shan State. In the past ten years, the Burma Army has tripled the number of battalions around Tasang, and over 60,000 villagers have been forcibly relocated from areas adjoining the dam site and the projected flood zone. Villagers found in hiding have been tortured, raped and killed. The majority have fled to Thailand.
In lieu of consultation with the remaining villagers in the flood zone, MDX have simply been hiring doctors to provide health services to villagers south of the dam-site along the proposed route of the electricity transmission lines to Thailand.
MDX signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Burmese Department of Hydroelectric Power in April 2006 for joint development of a 7,110 megawatt dam at Tasang at an estimated cost of US$6 billion.
Sapawa is urging an immediate end to the Tasang dam project. ?We want the Thai government and Thai investors to stop supporting a project which will permanently displace thousands of our people, including Shan refugees in Thailand who will have no home to return to,” said Sapawa spokesperson Sai Sai.
Date of entry/update:
2006-09-21
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Dams and other projects on rivers in Burma/Myanmar (countrywide), Dams and other projects on the Salween and its tributories
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
731.04 KB 871.1 KB
more
Source/publisher:
Drum Publication Group
Description:
"The Drum Publication Group was founded in May 1998. The goal of the Drum Publication Group is to promote literature in both Karen and Burmese languages with the overall objectives of developing education for Burmese people wherever they might reside.
The Group wishes to establish contact with as many other groups and individuals as possible who are involved in literature and education, and to be involved in all aspects of literacy development and the ensuing work of printing suitable books and teaching aids. As well as translation and typesetting we would like to assist those NGOs involve in education work at all stages. Participation in planning sessions and workshops would be welcomed and would, we feel, increase our capacity to play a useful role in this regard.
The Group will promote, through its own practice, transparency and accountability, in all dealings. The Group is not affiliated with any political organization and stands for racial and sexual equality. The Drum Group's focus is on:
* Writing and printing educational books.
* Producing teaching aids and extra-curricula materials.
* Translation of texts, to and from, both Sgaw Karen and Burmese languages - especially those relevant to education.
* Establishing a library and documentation centre to preserve valuable books and documents.
* Assisting the printing of educational material in Pwo Karen, Shan, Mon and other ethnic languages.
A catalogue of our publications is available on this web site. Publications are distributed at cost price, or less, to groups and individuals involved in formal or non-formal education or training. Those ordering large numbers of books as well as overseas institutes are requested to pay the full cost of the order plus postage costs...
Downloadable books:
* English - Sgaw Karen Student Dictionary (PDF version which can be used off line)
* Days Not to be Forgotten : (Sgaw Karen), Karen veterans of WWII share their experiences
* Echos from Karen Land: (Sgaw Karen)
* Little Authors' Imaginative World: (Sgaw Karen)
* * Lilly and Pa Saw Htee's Amazing Earth and the Universe Facts: (Sgaw Karen / English)
* Lilly and Pa Saw Htee's Amazing Animal Facts: (Sgaw Karen / English)
* Ethnic Folktakes of Burma : (Sgaw Karen)
* Hta for Children : (Sgaw Karen)
* A Holiday I Will Never Forget (a choose your our adventure story) : (Sgaw Karen)
* Brain Sharpeners : math puzzles (Sgaw Karen)
* Traditional Karen Dress : (Sgaw Karen)
Drum's quarterly fun newsletter for kids!
* * Drum Kids Newsletter, July 2006:(Sgaw Karen)
* Drum Kids Newsletter, April 2006:(Sgaw Karen)
* Drum Kids Newsletter, Jan. 2006:(Sgaw Karen)
* Drum Kids Newsletter, Oct. 2005:(Sgaw Karen)
Date of entry/update:
2006-09-04
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Karen (cultural, historical, political), Educational resources and materials (Burma- and non-Burma-related), Other Tibeto-Burmese languages (Zo, Karen etc), Education in Karen (Kayin) State
Language:
English, Sgaw Karen, Burmese
more
Source/publisher:
Karen History and Culture Preservation Society (KHCPS)
Date of publication:
2006-08-00
Description:
Originally published as The Karens and their Struggle For
Freedom? in 1991 by the Karen National Union
Reprinted under the same title by the KNU in July 1992, 18 pages,
and in 1997 to include Peace talks in 1996/7, 42 pages.
This version reprinted and updated with a new foreword,
Chronology, colour illustrations, and images in 2006 by the Karen
History and Culture Preservation Society...PREFACE (To the original Edition):
"We, the Karens of Burma, have been cornered into
fighting against the ruling Burmese Governments
for the past fifty years.
Holding the reins of all organs of the state, and in
full control of the press radio, and television, the
successive ruling Burmese Governments from U
Nu?s AFPFL (Anti-Fascist People?s Freedom League)
to the present Military Junta headed by General
Than Shwe and his State Peace and Development
Council ( SPDC ), have always painted us as black
as they can. They have branded us insurgents, war-mongers, a handful of border smugglers, black-and stooges of both the communists and
the imperialists.
Even so, to the extent of our ability we have always
tried to refute the nefarious one-sided Burman
propaganda of false accusations and make the true
facts of our cause known to the world.
In fighting against the ruling Burmese Government,
we are not being motivate by narrow nationalism,
nor by ill-will towards the Burmese Government or
the Burman people. Our struggle was not instigated
neither by the capitalist world nor by the communists,
as some have falsely accused us. It has an originality
completely of its own. Throughout history, the
Burman have been practicing annihilation, absorption
and assimilation ( 3 A?s) against the Karens and they
are still doing so today. In short, they are waging a
genocidal war against us. Thus we have been forced
to fight for our very existence and survival.
In this document we venture to present a concise
outline of the Karens? struggle for freedom; the
Karen case, which we consider just, righteous and
noble. We hope that through it, the world may come
to know the true situation of the Karens, a forgotten
people who continue to fight for our freedom
intensively, single handedly and without aid of any
kind from anyone..."
Date of entry/update:
2006-08-22
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Karen Heritage, Karen history, Karen National Union (KNU)
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.48 MB
Local URL:
Karen-Struggle-ocr.pdf
Karen-Struggle-ocr.pdf more
Source/publisher:
ZOA Refugee Care, Thailand
Date of publication:
2006-01-00
Description:
"...This Education
Survey 2005 is the third update on the educational situation in the Karen
camps. As in the previous surveys, it provides a general picture of the
camp education sector, including demographic indicators, data on
enrolment, dropout, and parental involvement, as well as a range of other
topics.
However, in this survey we wanted to go beyond the execution of just
?another survey?. First of all, we decided to include a broader range of
topics in the survey in order to obtain a more complete picture of the
camp education system. Secondly, in relation to the strategic direction
that ZOA has decided to go in the context of KEP, we wanted a stronger
focus on including data in relation to the quality of education. Finally, as
far as the process is concerned, we focused on ensuring maximum
community involvement in the data collection and analysis process, and
making the survey a learning experience for ZOA staff as well as
community members. In that sense, the education survey does not only
provide a basis for determining capacity-building activities in the future; it
has also been a capacity-building intervention in its own right. We believe
the survey has contributed to the acquisition of research and analysis
skills among local staff as well as camp communities..."
Su-Ann Oh, with, Somchat Ochalumthan, Saw Pla Law La, Johnny Htoo
Date of entry/update:
2006-08-17
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
863.21 KB
Local URL:
ZOA_Education_Survey_2005.pdf
ZOA_Education_Survey_2005.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Freunde der Shan
Date of publication:
2002-05-00
Description:
Deutsche Übersetzung des Artikels "Licence to rape"
Die in Nordthailand im Exil ansässige Menschenrechtsorganisation "Shan Women?s Action Network" (SWAN) erstellte im Mai 2002 einen umfassenden und detaillierten Bericht über die weitverbreitete Anwendung sexueller Gewalt gegen Frauen und Mädchen im Shan Staat (im Nordosten des burmesischen Staatsgebiets). Dieser Bericht trägt den schockierenden Titel:
"License to Rape" - Lizenz zur Vergewaltigung
Der Report belegt detailliert, dass das burmesische Militär in systematischer Weise Vergewaltigungen als Mittel der Kriegsführung gegen das Volk der Shan benutzt
Inhalt
Vergewaltigung als "Kriegswaffe" geduldet
Militarisierung verursacht zunehmende Gefährdung durch Vergewaltigung
Zwangsarbeit
Die Überlebenden
Sexuelle Gewalt als internationales Verbrechen
Shan Herald Agency for News- Deutsche Übersetzung: Freunde der Shan
Date of entry/update:
2006-08-11
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Shan, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Shan (cultural, historical, political) articles
Language:
Deutsch, German
more
Source/publisher:
ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC)
Description:
" Since its inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur, on 26-28 November 2004, AIPMC has been calling on the military government in Burma to bring about changes and democratic reforms in the country.
The grouping of ASEAN Legislators from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Cambodia have continuously called for the unconditional release of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as for the freedom of over a thousand other political prisoners in Burma. One of AIPMC's initial campaigns was to urge ASEAN to deny Burma its turn at chairing the regional bloc in 2006.
Having succeeded in its campaign, members of the Caucus have now further called on ASEAN to suspend the military government's ASEAN membership if it fails to show concrete democratic reforms in the country, such as acknowledging the 1990 national general election results and convening Parliament.
AIPMC has affiliate members and partners in the form of national caucuses and parliamentary groups outside ASEAN, such as in India, the Republic of Korea, Japan and countries in Europe. The body also works closely with the civil-society Burma movement and members of Burma's government-in-exile."
Date of entry/update:
2006-08-03
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.)
Date of publication:
2006-08-00
Description:
"...In a way, this report starts off from where our last report
"Show Business: Rangoon?s War on Drugs in Shan State"
(2003) left off.
It describes the unimaginable extent of corruption in Burma, and the live-off-the-land policy
of Burmese military units that has forced local authorities to turn a blind eye to drug activities.
It also exposes how cultivation of opium poppies has increased, and gives insight into the
production and trade of methamphetamines, better known as yaba in Thailand and yama in
Shan State.
The major difference is that whereas "Show Business" focused mostly on opium and its
derivative heroin, Hand in Glove puts the spotlight more on yaba. It also highlights the
growing role of pro-Rangoon militia in the drug trade, as the regime has begun openly
favouring them over the ceasefire groups..."
1. Military collusion in the drug trade:
- Rain leaking from the roof;
- Military expansion and "self reliance"...
2. Opium trends:
- Poppy upsurge since 2004;
- Bumper 2005-2006 crop;
- Selective slashing;
- Opium output decreasing or increasing?...
3. Churning out the pills:
- Factories;
- The precursors;
- Brands...
4. Shipping out...
5. Militia on the rise:
- New faces...
6. Crackdown charades...
7. Drug use in Shan State:
- Rehabilitation efforts...
8. Conclusion...
Appendix:
Burma Army units reported to be involved in the drug trade.
Date of entry/update:
2006-08-02
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Drugs in Shan State, Drugs and the Burmese Government, Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) - Myanmar
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.88 MB
Local URL:
HandinGlove.pdf, HandinGlove.pdf
HandinGlove.pdf, HandinGlove.pdf more
Source/publisher:
The Burma Campaign UK
Date of publication:
2006-07-28
Description:
"Over the years there have been attempts to portray key Burma campaign
organisations and indeed Burma?s National League for Democracy (NLD) as
opposed to humanitarian assistance to Burma. This position paper, supported
by the undersigned, has been drafted so that no further confusion should arise.
This amounts to clarification of a long-held policy position and does not signify
any change in policy on the part of the undersigned.
Agencies? is used throughout this document to refer collectively to United
Nations (UN) agencies, Donor Governments and national/international non-
Government Organisations (NGO/INGOs).
Summary
We the undersigned share the concerns of the United Nations (UN) and the
international community regarding the humanitarian situation in Burma. We are
concerned about the long-term consequences for the country and believe the
situation needs immediate attention.
Recognising the urgency of the situation, especially with regard to HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria, in addition to high malnutrition and child
mortality rates and emerging health threats such as avian influenza, we
support and encourage the provision of humanitarian assistance to Burma.
There must however be transparency, accountability and monitoring of all
aspects of the provision of this assistance in order that it reaches intended
recipients and does not benefit the military authorities. (See The Right Kind of
Aid? below). In addition, Burmese nationals employed by agencies operating in
the country, must be afforded protection from any reprisals by the regime for
working on assistance or development programmes.
In supporting humanitarian assistance we emphasise that it is the lack of
accountable governance in Burma that is at the heart of the current crisis. It is
therefore imperative that humanitarian assistance complements and does not
replace or undermine political pressure for democratic change. Both are
essential and must be pursued simultaneously. Although not always
appropriate for the same actors to pursue both strategies (for the UN and
Donor Governments this is imperative), it?s vital that all agencies recognise the
political roots of the humanitarian crisis. We ask agencies to be vigilant in
avoiding indirect and inadvertent contribution to the root of the problem and to
be respectful to the perspectives of those working towards political solutions.
Mutual respect for and support of both strategies is of paramount importance.
We encourage all agencies to creatively explore opportunities for supporting
the promotion of democracy both directly and across their projects. A
democratic society in Burma is vital to ensuring truly effective humanitarian
assistance that directly benefits all Burma?s people.
5
We support the suspension of all non-humanitarian and development aid to
Burma with certain exceptions (See Non-Humanitarian and Development Aid?
below). The principles that should be adopted for administration of effective
aid in these exempted areas should mirror those proposed for strictly
humanitarian assistance.
Our position on humanitarian aid complements our policy on effectively
targeted economic sanctions. We continue to advocate for smart? sanctions as
called for by the National League for Democracy - that target the regime and its
support base but not ordinary Burmese people. We do not support the
introduction of former Iraqi-style sanctions that would impact negatively on
Burma?s people. Nor do we call for the broader isolation of Burma.
Our position on humanitarian assistance reflects that of the National League
for Democracy, National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
(NCGUB), Ethnic Nationalities Council (Union of Burma) and 88 Generation
Students..."
Date of entry/update:
2006-07-28
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
The Border Consortium -TBC (formerly the Thailand Burma Border Consortium - TBBC)
Description:
"Very useful site, well-structured, with lots of material on IDPs and refugees..." .....Now the site has been re-organised and I find it difficult to find stuff.
"TBBC is a registered charity in England and Wales, a consortium of nine international NGOs from seven countries providing food, shelter and non food items to refugees and displaced people from Burma. TBBC also engages in research on the root causes of displacement and refugee outflows. Programmes are implemented in the field through refugees, community based organisations and local partners.
With increased focus on a rights based approach, the organisation is committed to meeting international humanitarian best practices..
The organisation is based in Bangkok, Thailand with field offices in Mae Hong Son, Mae Sariang, Mae Sot and Sangklaburi. "
Date of entry/update:
2006-07-27
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English, Burmese
more
Source/publisher:
Lahu National Development Organization (LNDO)
Date of publication:
2006-07-00
Description:
Articles on mining (including gold, manganese, coal), logging, opium, rape...
Unhindered Prospects -
Remote areas of Shan State a convenient place to mine for neighboring countries...
Bigger, not Better -
Despite its expansion, the Burma Army rests on shaky foundations...
Deadly Changes -
Unpredictable water surges and unprecedented low water levels on the Mekong have human costs...
An Order is an Order -
The junta?s zeal for castor oil causes hardship for villagers...
The En people...
Still no signs of outlawing license to rape -
Burma Army expansion impacts women...
Gun-toting monks -
Militarization leaves nothing sacred in Burma...
Even the Last Tree -
Unrestricted logging leaves the hills of eastern Shan State bare...
What Opium Ban? -
Despite UN claims of reductions, poppy cultivation and trade continue in territories under the control of ceasefire groups and the SPDC...
Anything for Gold -
Desperate gold mining continues even after deadly accident...
Chameleon Moves his Capital -
Leader of NDAA survives political shake-up and continues to develop his new center of action.
Date of entry/update:
2006-07-05
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Coal, Dams and other projects on rivers in Burma/Myanmar (countrywide), Dams and other projects on the Mekong and its tributories
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
1.07 MB 1.22 MB
more
Source/publisher:
Oficina Internacional del Trabajo (PR3-2 & corr)
Date of publication:
2006-06-15
Description:
Nuevo punto del orden del dÃa:
Examen de nuevas medidas que la OIT podrÃa
adoptar de conformidad con su Constitución a fin de:
i) asegurar de manera eficaz que Myanmar cumpla
las recomendaciones de la Comisión de Encuesta;
ii) velar por que no se tomen medidas contra quienes
presenten quejas ni contra sus representantes
Date of entry/update:
2006-06-15
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Espanol, Spanish
more
Source/publisher:
Bureau International du Travail (PR3-2 & corr)
Date of publication:
2006-06-15
Description:
Question supplémentaire à l?ordre du jour:
Examiner quelles nouvelles mesures l?OIT
pourrait prendre en vertu de sa Constitution
pour: i) assurer efficacement le respect
par le Myanmar des recommandations
de la commission d?enquête; et ii) veiller
à ce que des poursuites ne soient pas engagées
contre les plaignants ou leurs représentants.
Date of entry/update:
2006-06-15
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Francais, French
more
Source/publisher:
International Labour Office (PR3-2 & corr)
Date of publication:
2006-06-15
Description:
Additional agenda item: Review of further action
that could be taken by the ILO in accordance with
its Constitution in order to: (i) effectively secure
Myanmar?s compliance with the recommendations
of the Commission of Inquiry; and (ii) ensure that
no action is taken against complainants or
their representative
Date of entry/update:
2006-06-15
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Palaung Women?s Organization
Date of publication:
2006-06-09
Description:
"?Poisoned Flowers: The Impacts of Spiraling Drug Addiction on Palaung
Women in Burma?, based on interviews with eighty-eight wives and mothers of drug
addicts, shows how women in Palaung areas have become increasingly vulnerable due
to the rising addiction rates. Already living in dire poverty, with little access to
education or health care, wives of addicts must struggle single-handedly to support as
many as ten children.
Addicted husbands not only stop providing for their families, but also sell off property
and possessions, commit theft, and subject their wives and children to repeated verbal
and physical abuse. The report details cases of women losing eight out of eleven
children to disease and of daughters being trafficked by their addicted father.
The increased addiction rates have resulted from the regime allowing drug lords to
expand production into Palaung areas in recent years, in exchange for policing against
resistance activity and sharing drug profits. The collapse of markets for tea and other
crops has driven more and more farmers to turn to opium growing or to work as
labourers in opium fields, where wages are frequently paid in opium.
The report throws into question claims by the regime and the UNODC of a dramatic
reduction of opium production in Burma during the past decade, and calls on donor
countries and UN agencies supporting drug eradication programs in Burma to push
for genuine political reform..."
Date of entry/update:
2006-06-08
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
The human impact of drugs and drug policies in Burma, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma, Discrimination against women: reports of violations in Shan State, Drugs in Shan State, Substance abuse
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
631.56 KB
Local URL:
PoisonedFlowers_final1.pdf
PoisonedFlowers_final1.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Network for Democracy and Development
Date of publication:
2006-05-30
Description:
"...Based on interviews with twenty members of the USDA, the report exposes the dark secrets of the organization, from recruitment through intimidation and/or inducements, to its program of infiltrating and seeking dominance over the educational system and economy of Burma. The USDA has sought to infiltrate or eliminate civil society organizations in the country, reconstituting civil society according to the needs of the regime. The USDA has tried to co-opt the humanitarian work of international agencies, to strengthen its patronage as a benevolent organization.
The USDA, notorious for numerous acts of political violence, has trained villagers to form people's militias and encouraged a culture of lawlessness and thuggish behavior, particularly among the youth members. This has led to the incitement of religious conflict and several violent attacks on members of the pro-democracy movement, including the notorious the Depayin Massacre, a brutal attack on Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her convoy, injuring hundreds and killing many. Today marks the third anniversary of the Depayin Massacre. More ominously, this report warns of the ascendancy of the USDA as a political organization. Already, USDA members are in the majority at the National Convention. It is believed that the regime plans to use USDA to extend and perpetuate military rule under a pseudo-democracy. The USDA?s top levels are peopled by senior leaders of the SPDC, making the USDA and the SPDC essentially the same..."
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-30
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
633.77 KB 638.02 KB
Local URL:
USDAFinal1.pdf, USDA_Final_Report.pdf
USDAFinal1.pdf, USDA_Final_Report.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group Commentaries (KHRG #2006-C2)
Date of publication:
2006-05-26
Description:
"
The ongoing offensives by Burma?s ruling State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) military junta have already been analysed in KHRG?s previous Commentary (#2006-C1), released just one week ago on May 19th. That commentary demonstrated that these attacks are not targeting the armed opposition, but are deliberately aimed at destroying the homes and food supplies of Karen hill villagers and shooting men, women and children on sight in a systematic attempt to wipe them out. International law, particularly the UN Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (1948), defines this as genocide, and it also stands in violation of every international human rights convention and of international humanitarian law as expressed in the Geneva Conventions. However, in the past week it has become clear that the United Nations Secretariat is attempting to cover up this genocide and bring about a normalisation of relations with the SPDC regime, without even insisting that the regime stop its military attacks on civilians.
From May 18th to 20th, UN under-secretary general for political affairs Ibrahim Gambari visited Rangoon. Second to Kofi Annan in the UN bureaucracy, he is the most senior UN official to visit Burma in years. The visit came at a time when international outcry against the SPDC?s attacks on Karen villagers was reaching its height, and activists and the US government were demanding that Burma be placed on the agenda of the UN Security Council. On April 28th this year, the Council passed Resolution 1674 noting that the ?deliberate targeting of civilians
and the commission of systematic, flagrant and widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law
may constitute a threat to international peace and security” and expressing its ?readiness to consider such situations and, where necessary, to adopt appropriate steps”. So one would expect Gambari to have spent much of his time insisting that the SPDC immediately cease its genocidal attacks against Karen villagers. He did not. Instead he focused most of his efforts on encouraging the SPDC to release one person ? Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) political party. He expressed ?concern” over the Karen offensive ? UN language for ?we have noticed, but we will not interfere” ? and suggested that the SPDC cease the attacks, but then went on to talk about how the SPDC could go about securing more foreign aid...."
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-26
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Bureau International du Travail
Date of publication:
2006-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-25
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Francais, French
more
Source/publisher:
International Labour Office
Date of publication:
2006-05-00
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-25
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
International Labour Office
Date of publication:
2006-05-00
Description:
Background paper by the Office. Review of further action that could be
taken by the ILO in accordance with its
Constitution in order to: (i) effectively
secure Myanmar?s compliance with the
recommendations of the Commission
of Inquiry; and (ii) ensure that no action
is taken against complainants or their
representatives
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-25
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
Date of publication:
2006-05-23
Description:
Executive Summary:
"After the 1988 people?s uprising in Burma, thousands of people were
arrested and imprisoned. Nearly all have faced torture or ill-treatment at
the hands of the authorities. Such torture and ill-treatment has resulted in
death for many.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners has documented the
cases of 127 democracy activists who died after enduring torture or illtreatment
in custody. Due to the political situation in Burma, all cases of
death in custody are not known. Further, many details of the known cases
cannot be collected.
Information in this report concerning the political background and the
circumstances of death for each democracy activist was taken from their
families, the former political prisoners who met the deceased in prison,
publications of political parties, human rights organizations and even the
SPDC, and documents from the prison and medical staff of the prisons.
Over the course of a year, all relevant information was gathered and verified.
Of the at least 127 deaths, 90 have died in prison, 8 in the interrogation
centers, 4 in the labor camps, and 10 shortly after being released from
prison. 15 activists have disappeared from the prisons, and their
whereabouts remain unknown to date.
Since early 2005 alone, 9 democracy activists have died behind bars. The
increased number of deaths in the past year is reflective of the rise in
torture and ill-treatment. It is also indicative of the State Peace and
Development Council?s (SPDC) policy. The SPDC is attempting to
systematically silence political dissent in Burma. Torture and ill-treatment
of political prisoners is one means by which they implement their policy.
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
18
This report looks at Burma?s interrogation centers, prisons and labor camps
to explain the cause of death for those who have passed away while detained
by the military regime. Torture and ill-treatment are endemic in these
locations. The general prison conditions and prison healthcare system are
aggravated and cause a level of suffering equivalent to torture in the majority
of political prisoners? cases.
The disappearance of political prisoners has occurred in fifteen documented
cases, though there are likely several undocumented cases. A section of
the report details the known cases of disappearance, and explains the
regime?s frequent withholding of information on a political prisoners?
location in order to terrorize their families.
After release from prison, several political prisoners face physical and mental
illnesses for which they are unable to receive treatment. The lack of
treatment is due to varying factors, but primary among them is the lack of
money and general knowledge about the health concerns of political
prisoners. Several political prisoners have died from the inability to treat a
basic illness. Further, the mental health care system in Burma is virtually
non-existent, leaving former political prisoners with no means of relieving
their mental suffering. Some political prisoners have committed suicide as
a result. This report looks at the circumstances surrounding the deaths of
those political prisoners who died shortly after release.
When political prisoners die, their families face many problems. The families
of deceased political prisoners have often been informed of their loved
ones death only after the authorities have cremated the body, so that any
evidence of torture or ill treatment is destroyed. Additionally, the authorities
are known to have pressured doctors into falsifying the results of their
autopsy. Though most do not, if a family attempts to challenge the
authorities? explanation for their loved ones death, they have no
independent witnesses to verify their claims one way or the other.
Eight Seconds of Silence: The Death of Democracy Activists Behind Bars
19
The families of political prisoners have on some occasions been offered
bribes to remain silent as to the cause of their loved ones death. Most
reject the bribe, and a few have defiantly spoken about the real cause of
their loved one?s death. Further, families of deceased political prisoners
often must bury their loved ones according to the direction of the
authorities. Intelligence personnel often infiltrate funerals, noting which
people attend so that they can later be detained and interrogated. The
aftermath of political prisoners? deaths is explained in this report.
Finally, this report provides detailed information on the political background
and death of nearly all documented cases of death in custody. These brief
biographies are meant to demonstrate the brutality of the authorities and
the innocence of the victims.
Though in a number of the cases of death in custody, the authorities
responsible for the individuals? death are known, no action has ever been
taken to hold them accountable. 127 democracy activists have been killed
with complete impunity.
Currently, there are at least 1,156 political prisoners in Burma. Several are
in poor and rapidly deteriorating health, and many are at risk for torture. If
they are not released immediately, they will face the same fate as those
who have died in custody..."
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-22
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.12 MB
Local URL:
Eight_Seconds_of_Silence.pdf
Eight_Seconds_of_Silence.pdf more
Source/publisher:
KHCPS
Date of publication:
2006-05-09
Description:
The website of the Karen History and Culture Preservation Society
KHCPS
Date of entry/update:
2006-05-09
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Karen Heritage
Language:
English
Format :
html
Size:
32.11 KB
Local URL:
index.html
index.html more
Source/publisher:
Government of Burma via Burma Lawyers? Council via Online Burma/Myanmar Library
Date of publication:
1861-05-01
Description:
Table of contents followed by all 511 articles, in one big document...
(INDIA ACT XLV. 1860) (1st May. 1861)
The pdf version is based on the BLC version. A spell-check was run on the BLC version and checked against a hard-copy version of the "Myanmar Code". The hard-copy version was taken as authoritative and the text amended accordingly. Some obvious mistakes exist in the hard-copy original. These are left as-is, followed by "[sic. "xxxx" is presumably intended"]". The BLC version does not contain all the footnotes which exist in the hard-copy version. These will be added in a Corr.2
Date of entry/update:
2006-03-16
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
The Penal Code, Key documents of Burmese law, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to the judiciary (texts), "The Burma Code" Vol. VIII
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
784.6 KB
Local URL:
MYANMAR_PENAL_CODE-corr.1.pdf
MYANMAR_PENAL_CODE-corr.1.pdf more
Source/publisher:
International Labour Office (GB.295/7)
Date of publication:
2006-03-00
Description:
Background, Activities of the Liaison Officer; Discussions in Geneva and visit to Yangon.
Date of entry/update:
2006-03-16
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Karenni Development Research Group
Date of publication:
2006-03-14
Description:
"
Threatened with plans by Burma?s generals to dam the Salween River and submerge vast tracts of their homelands, the Karenni are releasing a new report today which exposes the parallels between the devastating impacts of Burma?s first large scale hydropower project, built in their state, and those of the planned Salween dams. The report highlights the destructive mix of development and military rule in Burma.
The report by the Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG), Dammed by Burma?s Generals, chronicles the impacts of the Lawpita hydropower project since the early 1960s. Promised abundant electricity and irrigation, the local population instead suffered from forced displacement, water shortages, increased militarization, human rights abuses, and thousands of landmines planted to secure the project. Most of the power was sent directly to Rangoon; still today 80% of the Karenni are without electricity.
One of four dams planned for the Salween, the Weigyi Dam, will flood over 640 square kilometers in Karenni State, submerging an area three times the size of the Lawpita reservoir. The report details how twenty-eight towns and villages, including a historical capital of the Karenni, will be inundated, impacting approximately 30,000 people. An entire tribe ? the Yintalai, who now number a mere 1,000 ? will permanently lose all their homelands. Irreversible environmental damage will be caused by inundation of forests internationally recognized for their outstanding biodiversity.
Under an agreement signed in December 2005 between Thailand and Burma?s regime, construction on the Salween dams is slated to begin in 2007. With likely investment from China, the dams will provide electricity for Thailand and revenue for the ruling military regime.
As Pascal Khoo Thwe, the Karenni author of From the Land of Green Ghosts says in his foreword to the report: ?There is no better way to destroy a country than by the combined power of bulldozers and guns.”
Civil war continues in Karenni State, leaving an estimated one third of the population internally displaced and over 22,000 Karenni refugees registered in camps in Thailand. If the Salween dams go ahead, many of these people will never be able to return home.
The report urges that the Salween dam projects be scrapped. As KDRG researcher Aung Ngeh states: ?We know from bitter experience what hydropower development means under a military dictatorship. It is not about electricity or irrigation for the people. It is about subjugation and control. The Salween dams will mean more soldiers, more landmines, and the gradual annihilation of our people.”"
Date of entry/update:
2006-03-14
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Karenni (Kayah), Dams and other projects on rivers in Burma/Myanmar (countrywide), Dams and other projects on the Salween and its tributories
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
Date of publication:
2002-08-00
Description:
Submission by the Burma UN Service Office-New York & the Human Rights Documentation Unit
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma
To
The Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
For
The preparation of the Secretary-General?s third report to the Security Council on children and armed conflict, on the implementation of resolutions 1261 (1999), 1314 (2000), and 1379 (2001)... EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
"Who would want to be a child in Burma? Four decades of military rule, mismanagement and armed conflict have resulted in widespread poverty, poor health care, low educational standards and widespread and systematic human rights abuses.
The government spends 40% of the national budget on the military, while spending on healthcare and education is one of the lowest in the world at under 1% (US$0.60 and US$0.28 per capita respectively). The World Health Organization?s 2000 report graded Burma 190th overall in health system of 191 countries surveyed. According to UNICEF, of the 1.3 million children born every year, more than 92,500 will die before they reach their first birthday and another 138,000 children will die before the age of five. The main causes of death are malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS, acute respiratory infections, and diarrheal diseases. More than 1 in 3 children under 5 will be malnourished.
These health problems are exacerbated by the on-going armed conflict, which disproportionately affects ethnic groups. Children from ethnic groups have extremely limited access to health care and immunization as UN agencies do not have access to these areas. Nor do they have access to internally displaced persons (IDPs) - of which a large proportion are children. Military violence coupled with displacement, forced relocations and resulting food insecurity are the main causes of malnutrition and other related illnesses. These children are also most at risk of serious human rights violations including sexual assault and trafficking.
According to UNAIDS, HIV prevalence in 2000 crossed the 1.0% threshold, making Burma one of only three countries in Asia to have an HIV epidemic considered to be generalized? throughout the population. An estimated 14,000 children have HIV and another 43,000 are AIDS orphans. Data from antenatal clinics record HIV prevalence of 2.8-5.3% among the youngest group (15-24 years old) of pregnant women. The HIV prevalence in military recruits has shown an increase (0.82% among those 15-19 years).
Low educational attainment is a serious social, economic and political problem. Only three out of four children enter primary school and of those only two out of five complete the full five years. That is, only 30% of Burmese children get proper primary school education let alone secondary and tertiary education. Female students are disproportionately affected by high dropout rates as fewer than one third of all girls who enroll make it through primary school. As a result, thousands of children are forced to drop out, interrupt or receive substandard education. The ongoing armed conflict has resulted in: the lack of an educational infrastructure; teachers; physical dangers due to lack of security; transience due to forced relocation; and Burmanization policies which force the closure of non-Burman schools in ethnic areas or discriminate against ethnic students.
Government displacement programs have taken place at least since the late 1960s have aimed at securing areas, cutting links between civilians and armed groups and reducing the impact of armed groups. Relocation orders by government authorities either specify where the villagers should relocate to - relocation sites? - or simply state that villagers should leave the area. To prevent villagers from remaining or returning, villages are burnt down and designated free fire zones?.
Independent monitoring or assistance to IDPs has not been authorized by the Burmese government. Estimates of the total number of IDPs in Burma range between one and two million. Most asylum seekers arriving in Thailand lived for some time as IDPs. An estimated 400,000 Burmese asylum seekers and refugees are currently living in neighboring countries.
The U.S. State Department?s second annual Trafficking in Persons? report released on 5 June 2002 lists Burma as a country of origin for women and girls trafficked to Thailand, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Pakistan and Japan for sexual exploitation, domestic and factory work. Thailand is believed to be the primary destination with an estimated 40,000 Burmese women and children, most of them from ethnic groups, working as sex workers. A new trend shows that trafficked girls are increasingly virgins who are in demand due to the belief that young girls are less likely to the HIV positive. In practice, young girls are sold as virgins several times until the amount for which they can be sold steadily decreases. When girls are no longer profitable because of pregnancy or disease they are often turned out on the street.
Child labor has become increasingly prevalent and visible. Approximately one quarter of children in the age group 10-14 are engaged in paid work and there is a growing number of street children in concentrated urban areas. Street children and orphans are particularly vulnerable to forced recruitment into the armed forces. Burma is believed to be one of the world?s single largest users of child soldiers with up to 50,000 children serving in both government armed forces and armed opposition groups.
Burmese law does not specifically prohibit child labor and children are forced to labor on infrastructure development projects and income generating projects for the military, especially in ethnic areas. Children are also forced to serve as porters in combat areas, and frequently suffer beatings, rape and other mistreatment. Porters are used as human minesweepers and human shields during military operations and children are no exception. The number of landmine casualties, although unknown, is now believed to surpass even that of Cambodia. There is more chance of fatality if a child steps on a mine.
This report evidences that the present government of Burma is not adhering to Security Council resolutions on children and armed conflict."
Date of entry/update:
2006-02-19
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Children and armed conflict
Language:
English
Format :
htm doc
Size:
250.61 KB 200 KB
more
Source/publisher:
United Nations (E/CN.4/2006/34)
Date of publication:
2006-02-07
Description:
Advance Edited version...
Summary:
"In its resolution 2005/10, the Commission requested the Special Rapporteur to report to the General Assembly at its sixtieth session and to the Commission at its sixty-second session. The Special Rapporteur thereby submitted an interim report to the Assembly in accordance with this request (A/60/221). The present report is also submitted in accordance with the above request and is based on information received by the Special Rapporteur up to 22 December 2005. It is to be read in conjunction with his last interim report.
Throughout the six-year period of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur received substantiated reports of grave human rights violations on an ongoing basis. Little evidence was available of the existence of a serious commitment by the Government to addressing the culture of impunity for State actors, with the vast majority of his communications to the authorities not receiving a response.
With regard to the transition process, the National Convention, having been suspended for a further nine months following its last session held from 17 February to 31 March 2005, was reconvened on 5 December 2005. The Special Rapporteur was deeply dismayed to learn that no progress towards instituting genuine democratic reform has been made since the previous session.
The Special Rapporteur regrets that, according to information received during the last reporting period, the situation regarding the exercise of fundamental human rights and freedoms remains grave. The intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment of civilians for peacefully exercising their civil and political rights and freedoms continue. Members of registered political parties, human rights defenders and pro-democracy advocates are particular targets.
The activities of political parties remain severely repressed and subject to scrutiny by government agents. The offices of the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won over 80 per cent of the seats in the 1990 election, have been shut down, with the sole exception of the headquarters in Yangon. Members of NLD and other political parties are susceptible to harassment and imprisonment on a continuous basis.
On 27 November, the Government issued a new executive order prolonging the detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for a further six months. The General-Secretary of NLD and Nobel Peace Prize laureate has now been in detention for over 10 of the last 16 years. The Special Rapporteur is gravely disturbed that a legitimate political leader continues to be held hostage in solitary confinement.
To date, the total number of political prisoners in Myanmar is estimated to stand at 1,144. Amongst those behind bars are students, monks, teachers, journalists and elected members of parliament. The number of releases during the reporting period was negligible, while the number of civilians arrested continued to rise.
The Special Rapporteur draws attention to the marked decline in socio-economic conditions, which has resulted in increased poverty countrywide. Urgent reform is required to prevent any further degeneration of an already severely damaged economy.
The humanitarian situation in Myanmar, while not yet at the point of acute crisis, has shown marked signs of deterioration over the past year. In 2001, soon after the Special Rapporteur took up his mandate, the heads of eight United Nations agencies in Yangon expressed their concern over the "silent humanitarian crisis in the making".
The situation then was particularly serious in ethnic minority and conflict areas. It has since significantly deteriorated, affecting the population now on a wide scale.
The human rights concerns enumerated in the present report are largely the same as those which the Special Rapporteur highlighted when he commenced his mandate, six years ago. Despite early indications from the Government that it was willing to address these problems, he regrets that all such willingness appears to have disappeared.
The Special Rapporteur stressed that human development and economic reform must be prioritized in order to defeat the poverty that is at the root of Myanmar?s many problems. Rational management of the economy and substantially enhanced budgetary allocations for the protection of economic, social and cultural rights continue to be essential priorities for tackling those problems.
Any progress towards resolving ethnic conflict in Myanmar is unlikely to be possible or sustainable without tangible political reform. The ongoing armed conflict in several ethnic minority areas continues to underpin the most grave human rights abuses in the country and to exacerbate Myanmar?s humanitarian decline and long-standing state of socio-economic underachievement. Without an inclusive reform process, such urgent challenges for the country will not be addressed by the Government?s current road map process.
No transition process is worthy of the name as long as fundamental freedoms of assembly, expression and association are denied; voices advocating democratic reform are silenced; elected representatives are imprisoned; and human rights defenders are criminalized. No progress will be made towards national reconciliation as long as key political representatives are being locked behind bars, their constituents subject to grave and systematic human rights abuses and their political concerns disregarded."
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro
Date of entry/update:
2006-02-18
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf doc
Size:
112.34 KB 222 KB
Local URL:
CHR2006-SRM-final.pdf, CHR2006-SRM.doc
CHR2006-SRM-final.pdf, CHR2006-SRM.doc more
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2006-02-11
Description:
"Villagers in northern Pa?an District of central Karen State say their livelihoods are under serious threat due to exploitation by SPDC military authorities and by their Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) allies who rule as an SPDC proxy army in much of the region. Villages in the vicinity of the DKBA headquarters are forced to give much of their time and resources to support the headquarters complex, while villages directly under SPDC control face rape, arbitrary detention and threats to keep them compliant with SPDC demands. The SPDC plans to expand Dta Greh (a.k.a. Pain Kyone) village into a town in order to strengthen its administrative control over the area, and is confiscating about half of the village?s productive land without compensation to build infrastructure which includes offices, army camps and a hydroelectric power dam - destroying the livelihoods of close to 100 farming families. Local villagers, who are already struggling to survive under the weight of existing demands, fear further forced labour and extortion as the project continues."
Date of entry/update:
2006-02-14
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Karen, Agricultural land confiscation/grabbing, Food Security and human rights in Burma, Education rights: reports of violations in Burma, Right to Health: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
Date of publication:
2006-01-17
Description:
" This report examines the situation faced by Karen villagers in Thaton District (known as Doo Tha Htoo in Karen). The district lies in what is officially the northern part of Mon State and also encompasses part of Karen State to the west of the Salween River . Successive Burmese regimes have had strong control over the parts of the district to the west of the Rangoon-Martaban road for many years. They were also able to gain ?defacto? control over the eastern part of the district following the fall of the former Karen National Union (KNU) stronghold at Manerplaw in 1995. The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) is also strong in the district, particularly in the eastern stretches of Pa?an township. Although diminished in recent years, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU, is still quite active in the district. The villagers in the district have had to contend with all three of these armed groups. The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and DKBA demand forced labour, taxes, and extortion money from the villagers while also severely restricting their movements. While the demands for some forms of forced labour such as portering have declined over the past few years, the villagers continue to be regularly called upon by both the SPDC and the DKBA to expand the ever-increasing network of roads throughout the district, as well to fulfil the frequent orders to supply staggering quantities of building materials. A number of new SPDC and DKBA controlled commercial ventures have also appeared in the district in recent years, to which the villagers are also forced to ?contribute? their labour. In 2000, the SPDC confiscated 5,000 acres of land for use as an immense sugarcane plantation, while more recently in late 2004, the SPDC again confiscated another 5,000 acres of the villagers? farmland, all of which is to become a huge rubber plantation, co-owed and operated by Rangoon-based company Max Myanmar. In addition, the villagers are punished for any perceived support for the KNLA or KNU. All such systems of control greatly impoverish the villagers, to the extent that now many of them struggle just to survive.
Most villagers have few options but to try to live as best they can. SPDC control of the district is too tight for the villagers to live in hiding in the forest and Thailand is too far for most villagers to flee to. The villagers are forced to answer the demands of the SPDC and DKBA, of which there are many, while trying to avoid punishment for any supposed support of the resistance. They have to balance this with trying to find enough time to work in their fields and find enough food to feed their families.
This report provides a detailed analysis of the human rights situation in Thaton District from 2000 to the present. It is based on 216 interviews conducted by KHRG researchers with people in SPDC-controlled villages, in hill villages, in hiding in the forest and with those who have fled to Thailand to become refugees. These interviews are supplemented by SPDC and DKBA order documents selected from the hundreds we have obtained from the area, along with field reports, maps, and photographs taken by KHRG field researchers. All of the interviews were conducted between November 1999 and November 2004. A number of field reports dated up until June 2005 have also been included.
The report begins with an Introduction and Executive Summary. The detailed analysis that follows has been broken down into ten main sections. The villagers tell most of the story in the main sections through direct quotes taken from recorded interviews. The full text of the interviews and the field reports upon which this report is based are available from KHRG upon approved request."
Date of entry/update:
2006-01-28
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Right to food: reports of violations in Burma, Discrimination against the Karen, Armed conflict in Burma - Impact on village life, including health and education, Non-ILO Reports on forced labour, including forced portering, in Karen (Kayin) State
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Documentation Unit (HRDU), Burmese Women?s Union (BWU)
Date of publication:
2000-09-00
Description:
A report on the situation for migrant women workers from Burma in Thailand, and violations of their human rights... "In the 1960s Thailand was besieged by the issues of refugees and for three to four decades this issue has come in one big circle. Today, Thailand
faces yet another issue, that of undocumented migrant workers whose visibility and problems have become more sensitive and difficult. Undocumented
labor- mostly Burmese -left their country for political reasons, or due to internal fighting and insecurity. Recent reasons are more economic. To escape hardship in their home country, they find work as unskilled laborers in three Ds- dirty- difficult and dangerous jobs in Thailand.
Unlike many other migrant labor situation where most migrants are young men, women constitute a significant segment of the approximately
one million of migrant population in Thailand. Women from Burma who migrate to Thailand, much like other people migrating
all over the world, move from their homes and families in search of job opportunities in more prosperous areas. Human rights violations in Burma often cause economic hardship. However, determining
whether people leave Burma due to the hardships they suffer as a result of human rights violations is not always easy to distinguish from purely economic difficulty. Some migrant women have stated that they left Burma solely because of economic hardship.
However, many other flee because of serious human rights violations.
Many who have fled do not have enough to eat because unpaid
forced labor under harsh conditions prevents them from earning
a living. The distinction between economic hardship and violations
of civil and political rights is not necessarily a clear one. Many of these people have been unable to make a living due to continuing unpaid forced labor and forced relocation from the homes.
With little knowledge of the country to which they are moving and working, its language and it laws, women migrating from Burma are in
vulnerable position. Labor exploitation, sexual assault by their employers and law enforcement officers, abuse of power during detention and deportation
against undocumented migrant women in Thailand are systematically
documented..."
Aung Myo Min
Date of entry/update:
2006-01-14
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
887.32 KB
Local URL:
cycle-of-suffering.pdf
cycle-of-suffering.pdf more
Source/publisher:
UNICEF
Date of publication:
2005-00-00
Description:
This 63 page book collectively answers many of the questions young people want to ask about HIV/AIDS. [in Myanmar language] It explains AIDS origin in Africa and spread globally, its current prevalence in Myanmar, its modes of infection, and means for control. Yangon, 2005...
For further information please contact:
Jason Rush, Communication Officer, UNICEF in Myanmar
Phone: (95 1) 212 086; Fax: (95 1) 212 063 ; Email: [email protected]
Date of entry/update:
2005-12-23
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
Burmese
more
Date of publication:
2005-05-00
Description:
Submitted in total fulfilment
of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy...Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences,
School of Population Health,
Key Centre for Womenâ�â¢s Health in Society
The University of Melbourne...This thesis, describes how women who are forced to migrate from Burma into
Thailand manage their fertility, unwanted pregnancy and pregnancy loss. Unsafe
abortion is a common problem and much time and resources are taken with the care of
women suffering haemorrhage, infection and pain after self-induced abortion in both
Thai and Burmese-led health facilities.
The thesis examines the characteristics of 43 Burmese women admitted to health
facilities with post-abortion complications and their chosen methods of self-induced
abortion. There is no commonly agreed definition of abortion between formal,
informal health workers or women. Most people considered it morally proscribed and
in some cases knew it was illegal, but still felt it was necessary. Some aspects of
post-abortion care are performed better by informally than formally trained health
workers. Post-abortion family planning was poorly performed by Thai health
workers. Lay midwives play a central role in fertility management and some are
abortionists. Burmese womenâ�â¢s partners are not well informed about fertility
management and frequently decline vasectomy. Within a relm of limited traditional
and modern reproductive choices, women manage their fertility outcomes.
The Burmese women in this study are generally married with children. Considered
illegal migrants, they are employed and work in Thailand without work permits.
Many women have a history of escaping human rights abuses and entrenched poverty
in Burma. At least a third of women admitted into care with post-abortion
complications have induced their abortion with oral herbal preparations, pummelling
manipulations or stick abortions. Most of the abortion services are provided by
Burmese lay midwives. Reasons for terminating the pregnancy include: poverty,
gender-based violence and the local illness of �weaknessâ�â¢. In addition, incomplete
sexual health knowledge, and difficult access to reproductive health services play a
part in mistimed pregnancy.
I argue that a lack of rights increases womenâ�â¢s risk of unsafe abortion. The rights
to work and earn a fair wage and to move without fear influence reproductive health choices and access to health services. A lack of sexual health information for men
and women and the ability to safely control fertility causes unwanted pregnancies.
Furthermore, violence perpetrated at the individual and state level contributes to
unsafe abortion. Burmese womenâ�â¢s mortality and morbidity associated with unsafe
abortion in Thailand is largely unrecorded and unknown to the Burmese military
government.
Unwanted and mistimed pregnancy can be avoided through reproductive
technologies, education programmes, and access to modern contraceptives. To safely
terminate unwanted pregnancies and to treat the complications of pregnancy loss is a
womanâ�â¢s right. Burma and Thailand are signatories to Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms of Descrimination Against Women, yet Burmese women continue to
suffer, become sterile, socially vilified, unemployed or repatriated to Burma due to
their reproductive status. Their sickness and deaths are secondary to the economic
imperatives of Burma and Thailand.
Dr. Suzanne Belton
Date of entry/update:
2005-12-23
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Reproductive Health/Gynaecology, Obstetrics, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
3.84 MB
Local URL:
ThesisFinalfixed.pdf
ThesisFinalfixed.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Mao Tao Clinic
Date of publication:
2005-12-00
Description:
Findings:-
Key findings from the research show that:
While unplanned pregnancy and abortion are a large problem, they
can be prevented.
* Post abortion care at Thai and Burmese health facilities takes
large amounts of health resources.
* At least a third of women with post abortion complications have
self-induced abortions.
* Men and women have low levels of knowledge about modern
methods of contraception.
* Temporary contraceptive information or methods are not offered
to women during post abortion care in the Mae Sot Hospital but
are offered 6 weeks after discharge.
Many women are affected by unplanned pregnancies ~
* The vast majority of women are married and two thirds have
children.
* A third of women have five or more pregnancies, which is a health
risk in itself.
The way the pregnancy ends can negatively affect women?s health
and wellbeing ~
* Unqualified abortionists and home remedies are the only recourse
women have to end an unwanted pregnancy.
* Women know of and use a wide variety of methods to end their
pregnancy including self-medication with multinational and
Burmese medicines, drinking ginger and whisky, vigorous pelvic
pummelling and insertion of objects into the sex organs.
* Post abortion treatment in hospital can be expensive if a woman
does not have a work permit or is not referred by Mae Tao Clinic
and can leave her with debts.
Women are pressured by social and political circumstances to end
their pregnancies~
* Women are often pressured by employers, husbands and the
fear of unemployment to end their pregnancies.
* Some women report domestic violence as influencing their
decision to abort.
Women were attempting to limit their fertility in many different ways ~
* Most women and lay midwives classified menstrual regulation
and abortion as traditional methods of fertility control.
* Most women accepted a diverse range of temporary and
permanent contraceptive methods from the Mae Tao Clinic staff
while they were still in-patients.
The nature of forced displacement and lack of human rights directly
effects reproductive health ~
* Having a work permit does not necessarily offer protection to
women, as there is scrutiny to ensure a woman is not pregnant
when a permit is issued.
As workers without work permits can be arrested and
deported by Thai police, women are reluctant to travel
to any type of health service and often wait until they
are very unwell.
Burmese women as non-citizens are not included in Thai
death statistics at a national level so the deaths of
Burmese women go unnoticed, by both Thai and Union
of Myanmar authorities.
Cynthia Maung, Suzanne Belton
Date of entry/update:
2005-12-23
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Reproductive Health/Gynaecology, Obstetrics, Articles, reports and sites relating to women of Burma
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
2.25 MB
Local URL:
OurWay.pdf
OurWay.pdf more
Source/publisher:
Myanmar Mission Geneva
Description:
Check here for updates. This page will probably comprise a full record of those parts of the National Convention published in "The New Light of Myanmar" and other military-controlled media. Photos, speeches etc.
Date of entry/update:
2005-12-23
Type:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
The National Convention (preparations, procedures, proceedings, legislation, statements etc.), 7-Step Roadmap (Step 1): Reconvening of the National Convention that has been adjourned since 1996 (texts).
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
United Nations (CCPR/CO/84/THA)
Date of publication:
2005-07-28
Date of entry/update:
2005-12-22
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG #2005-F8)
Date of publication:
2005-12-09
Description:
"This report combines text and photos to describe events from September to November 2005, when the SPDC violated the ceasefire by sending a large Army column to attack and occupy a Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) base in Nyaunglebin District. Just before the rice harvest was to begin, the SPDC Army shelled local villages, captured the base, and began systematically destroying the local villagers? homes, utensils and implements to undermine the ability of villagers to live in the area. The villagers evaded them and moved into the hills east of the river, where they established shelters close by - from which the men could monitor SPDC activities - and further in the hills, where their families could set up food supplies and care for children and the elderly. Meanwhile, KNLA units harassed the SPDC column and prevented it from crossing the Shwegyin River to pursue the villagers. On November 3rd the SPDC withdrew, having failed to bring any villagers under their control. The villagers quickly returned to begin a much-belated rice harvest, which will probably yield less than half the required rice for the coming year..."
Date of entry/update:
2005-12-12
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Karen
Language:
English
more
Source/publisher:
Macquire University (dissertation)
Date of publication:
2004-11-00
Description:
Abstract:
"The context of this dissertation is the conflict-ridden attempt in Burma to
create a unitary nation state, also the parallel attempt by the Karenni political
opposition, based in refugee camps in Thailand, to create a viable nation-inopposition
from the many Karenni ethnolinguistic groups. New data is
presented on language use at public sites in one of the two Thailand-based
Karenni refugee camps, where 11 languages are in daily use. Observations at
schools, public meetings, acts of worship and shops, and exit interviews at
clinics, show that public language use is dominated by the use of Karenni
(Kayah), Burmese and English, with lesser-used community languages in a
state of critical decline.
Karenni and Burmese predominate in spoken language, while Burmese and
English are the most important languages in written discourse. In schools the
use of Karenni declines as students move up through the system, while the
use of English and Burmese increases. Although 23% of the camp population
are speakers of languages other than Karenni and Burmese, these other
languages are underrepresented at the sites investigated. At schools minor
languages feature mainly in the speech of students who are probably
explaining to each other what their teacher is saying in Burmese or Karenni.
At public meetings, minor languages play a similar role, featuring in nonofficial
speech overheard by observers; official speech is dominated by Karenni and Burmese. At shops, there are clusters of locations where minor
languages are used, but the vast majority of transactions are in Karenni or
Burmese. Language use at Christian places of worship depends on the
denomination of the church. Catholic churches use Karenni, with one or two
also using Burmese; and Baptist churches use Karen with some Burmese.
Written texts in churches vary, with some in Karen, some in Karenni roman
script and a few in Karenni camp script. At all churches the phenomenon of
congregations praying in several first languages simultaneously was
observed. At clinics, the language of consultation was either Karenni or
Burmese.
English accounts for 31% of writing or use of written texts at the sites
observed. However, the use of English as the preferred medium of
instruction in upper secondary schools has been limited by lack of teachers'
proficiency and lack of texts in English. Burmese continues to be the leading
medium of instruction in the upper school system.
About one third of the population of Kayah state has been displaced since
1996, and at least two fifths of its villages destroyed or relocated for security
reasons. Many refugees have been displaced from monolingual villages.
Those who now live in Karenni northern camp find themselves in a
linguistically complex environment where in some cases their own language
now cannot probably be used in the local shop, and is not supported in the
school system at any level. Although some of these languages, for example
Kayan, have quite large core communities elsewhere, some do not, and these
languages must now be at risk of disappearing completely. They include
Kay aw, Manaw and Bre."
Richard Sproat
Date of entry/update:
2005-12-09
Type:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
html
Size:
4.89 KB
Local URL:
RS-page.html
RS-page.html more