Human rights in Myanmar: Report of

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

United Nations 
General Assembly

A/54/499

Distr.: General 
27 October 1999
Original: English

Fifty-fourth session 
Agenda item 116 (c) 

Human rights questions: human rights situations 
and reports  of  special  rapporteurs  and representatives 

Situation of human rights in Myanmar 

Report of the Secretary-General 

I. Introduction 

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 19 
of General Assembly resolution 53/162 of 9 December 1998, 
entitled ?Situation of human rights in Myanmar?, in which the 
Assembly requested me to continue my discussions with the 
Government of Myanmar on the situation of human rights and the 
restoration of democracy in Myanmar and to submit additional 
reports to the Assembly during its fifty-third session on the 
progress of those discussions, and to report to the Assembly at 
its fifty-fourth session and to the Commission on Human Rights at 
its fifty-fifth session.

2. As I have indicated in previous reports, I consider the 
role entrusted to me by the General Assembly as being one of good 
offices, in contrast to the fact-finding mandate assigned to the 
Special Rapporteur by the Commission on Human Rights.

3. In implementation of resolution 53/162, my Special Envoy, 
Mr. Alvaro de Soto, Assistant Secretary-General for Political 
Affairs, visited Myanmar from 14 to 18 October 1999. During his 
visit, Mr. de Soto held consultations with Lieutenant-General 
Khin Nyunt, Secretary-1 of the State Peace and Development 
Council; U Win Aung, Minister for Foreign Affairs; 
Brigadier-General David Abel, Minister in the Office of the 
Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council; and Colonel 
Tin Hlaing, Minister for Home Affairs. He also held consultations 
with leaders of political parties, namely, the National League 
for Democracy (NLD), including its General-Secretary Daw Aung San 
Suu Kyi, and the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy; and 
representatives of some of the ethnic minority groups, including 
the New Mon State Party and the Kachin Independence Organization.


II. Content of the discussions 

4. My Special Envoy and I have raised with the Myanmar 
authorities and other political figures the concerns of the 
General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights as reflected 
in the resolutions they have adopted over the years, such as the 
restoration of democracy and human rights in Myanmar, a dialogue 
involving the Government, political parties -- particularly NLD --
and ethnic groups, freedom for political parties to conduct 
normal political activities, the release of political prisoners, 
the visit of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human 
Rights, access to prisoners by the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC), and last but not least, forced labour 
practices.

5. In our discussions with the authorities, my Special Envoy 
and I reiterated that the best means to achieve democracy was by 
holding an inclusive political dialogue with the various 
political forces within the country, and in particular with NLD, 
which had won a majority of votes in the 1990 elections. My 
Special Envoy sought to persuade the Government that if it had 
been able to carry out negotiations with armed insurgent groups, 
it should also be able to extend such talks to unarmed political 
parties. He also conveyed to the authorities the widespread 
concerns of the international community over the disproportionate 
and harsh sentences that have been imposed on those who carried 
out peaceful political activities. Such action, in his view, 
cannot but have a negative impact upon the Government?s goal of 
returning the country to democracy. He argued that criticism of 
the Government, as long as it was expressed peacefully, was part 
of the normal political life of all democratic Governments and 
should not be grounds for curtailing the freedoms of expression 
and assembly. My Envoy and I strongly urged the Government once 
again to allow a visit by the Special Rapporteur so that he might 
report on the situation of human rights on the ground, without 
having to rely on second-hand sources. While acknowledging 
reports that the Government had suspended those provisions in the 
British-colonial-era laws that allowed it to demand forced 
labour, Mr. de Soto urged the Government to repeal those laws so 
that those who perpetrated forced labour practices could be 
prosecuted by law.

6. I was very pleased to learn that ICRC had started to 
conduct visits to prisons and other places of detention according 
to its standard procedures. The Government assured my Special 
Envoy that it would continue its cooperation with ICRC. On the 
release of political prisoners, the Government argued that the 
persons concerned were not political prisoners and were being 
released from time to time.

7. Regarding visits of the Special Rapporteur to Myanmar, the 
Government repeated its displeasure at the reports written by him 
since he had undertaken that function. In the Government?s 
opinion, those reports were biased and relied upon information 
provided by dubious sources. Nevertheless, the Foreign Minister 
stated for the first time that the Government would give ?serious 
consideration? to a visit by a Special Rapporteur, without 
indicating when such a visit might take place.

8. With regard to forced labour, the Foreign Minister stated 
that it was no longer practised in Myanmar, since there was no 
longer any fighting waged against insurgent groups and therefore 
there was no need to demand porterage from civilians. He said 
that accusations of forced labour were politically motivated. He 
indicated that the Government had taken action to suspend the 
application of the Village Act and the Towns Act which allowed 
for forced labour practices, without repealing them. 

9. Concerning a dialogue with the political parties, ethnic 
groups and other political actors, the Government stated that it 
was essential that there should be sincerity and mutual respect 
in holding a dialogue, which was the case in the Government?s 
dealings with the ethnic groups. The Government noted that NLD 
showed no sign of such sincerity and mutual respect, thus making 
a dialogue with them ?very difficult?. The Myanmar authorities 
said that one way of demonstrating this sincerity was by showing 
a desire to ?work constructively? instead of attacking everything 
the Government did. NLD, for its part, expressed its continued 
readiness to engage in a dialogue with the Government at any time.

10. The representatives of some ethnic groups which have 
ceasefire agreements with the Government wanted to have a 
political dialogue with the Government, but not at the National 
Convention, which some of the ethnic groups were not 
participating in. They said that a more inclusive conference 
needed to be held, with representatives of all ethnic groups, 
large and small, as well as political parties and the Government. 
Many of the ethnic representatives with whom my Special Envoy met 
expressed their desire to see a political dialogue between the 
political opposition, particularly NLD, and the ruling State 
Peace and Development Council.


III. World Bank participation 

11. In a departure from previous missions, an official of 
the World Bank accompanied my Special Envoy as his adviser with 
the purpose of assisting him in explaining the cooperation that 
might be available to Myanmar from the international financial 
institutions and the requirements that would have to be met for 
those institutions to accede to it. This was done on the basis of 
a draft report of the Bank, entitled ?Myanmar: An Economic and 
Social Assessment?, to be published by the end of 1999, currently 
under discussion with the Myanmar authorities concerned. Myanmar, 
according to the World Bank, is trapped in abject poverty despite 
its rich resource base.

?Most poverty and human development indicators have lagged, 
placing Myanmar behind its neighbours and most developing 
countries. Those outcomes are attributable to flawed policies 
that afflict a twin blow: policy distortions retard the 
ability of farms and firms to create income-earning 
opportunities, and poor public finances prevent adequate 
response to the needs of the diverse population ... failure 
to improve living standards of the majority of the population 
 ... could have devastating consequences for poverty, human 
development and social cohesion in Myanmar.?

12. The World Bank makes clear that in order for Myanmar to 
realize its full economic potential and achieve levels of 
broad-based prosperity enjoyed by other countries in South-East 
Asia, it will be necessary both to set in place good domestic 
incentives and capable institutions, and to secure external 
financing through high-quality foreign investment and 
well-targeted Official Development Assistance. However, to obtain 
the support of the international community for such external 
financing, Myanmar will need to demonstrate the commitment to a 
broad-based reform policy that would address not only the 
economic issues discussed in the Bank?s report, but also the 
other concerns of the international community which affect their 
relations with Myanmar. As the Bank states in its report, ?the 
United Nations had adopted resolutions that convey these concerns 
as regards political and human rights policies that will affect 
the degree of international support for Myanmar?


IV. Observations 

13. As I mentioned above, I welcome the visits by ICRC to 
prisons and places of detention -- something which the General 
Assembly has repeatedly asked the Government of Myanmar to allow 
to take place. However, I am unable to report concrete progress 
on other issues which the international community has raised time 
and again in successive resolutions of the General Assembly and 
the Commission on Human Rights. It is my very strong desire to 
see the Government take action on these other issues as well. I 
hope the Foreign Minister?s indication that ?serious 
consideration? would be given to a visit by the Special 
Rapporteur will translate into the setting of a date very soon, 
in time, I hope, for the submission of a report to the Commission 
on Human Rights at its fifty-fifth session.
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