Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
Resolutions, reports, human rights instruments etc. Lots of stuff; very well organised.
Source/publisher:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR)
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Human rights organisations, networks: resources, training, methodology and other links, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Language:
English (also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish)
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Description:
"Zeid Ra?ad Al Hussein assumed his functions as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on 1 September 2014, following the General Assembly?s approval on 16 June 2014 of his appointment by the United Nations Secretary-General. He will be the seventh individual to lead the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the first Asian, Muslim and Arab to do so..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2014-09-00
Date of entry/update:
2014-11-06
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
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Individual Documents
Description:
"As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the lives of millions across Myanmar, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is expanding its support to the Government of Myanmar's national response.
On 16 December, UNHCR handed over 50,000 Cobas SARS-CoV-2 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test kits to the Union Ministry of Health and Sports in Nay Pyi Taw.
The arrival of the test kits adds on to an earlier contribution of 20,000 kits by UNHCR and WFP in July. Collectively, over 145,000 test kits have been handed over to Government by the wider United Nations system as part of a joint response to date.
“UNHCR continues to support the Government’s nationwide efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and ensure that vulnerable communities are not left out”, said UNCHR Representative in Myanmar Ms. Hai Kyung Jun.
The Refugee Agency has so far equipped over 400 quarantine centres with basic items such as beds, blankets, kitchen sets and hygiene kits, and distributed 685,200 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) for front-line workers and vulnerable communities, including gloves, masks, disposable gowns and face shields. An additional batch of 367,000 N95 masks is expected to arrive by the end of the year and will be distributed to counterpart ministries.
UNHCR has also stepped-up campaigns to raise awareness on COVID-19 prevention in camps and sites for internally displaced people and stateless persons, as well as health, water, sanitation and hygiene services in these locations by installing new water points and distributing hygiene items such as soap and hand sanitizer.
To date, over 670,000 people across Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states as well as the South East region of Myanmar have benefitted from the collective efforts of the Government, UNHCR, sister UN agencies and partner humanitarian organizations in providing life-saving assistance to those in need..."
Source/publisher:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via Reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-04
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Public Health
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
Size:
468.96 KB 482.59 KB
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Description:
"Infographic: Thailand-Myanmar Border Resettlement Dashboard - January 2020..."
Source/publisher:
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (Geneva) via reliefweb (New York)
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-11
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Karen and other refugees from Burma in Thailand - general reports and articles
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
362.54 KB
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Description:
"UN human rights experts welcomed the news that convicted Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are back at home with their families in Myanmar, but expressed serious concerns about the judicial process in the country and the fact that their guilty verdicts still stand.
The two reporters, who won a Pulitzer Prize last month for their investigation into the 2017 massacre of Rohingya men and boys at Inn Din village, Rakhine State, were granted a presidential pardon on 7 May. They had been serving a seven-year jail sentence in connection with the reporting, charged with breaching the 1923 Official Secrets Act.
“While it is good news that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo have been reunited with their families and will not have to carry out the remainder of their sentences, their convictions under the Official Secrets Act have not been withdrawn and they should never have been prosecuted in the first place,” said the UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee and freedom of expression David Kaye.
“We remain terribly concerned about the state of media freedom and the democratic space in Myanmar. The authorities have a considerable way to go to in law, policy and institution-building to ensure a minimum level of democratic space, which is particularly important in the lead up to national elections next year,” the experts said.
Trials against other journalists and human rights defenders are ongoing. Reports have been received of charges recently made by the military against the editors of the Irrawaddy, Radio Free Asia and DMG news outlets as a result of their independent reporting of the current conflict in Rakhine State with the Arakan Army. These cases and restrictions on media access to Rakhine State are preventing reporting of the conflict as well as of human rights violations that continue to be routinely perpetrated against the civilian population, including the remaining Rohingya.
“We have previously raised concerns about the independence of the judiciary and the Government’s commitment to establishing a democracy that respects human rights,” the experts said. “We therefore again urge the Government to undertake the necessary reforms to bring about genuine democracy and reverse its course into repression.”
Thousands of prisoners were released across Myanmar under Presidential pardons which are made annually during the new year celebrations, many of whom were convicted under laws that urgently need reform. Several people convicted under politically motivated charges have been released, however at least 20 political prisoners remain in jail..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2019-05-08
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"When the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar completed a 444-page report last year documenting atrocities committed by security forces against Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya minority, its experts reported to the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly, the Security Council, and a global audience via the media. Last month, the mission’s Experts took it upon themselves to report to the Rohingya themselves.
On a May 5 visit to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, FFM Chairman Marzuki Darusman and Expert member Christopher Sidoti met with scores of refugees – the majority of whom had fled an explosion of violence in Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine State two years ago.
Among those present were witnesses, survivors and community leaders who had contributed vital testimony to the report. The meeting marked the first time the Experts were able to formally brief them, and the first time the Rohingya were able to pose questions of their own.
Most of those present asked about the slow pace of justice and said they were desperate to return home. Trapped inside a vast network of camps that have become the largest refugee settlement in the world (900,000 people), they complained they were being excluded from discussions over their future by governments and humanitarian organizations.
One man stood up to ask about some of the greatest challenges the exiled Rohingya now face: access to education, and jobs. “Our concern is what’s going to happen to the next generation,” he said. “If we’re stuck here … what will happen to them?”
A few minutes later, a woman stood up to thank the Experts for taking the time to listen. “In Myanmar we never had the chance to speak about our rights and our demands,” she said, “and even here in the camps women especially don’t have that opportunity.”
The woman said the FFM’s report had helped inform the world about the “indescribable violence” the Rohingya community had experienced. She added: “we would like to know, how can this type of suffering be stopped from happening again?”
A Unique Opportunity
Investigative missions established by the Human Rights Council report primarily to UN member States in Geneva and New York. But because the FFM’s mandate was extended an additional year – it expires in September 2019 – the Experts had the opportunity to go back and meet with those they reported on.
“For us, this was the most important report back we’ve done,” Sidoti said. “Our report was the product of what they told us. Theirs are the stories we told. So we wanted to ensure that after their cooperation with us we had an opportunity to tell them what we found and what we recommended and what’s going to happen from here.”
“I hope very much that as a result of our experience this will become standard for Human Rights Council investigations,” Sidoti said, shortly after FFM staff handed out summarized copies of their 2018 findings. “The mandate given to the investigative teams should require a report, not just to UN mechanisms, but also to the affected communities.”
During their visit, the Experts held two meetings in the refugee camps, one exclusively with women. They also met with Rohingya on the Bangladeshi side of a strip of land at Konarpara, which straddles the Myanmar frontier, and heard new testimony from recent arrivals.
The trip was part of a 10-day journey through the region that began May 3 and ended with the Experts urging the international community to cut all financial ties to Myanmar’s military, saying its commanders needed to be “isolated” and brought before a credible court to answer charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide..."
Source/publisher:
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2019-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Various rights: reports of violations against several ethnic groups
Language:
English
Local URL:
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Description:
"Wai Wai Nu had never committed any crime, but at 18, she was told she was going to prison. She had just started law school when the sentence was handed down to her father, and by consequence, to Wai Wai, her mother, sister and brother.
The family believed they would be released after a few months, but for seven years, they were forced to endure squalid, overcrowded conditions in Myanmar’s infamous Insein Prison. Her brother was sent to another prison.
According to the authorities, Wai Wai’s crime was being the daughter of Kyaw Min, a school teacher and political activist from Rakhine State in western Myanmar.
For the last few decades, northern Rakhine State has been the epicentre of crisis. Wai Wai’s family belongs to the marginalised Rohingya community, a community in Rakhine that continues to suffer persecution and mass displacement today. Since mid-2017, nearly one million Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh.
In March this year, UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet described a situation of ‘systematic discrimination and pervasive restrictions on freedom of movement’ when delivering the Office’s report to the Human Rights Council.
"When the judge first gave us our sentence, I didn’t cry, I didn’t want to show my sadness or weakness. I also didn’t want my parents to feel guilty about what happened to us. But when I arrived at the prison with my mum and my sister, we cried for three days.
"When we started the sentence, I had two more years of law school to go. Each day, at the time when school would have started, I felt like I was dying inside. No youth should go to prison without committing any crime. Their place is not prison, their place is at university."
Wai Wai finally earned her law degree when she left prison, graduating from Yangon East University. She looks back on her time in prison describing it as her ‘life university,’ and how it was one of the main triggers for her work as a human rights defender today.
"I realised how deep discrimination was towards women in all aspects of their life: access to education, to healthcare, to economy, to politics and to decision-making processes."
Today she travels the world, speaking publicly on the plight of Rohingya women and girls. She was recently in Geneva, presenting to the UN’s Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women. A recent report by the Committee shows an ongoing devastating situation for Rohingya women and girls, highlighting ongoing widespread atrocities– sexual violence, deprivation of nationality, restriction of freedom of movement, and a severe lack of access to healthcare, education and housing.
Despite repeated requests from the UN and the international community, the report notes that there ‘has been no evidence of measures taken to effectively prevent and address the human rights violations committed.’ As one example, it says Myanmar authorities continue to deny that any sexual violence has been committed, concluding that ‘no genuine efforts’ have been taken to hold perpetrators accountable..."
Wai Wai Nu
Source/publisher:
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2019-06-14
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-14
[field_licence]
Type:
Individual Documents
Category:
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
Language:
English
Local URL:
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