Check Against Delivery

Statement by Mr. Paolo Sergio Pinheiro, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar

56th Session of the General Assembly

Third Committee, (tem 119

New York, 9 November 2001

Mr. President,

I have the honour to present my first report which refers to my activities and developments relating to the situation of human rights in Myanmar between 1 January and 14 August 2001. I would also like to share a few preliminary observations from my first fact-finding mission to Myanmar from 9 to 17 October 2001.

At the invitation of the Government, I arrived in Yangon on 9 October after a stopover in Singapore where I had consultations with officials. In Yangon, where I stayed for four days, I met with Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, Secretary (1) of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). He assured me of the full cooperation of the SPDC and invited me to go to any place I wanted and meet anyone I wished, which I did. He stated that he wanted to make my mission a success and stressed that the SPDC was genuinely committed to improving the well-being of the population. He said that this included the need to improve human rights and engage in political transition now that peace had been achieved in several parts of the country and development was taking place. He expressed concern at the lack of understanding outside the country about the progress achieved in these areas.

I also met other Government officials, representatives of political parties, ethnic minority leaders, journalists and businessmen. I visited educational, religious, academic and other institutions. Finally, I met with the UN Country Team, members of the diplomatic community, and international civil society organisations.

On 13 October I went with my team to Lashio (Shan State), where we were received by local authorities. The mission visited a Wa cease-fire area, the new border town of Muse, and the Lashio prison. The following day, I travelled with my team to Mandalay and had meetings with local authorities; my team visited the office of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the Mandalay central prison, Hton-Bo labour camp, and a University in Sagaing Division.

On 17 October, the mission, originally scheduled to last until 20 October, had to be suspended due to an ailment which obliged me to return home to Brazil. As a consequence, visits to Kachin State, Insein prison, a labour camp near Yangon and further higher educational institutions, were cancelled as well some interviews with recently released political prisoners. I was, however, able to meet the Foreign Minister, Deputy Foreign Minister, as well as the NLD top leadership, including the Secretary General Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and the party secretary and spokesperson. My team further met the NLD Central Executive Committee at their headquarters.

I received full and unhindered cooperation on the part of the Myanmar Government during my mission. I wish to express my sincere gratitude for this gesture. I would like also to thank very warmly the medical staff of the Mandalay General Hospital for their competent care and kind attention. I hope to be able to return to Myanmar in the beginning of next year to pursue my fact-finding mission and efforts to develop partnership with all parties interested in improving the human rights situation there.

I am sure, Mr. President, that you will understand that it would be impossible to tackle all human rights issues and problems in Myanmar at the same time. In consequence, I preferred to select for this first visit issues and priorities which concern the majority of the population and are in the nature of long term structural problems. I thus focused on establishing an initial framework of cooperation and operating principles, visiting prisons and labour camps, interviewing political and other detainees confidentially, beginning to assess basic security conditions, the exercise of fundamental civil and political rights, and starting to look into basic rights to food, health, and education. My preliminary observations presented in this statement will be developed in my report to 58th session of the Commission on Human Rights.

I recognise the urgency in improving the situation of human rights on many fronts. However, it is my view that given the limited resources of a Special Rapporteur, to have a positive impact my mandate requires a long term-approach, each mission focusing on selected issues to be investigated and documented. Each new visit will update issues looked at previously and address new ones. A basic requirement for this mandate is consultation and dialogue with the Government, political parties, including from ethnic minorities, and the society at large. This is what I have initiated in order to build a broad understanding towards a constructive partnership with all those, both inside and outside Myanmar, who aspire to contribute toward promoting and protecting human rights and the well-being of the people in the country.

My activities are developed in the framework of the Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/58 of 3 March 1992, which established the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, with the duty "to establish direct contacts with the Government and with the people of Myanmar, including political leaders deprived of their liberty, their families and lawyers, with a view to examining the situation of human rights in Myanmar and following any progress made towards the transfer of power to a civilian government and the drafting of a new constitution, the lifting of restrictions on personal freedoms and the restoration of human rights in Myanmar". My mandate is thus one of fact-finding and complementary to that of the good offices of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General to Myanmar, Ambassador Razali Ismail. I need not to stress the importance that the United Nations, its Secretary General, and the successive resolutions attach to the result of the free and fair elections in 1990 and its necessary translation into appropriate political expression in the context of political transition.

Since the ongoing confidence-building contacts between the SPDC and the NLD leader during the past twelve months the Government of Myanmar has been addressing some of the human rights concerns of the Commission on Human Rights and supporting several positive initiatives. Those include the dissemination of human rights standards for the police and public officials through a series of training workshops with the support of the Australian Government and corporate funding; the establishment of the governmental Committee on Human Rights to pave a way (as I was told) for the establishment of a human rights institution based on the Paris Principles; the releases of political detainees; the end of criticism of the NLD in official media; the political consultation with the NLD and permission given to legal parties to open or re-open offices; the continued international monitoring of prison conditions; and the dialogue with the United Nations, inter alia, with the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Myanmar, the ILO and through my mandate. During my recent visit to Myanmar I witnessed progress in several areas: among others, cease-fire agreements reached with several armed groups, the opening of offices of the NLD, attention to conditions in prisons, the release of nearly 200 political prisoners including MPs. In my next report I intend to assess, with objectivity and transparency, what has been achieved and remains to be accomplished in all these areas.

I am encouraged by the fact that the NLD has been allowed to reopen 24-township offices in Yangon division (16 are already opened) and is gradually reopening offices elsewhere. In Yangon, my delegation spent two and half-hours discussing with the NLD leadership basic conditions for the operation of political parties in the country. The Mandalay NLD headquarters and two other township offices are operating. I understand that four other parties (the Shan-NLD, the Kokang Democracy and Unity Party (KDUP), the National Unity Party (NUP), and Lahu National Development Party (LNDP)) have so far opened party offices in Yangon, Lashio and Kentung. I presume that the five other legal parties are also allowed to do so.

These developments are welcome. I am concerned, however, that unnecessary and discriminatory stringent restrictions continue to hamper the exercise by political parties of the fundamental human rights to freedom of assembly, association, expression, information and movement: legally-registered parties need prior permission from the SPDC to open party offices; whereas the NUP (widely regarded as close to the SPDC) is allowed to publish party materials, the NLD and other parties still cannot and do not have permission to operate photocopiers, mimeographs or fax machines, which require SPDC licences; their office telephone lines are disconnected; they can hold monthly meetings in office premises but public gatherings require prior permission. I have been told also of official pressures against party members and organisers to resign from their membership and against landlords to refuse to rent office premises to political parties.

I also understand that the top NLD officials are subject to systematic surveillance by police and military intelligence personnel, with their movements, contacts and communications closely monitored. Lower party members are also closely watched, but apparently less systematically. I have received information that NLD members going to the NLD office to meet with their colleagues may be in danger of being taken away for interrogation without any valid reason. Female NLD members may be especially at risk and feel that they could be subject to harassment. Such restrictions, if confirmed, are not conducive, in my view, to the atmosphere of trust and confidence that is necessary to pave the way for effective and mutually respectful political dialogue and cooperation. It is essential that all political parties and ethnic minority groups enjoy the basic political freedoms.

Freedom of expression is tightly controlled by more than half a dozen laws, the violation of which, may be, and in fact is widely, sanctioned by 3 to 20 years in prison. There are numbers of people in prison for having peacefully expressed their views, verbally, through participation in peaceful demonstrations, or activities in political parties, for having written about human rights or political issues in the country, or for possessing prohibited writings. All print and electronic media are State-controlled, except the recently established bi-monthly English-language "Myanmar Times". However, like the 21 foreign news agencies in Yangon, I understand that it is subject to censorship, formal or self-inflicted, as correspondents are taught by military intelligence personnel to understand the extent to which subjects can be covered. I believe that the release of all persons detained for the peaceful expression of their views should be considered by the SPDC among its priorities, if it is to pursue its confidence-building efforts in a convincing manner.

Prior to and during my mission, I have received reports of gross violations of human rights of civilians living in areas of conflict between the army and armed groups, particularly in eastern Kayin and Kayah States, Southern Shan State, northern Sagaing Division, Rakhine and Chin States. These reports, many of which are substantiated by reliable evidence, are of course a matter of serious concern to my mandate. As usual in this type of conflict, it is the poor and defenceless population which is intimidated and victimised by different combatants crossing their communities. Such violence is largely arbitrary and indiscriminate. Not only combatants are killed, injured and maimed, but also, and in greater numbers, ordinary people, farmers, the elderly, women and children who have little, or nothing, to do with the conflict.

My mandate requires that I examine the subject of these reports in an impartial and objective manner, and I have started doing so. This is a meticulous process, which I intend to pursue during my next missions in order to establish gradually a credible factual account of the human rights situation in these areas. In the meanwhile, I am calling on all parties in conflict - the SPDC, the Tatmadaw (the army), and the armed opposition groups in these areas - to use maximum restraint in their armed activities, to observe fundamental principles of international humanitarian law relating to the protection of civilians and prisoners, to stop using civilians as pawns of war, and consider alternative avenues to sort their differences through political dialogue in the mutual respect for their rights, in a peaceful manner.

These conflicts have devastated life in many communities. There are hundreds of thousands refugees living in neighbouring countries. I believe that both Myanmar and Thailand have an obvious interest in solving the matter of the ongoing insecurity along their common borders, with the related transnational issues of refugees, displaced persons, trafficking, and exploitation of natural resources. A peaceful settlement of these matters is also in the interest of ASEAN and the region as a whole.

In the Shan State my delegation, because of the urgent need of my evacuation from Lashio to the Mandalay General Hospital, quickly visited Namtit in the Wa cease-fire area, which enjoys a great autonomy, and the border town of Muse. My team was able to observe positive achievements in these areas regarding roads, electricity, schools and medical facilities, trade and large-scale agricultural production. A regular, substantive and transparent access to those areas to conduct factual research is required before I can speak fairly and authoritatively about the multiple factors which contributed to these developments. We would have visited another important cease-fire area in Kachin State if my health had allowed it. The rights to peace and security are fundamental human rights. Their enjoyment may contribute to laying the foundations of economic development, but the effective social benefits of such development need to be assessed and there remains to formulate the political and institutional expression of what appears to be semi-or largely autonomous areas within the Union of Myanmar.

Visits to prisons, labour camps and other detention facilities are central to my mandate. Thus it is indispensable to examine, based on international standards, their actual conditions both from the perspective of authorities and prisoners, but also as a part of my assessment of the judicial system and work with concerned authorities and partners on ways to improve those areas.

In order to do so, I obtained from the Home Minister open permission to select detention facilities for visit and to identify prisoners for confidential interview, thus applying standard operating procedures for prison visits enabling independent assessment of prison conditions. It is my duty to report here that I received full cooperation in this regard from prison authorities. I visited the Lashio and Mandalay Central prisons and Hton-Bo labour camp (near Mandalay) and interviewed privately a dozen detainees with complete freedom. If it had not been for my health, I would have visited the Myitkyina prison (Kachin State), Insein central prison and a second labour camp and continued to interview detainees there.

Prison conditions had been reported to be very poor for many years. My initial impression based on in-situ visits and discussions with prison authorities and private interviews of detainees is that there have been incremental improvements in the areas of sanitation, food quality, access to basic medicine and medical treatment, and family visits in recent years. These can be linked to, at least, two factors: the introduction in 1997 by the SPDC Secretary (1) of a new set of 11 instructions to prison authorities and access granted to the ICRC to conduct its protection mandate in all prisons and labour camps since May 1999. The cooperation between the SPDC and the ICRC, based on fair and constructive working relations, appears to be exemplary and it is my strong hope that it will continue and develop further.

Most reports I have received indicate that prison conditions as a whole are still inadequate, but the prisons visited by my team looked clean and tidy. Political detainees appeared to be separated from common criminals, men from women, and juveniles from adults. I received allegations that corruption is frequent and physical abuse of prisoners occurs but I was not in a position to assess to what extent. I have been told also of a high rate of mortality among labour camps inmates, mainly due to physical exhaustion and inadequate medical care. I have also received a list of about 60 political prisoners who are reported to have died in prison since 1988. The incidence of death in detention is a complex area which I intend to examine closely during my next missions.

The issue of political prisoners has been at the top of my agenda since my first contact with the SPDC. I have urged the release of all political prisoners in my successive meetings with the Government. In pursuance of the understanding I had reached with the Government during my April visit, I submitted for the consideration of the SPDC a list of 49 prisoners for release, including all remaining imprisoned elected MPs, humanitarian cases of whose who are either old, sick, or detained beyond the term of their sentence, and 13 persons whose continued detention is related to an alleged attempt to communicate human rights information to the United Nations. I believe that it is essential that the Government guarantees the safety of persons contacted and interviewed by the Special Rapporteur.

I find very encouraging the fact that political arrests seem to have declined dramatically. I know of one, possibly another three, political arrests since the beginning of contacts between the SPDC and the NLD in October 2000. Ms. Gracy, an ethnic Chin Baptist pastor, accused of supporting the armed Chin National Front, was reportedly sentenced to 2 years in prison with hard labour in April and taken to Kalaywa camp near Sagaing where her brother is also detained. The three others, members of the Arakan League for Democracy, were reportedly arrested in March this year and are currently detained in Sittwe prison awaiting trial. The last known political arrest was that of five members of the NLD in mid-September 2000 for having issued a statement calling for the release from house arrest of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders. Some cases of detention of youth because of their activities in the NLD had been reported to me but it seems that they were released two weeks later.

I am pleased to acknowledge that since the beginning of this year, 198 political detainees have been released, many of them from the NLD. I understand that most of them had never been charged or tried. They include 39 NLD elected MPs who had been detained for 2 years and 8 months without charge or trial in government "guest houses" (mostly military barracks) and other elected MPs sentenced to various prison terms. I had the pleasure of meeting with Dr. Saw Mra Aung, aged 83, senior member of the Committee Representing the People's Parliament, who described conditions of detention in his "guest house" as good in contrast with those of the other MPs, which were more rudimentary and the cost of which had, in many cases, to be supported by their families. I note with satisfaction that five releases coincided with my visit, which was followed by another eight. As of 5 November to my knowledge, 19 elected MPs, arrested in 1990 or in the mid- to late 90s, remained in prison. As a university professor, I deplore the fact that the released appear to contain no student leader or activist.

These releases are very welcome. They represent however a small percentage of the estimated total and there is a long way to go if releases continue at the present rate. While I understand that the SPDC, the NLD and other political parties may have different understandings of what constitutes a political prisoner, I regard as such anyone who is held in connection with real or suspected political opinions, affiliation or activities. Under this definition, there remain an estimated 1500-1600 political detainees in Myanmar. They include, at least, 827 NLD members, an estimated 300 members of other political parties, as well as other political prisoners with no known political affiliation or held in connection with armed opposition groups. Among them there are, at least, 100 women. I have received consistent testimonies that following their release elected-MPs and other senior political detainees are under close surveillance and must report any travel outside their home village or town to military intelligence personnel.

I take this opportunity, Mr. President, to stress once more that I sincerely believe that only the full release of all political prisoners in Myanmar can effectively pave a way to a dialogue, national reconciliation and democratisation process based on the rule of law.

I note with appreciation that the ILO high-level team was able to visit Myanmar from 17 September to 6 October 2001 to carry out an objective assessment of the implementation of legislative, executive and administrative measures announced in Myanmar to eliminate forced labour. I am aware that it enjoyed the full cooperation of the Government.

Inter-ethnic/ religious tensions are a matter of prime concern to me in a country where extremely rich humane, historical, political, linguistic and cultural diversity poses the constant political challenge of making these differences co-exist in a peaceful, dynamic and constructive manner. Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are the four recognised religions in Myanmar, while numerous other religious beliefs and practices exist, often closely intermingled with them, especially among ethnic minorities.

In this respect, I am particularly worried at the reported violence against Muslim communities. Muslim individuals, houses, shops and mosques were allegedly attacked, resulting in an unknown number of deaths and injuries, and widespread looting, destruction of property and religious buildings, for instance, during May in Toungoo, Kywebwe, and in October in Pyi, Pakkoku, Bago and Inthada. In response to the mounting violence between ethnic and religious communities, and as an illustration of the seriousness attached to them by the SPDC, a national state of emergency of 45 days was decreed at the end of October. These are complex and sensitive issues which require attention and which I will look into at an appropriate future opportunity.

Mr. President, I would like to refer now to a topic that I think is extremely important, namely higher education, which I intend to develop in my next report. After 1988 all universities and many high schools had been closed down for 7-8 years up to mid-2000, except several medical schools which reopened in 1999. The reopening of universities since last year, recent efforts to upgrade some educational resources, and the rate of female enrolment at post-graduate level are remarkable. I heard of a brain drain from the public system to the growing private sector (for the minority which can afford it) and of children of political detainees being denied access to higher education despite brilliant results. I hope to be able to look into these questions in a constructive manner.

In the background of all the questions I addressed in my report, there exists a complex humanitarian situation in Myanmar, which threatens to worsen unless it is promptly and properly addressed by all concerned. Among the areas in most need of significant improvement is the situation of vulnerable groups, inter alia, the poor, children, women and ethnic minorities and, in particular, those among them who have become internally displaced in zones of military operations.

The UN country team stated recently that Myanmar is on the eve of a serious humanitarian situation. The humane, technical and financial means to prevent it exist, domestically and/or internationally. I am aware that addressing more adequately the humanitarian situation requires, besides the commitment of the Government, the involvement of the NLD in the planning and managing of international humanitarian assistance.

I am concerned by the speed of the HIV/AIDS spread in Myanmar. UNAIDs estimates that up to 500,000 people may already be infected - almost one in every 100. The next five years are critical in determining the future trajectory of the epidemic. Unless it is addressed now, and in a determined and concerted manner, it will become a major problem in the country. It is primarily the young generation which will bear the brunt of the epidemic. Broad-based social mobilisation and advocacy are key for preventive and curative action.

I would like to praise here the valuable assistance efforts of international NGOs which operate among the most vulnerable groups in Myanmar with complete control and monitoring of their assistance. In fact, at present their capacity for operation is much greater than the current level of aid channelled through them. I am convinced the humanitarian situation requires that they must be encouraged to develop their activities. For this, it is essential that the relationship between the Government of Myanmar and the international NGOs operating in the country continue to improve. I sincerely hope that the recent restrictive measures affecting the operation of these NGOs may soon be rescinded. It is in the best interest of the SPDC to demonstrate to the international community that these organisations do operate freely, within the laws of the country, thus facilitating their access to funding.

Mr. President, I do not underestimate the fact that progress is fragile and sometimes may be complicated by the fact that so many factors are involved simultaneously in the present juncture. While I recognise that the complexity of the situation in Myanmar requires some patience, the confidence building process is already one year old and in the opinion of many interlocutors is going rather slowly. Progress has been achieved in terms of confidence building between the Government and the NLD. Undeniably the political atmosphere in the country is gradually improving and some basis of mutual understanding has begun to emerge.

Precisely because of these positive developments, one would hope that the confidence building would be followed by bolder moves that may contribute for the political initiatives engaged a year ago to maintain their credibility. It is important that the SPDC will carry forward the present process towards democratisation. Proceeding more rapidly with the release of political prisoners will contribute to building a path towards a democratic power structure.

Nothing can help better Myanmar than the building of an all-inclusive, accountable and transparent democratic process, which would be able to preserve and consolidate peace, national reconciliation and national unity. My genuine hope is that the Government of Myanmar will not let pass this golden opportunity.

Thank you.