The Human Rights Documentation Unit (HRDU) is the research and documentation division of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB).  HRDU was initially formed to document the human rights situation confronting the many and varied peoples of Burma, and to defend and promote those internationally recognised human rights that are inherent and inalienable for all persons irrespective of race, colour, creed, ethnicity or religion.  To this end, HRDU published the first Burma Human Rights Yearbook in 1994 to comprehensively document the systematic and egregious nature of the human rights abuses being perpetrated in Burma.  This, the latest incarnation of the Burma Human Rights Yearbook - the 2007 edition - represents the 14th annual Yearbook produced by HRDU.

The Burma Human Rights Yearbook is an almanac of human rights abuses that have been perpetrated against the civilian population of Burma by Burma's military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and their various allied ceasefire armies.  It draws on a wealth of information produced by local organizations who are the foremost experts in their respective areas as well as reports and news articles published internationally.  The Yearbook aims to draw all of this information together into a single volume, allowing its readers to easily make comparisons between Burma’s various States and Divisions, to highlight the trends and illustrate the differences.

At 964 pages in length, composed of 380,000 words and with approximately 6,400 footnote references citing well over a thousand different sources, the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 provides a comprehensive overview of the current human rights situation in Burma.  The 2007 edition of the Yearbook is thus not only the largest, most comprehensive and most detailed Yearbook produced by HRDU to date, but is also quite likely the single-largest report on the human rights situation in Burma ever produced by any organization.

All fourteen successive editions of the Burma Human Rights Yearbook may be accessed in PDF format from the HRDU Report Archive via the navigation bar at the top of this page. In March 2008, HRDU also published its first-ever publically-released thematic report. Entitled Bullets in the Alms Bowl; An Analysis of the Brutal SPDC Suppression of the September 2007 Saffron Revolution, this report marked a new milestone for HRDU and can be expected to be the first of many such thematic reports. This report is also available in PDF format in the HRDU Report Archive.

The HRDU is indebted to all of the sources cited throughout this report.  The HRDU would like to thank all of the organizations and individuals for their valued contributions that led to the production of the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007.  Last, but by no means least, the HRDU would like to express its sincere gratitude to all those who have served as volunteers to the Yearbook for both this the current, as well as for all previous editions.  Production of the Yearbook would not be possible without your generous support.

All contents of this report may be freely reproduced or distributed for non-commercial purposes or quoted for media and other related uses, provided that which is reproduced is properly acknowledged.  This report was produced on a non-profit basis and is not for commercial sale.  As a professional courtesy, HRDU would appreciate copies of any materials in which excerpts from this report are used.

Though the HRDU retains copyright of the Burma Human Rights Yearbook, it does not belong to one organization alone, but to all the many varied and diverse peoples of Burma who have lived too long under the oppressive weight of military rule.  The Burma Human Rights Yearbook is thus dedicated to the people of Burma who have sacrificed their homes, freedom, and lives to lifting the veil of terror that shrouds the truth in Burma today.