Human rights in Myanmar
Encyclopedia
Members of the United Nations
and major international human rights organisations have issued repeated and consistent reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations in Burma. The United Nations General Assembly
has repeatedly called on the Burmese Military Junta to respect human rights and in November 2009 the General Assembly adopted a resolution "strongly condemning the ongoing systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms" and calling on the Burmese Military Regime "to take urgent measures to put an end to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."
International human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch
and Amnesty International
Violations of human rights include claims that there is no independent judiciary
in Burma, that the military government restricts Internet access through software-based censorship, limiting the material citizens can access online, that Forced labour, human trafficking
, and child labour are common, and that sexual violence is abundantly used as an instrument of control, including systematic rapes and taking of sex slaves as porters for the military. A strong women's pro-democracy movement has formed in exile, largely along the Thai border and in Chiang Mai
. There is a growing international movement to defend women's human rights issues.
The Freedom in the World 2004 report by Freedom House
notes that "The junta rules by decree, controls the judiciary, suppresses all basic rights, and commits human rights abuses with impunity
. Military officers hold all cabinet positions, and active or retired officers hold all top posts in all ministries. Official corruption is reportedly rampant both at the higher and local levels."
Brad Adams, director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, in a 2004 address described the human rights situation in the country as appalling: "Burma is the textbook example of a police state. Government informants and spies are omnipresent. Average Burmese people are afraid to speak to foreigners except in most superficial of manners for fear of being hauled in later for questioning or worse. There is no freedom of speech, assembly or association."
several hundred thousand men, women, children and elderly people are forced to work against their will by the administration. Individuals refusing to work may be victims of torture, rape or murder.
The International Labour Organization
has continuously called on Burma to end the practice of forced labour since the 1960s. In June 2000, the ILO Conference adopted a resolution calling on governments to cease any relations with the country that might aid the junta to continue the use of forced labour.http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc88/resolutions.htm#I
s in Burma - the number had doubled from 1,100 in 2006 to 2,123 in 2008.
A 2004 Amnesty International
report says that, between 1989 and 2004, more than 1,300 political prisoner
s have been imprisoned after unfair trials. The prisoners, including National League for Democracy
(NLD) leaders Aung San Suu Kyi
and U Tin Oo, have "been wrongfully denied their liberty for peaceful acts that would not be considered crimes under international law", Amnesty International claims.
The Freedom House
report notes that the authorities arbitrarily search citizens' homes, intercept mail, and monitor telephone conversations, and that the possession and use of telephones, fax machines, computers, modems, and software are criminalized.
before publication. Reporters face severe consequences for criticizing government officials, policy, or even reporting on criticism.
, License to Rape, details 173 incidents of rape
and other forms of sexual violence
, involving 625 girls and women, committed by Tatmadaw (Burmese Army) troops in Shan State, mostly between 1996 and 2001. The authors note that the figures are likely to be far lower than the reality. According to the report, "the Burmese military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples of Shan State." Furthermore, the report states that "25% of the rapes resulted in death, in some incidences with bodies being deliberately displayed to local communities. 61% were gang-rapes; women were raped within military bases, and in some cases women were detained and raped repeatedly for periods of up to 4 months." The Burmese government denied the report's findings, stating that insurgents are responsible for violence in the region.
In a 2003 report "No Safe Place: Burma's Army and the Rape of Ethnic Women", Refugees International
further documents the widespread use of rape by Burma’s soldiers to brutalize women from five different ethnic nationalities.
Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International also report frequent torture of prisoners, including political prisoners.
http://hrw.org/reports/2002/burma/, recruiting and kidnapping
of children to the military
is commonplace. An estimated 70,000 of the country’s 350,000-400,000 soldiers are children. There are also multiple reports of widespread child labour
.
In a landmark legal case, some human rights groups have sued the Unocal corporation, previously known as Union Oil of California and now part of the Chevron Corporation
. They charge that since the early 1990s, Unocal has joined hands with dictators in Burma to turn thousands of citizens there into virtual slaves under brutality. Unocal, before being purchased, stated that they had no knowledge or connection to these alleged actions although it continued working in Burma. This was believed to be the first time an American corporation has been sued in a U.S. court on the grounds that the company violated human rights in another country.
According to Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
(HRDP), on April 18, 2007, several of its members (Myint Aye, Maung Maung Lay, Tin Maung Oo and Yin Kyi) were met by approximately a hundred people led by a local official, U Nyunt Oo, and beaten up. Due to the attack, Myint Hlaing and Maung Maung Lay were badly injured and subsequently hospitalized. The HRDP alleged that this attack was condoned by the authorities and vowed to take legal action. Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
was formed in 2002 to raise awareness among the people of Burma about their human rights
.
for extermination or 'Burmisation'. This, however, has received little attention from the international community since it has been more subtle and indirect than the mass killings in places like Rwanda
.
According to Amnesty International
, the Muslim Rohingya people
have continued to suffer human rights
violations under the Burma junta
since 1978, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh
as a result
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and major international human rights organisations have issued repeated and consistent reports of widespread and systematic human rights violations in Burma. The United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
has repeatedly called on the Burmese Military Junta to respect human rights and in November 2009 the General Assembly adopted a resolution "strongly condemning the ongoing systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms" and calling on the Burmese Military Regime "to take urgent measures to put an end to violations of international human rights and humanitarian law."
International human rights organisations including Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
and Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
Violations of human rights include claims that there is no independent judiciary
Judiciary
The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
in Burma, that the military government restricts Internet access through software-based censorship, limiting the material citizens can access online, that Forced labour, human trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
, and child labour are common, and that sexual violence is abundantly used as an instrument of control, including systematic rapes and taking of sex slaves as porters for the military. A strong women's pro-democracy movement has formed in exile, largely along the Thai border and in Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai Province
Chiang Mai is the second-largest province of Thailand, located in the north of the country. Neighboring provinces are Chiang Rai, Lampang, Lamphun, Tak, and Mae Hong Son. In the north it borders Shan State of Burma...
. There is a growing international movement to defend women's human rights issues.
The Freedom in the World 2004 report by Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
notes that "The junta rules by decree, controls the judiciary, suppresses all basic rights, and commits human rights abuses with impunity
Impunity
Impunity means "exemption from punishment or loss or escape from fines". In the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims' right to justice and redress...
. Military officers hold all cabinet positions, and active or retired officers hold all top posts in all ministries. Official corruption is reportedly rampant both at the higher and local levels."
Brad Adams, director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, in a 2004 address described the human rights situation in the country as appalling: "Burma is the textbook example of a police state. Government informants and spies are omnipresent. Average Burmese people are afraid to speak to foreigners except in most superficial of manners for fear of being hauled in later for questioning or worse. There is no freedom of speech, assembly or association."
Forced labour
According to the International Confederation of Free Trade UnionsInternational Confederation of Free Trade Unions
The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions , and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour to form the...
several hundred thousand men, women, children and elderly people are forced to work against their will by the administration. Individuals refusing to work may be victims of torture, rape or murder.
The International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
has continuously called on Burma to end the practice of forced labour since the 1960s. In June 2000, the ILO Conference adopted a resolution calling on governments to cease any relations with the country that might aid the junta to continue the use of forced labour.http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/ilc/ilc88/resolutions.htm#I
Freedom of speech and political freedom
According to Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), there are now 2,203 political prisonerPolitical prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s in Burma - the number had doubled from 1,100 in 2006 to 2,123 in 2008.
A 2004 Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
report says that, between 1989 and 2004, more than 1,300 political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s have been imprisoned after unfair trials. The prisoners, including National League for Democracy
National League for Democracy
The National League for Democracy is a Burmese political party founded on 27 September 1988. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi serves as its General Secretary. The party won a substantial parliamentary majority in the 1990 Burmese general election. However, the ruling military junta...
(NLD) leaders Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
and U Tin Oo, have "been wrongfully denied their liberty for peaceful acts that would not be considered crimes under international law", Amnesty International claims.
The Freedom House
Freedom House
Freedom House is an international non-governmental organization based in Washington, D.C. that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom and human rights...
report notes that the authorities arbitrarily search citizens' homes, intercept mail, and monitor telephone conversations, and that the possession and use of telephones, fax machines, computers, modems, and software are criminalized.
Trade Unions
Trade unions were banned when General Ne Win came to power in 1962. In 2010, amid growing calls for reform to labour laws, unofficial industrial action was taken at a number of garment factories in Rangoon, causing concern at government level. In October 2011, it was announced that trade unions had been legalised by a new law.Freedom of the press
The Burmese media is tightly controlled by the government. Newspapers, journals and other publications are run under the Ministry of Information and undergo heavy censorshipCensorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
before publication. Reporters face severe consequences for criticizing government officials, policy, or even reporting on criticism.
Freedom of religion
The authorities generally permitted most adherents of registered religious groups to worship as they choose; however, the Government imposed restrictions on certain religious activities and is accused of abusing the right to freedom of religion.State-sanctioned torture and rape
A 2002 report by The Shan Human Rights Foundation and The Shan Women's Action NetworkShan Women's Action Network
The Shan Women’s Action Network , is a organization of Shan women active in Shan State and Thailand, working to attain gender equality and achieve justice for Shan women in the struggle for social and political change in Burma....
, License to Rape, details 173 incidents of rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and other forms of sexual violence
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, involving 625 girls and women, committed by Tatmadaw (Burmese Army) troops in Shan State, mostly between 1996 and 2001. The authors note that the figures are likely to be far lower than the reality. According to the report, "the Burmese military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples of Shan State." Furthermore, the report states that "25% of the rapes resulted in death, in some incidences with bodies being deliberately displayed to local communities. 61% were gang-rapes; women were raped within military bases, and in some cases women were detained and raped repeatedly for periods of up to 4 months." The Burmese government denied the report's findings, stating that insurgents are responsible for violence in the region.
In a 2003 report "No Safe Place: Burma's Army and the Rape of Ethnic Women", Refugees International
Refugees International
Refugees International is a humanitarian organization supporting refugees and stateless people. It publishes annual reports, as well as approximately twenty-five field reports throughout the year on refugee issues, as well as comments on international aid issues around the world...
further documents the widespread use of rape by Burma’s soldiers to brutalize women from five different ethnic nationalities.
Human rights organizations such as Amnesty International also report frequent torture of prisoners, including political prisoners.
Children's rights
According to Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
http://hrw.org/reports/2002/burma/, recruiting and kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
of children to the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
is commonplace. An estimated 70,000 of the country’s 350,000-400,000 soldiers are children. There are also multiple reports of widespread child labour
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...
.
Cases
In a press release of December 16, 2005 the US State Department says UN involvement in Burma is essential. The US listed illicit narcotics, human rights abuses and political repression as serious problems that the UN needs to address.In a landmark legal case, some human rights groups have sued the Unocal corporation, previously known as Union Oil of California and now part of the Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
. They charge that since the early 1990s, Unocal has joined hands with dictators in Burma to turn thousands of citizens there into virtual slaves under brutality. Unocal, before being purchased, stated that they had no knowledge or connection to these alleged actions although it continued working in Burma. This was believed to be the first time an American corporation has been sued in a U.S. court on the grounds that the company violated human rights in another country.
According to Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
Human Rights Defenders and Promoters was formed in 2002 in Burma to raise awareness among the people of Burma about their human rights and help them conduct advocacy....
(HRDP), on April 18, 2007, several of its members (Myint Aye, Maung Maung Lay, Tin Maung Oo and Yin Kyi) were met by approximately a hundred people led by a local official, U Nyunt Oo, and beaten up. Due to the attack, Myint Hlaing and Maung Maung Lay were badly injured and subsequently hospitalized. The HRDP alleged that this attack was condoned by the authorities and vowed to take legal action. Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
Human Rights Defenders and Promoters was formed in 2002 in Burma to raise awareness among the people of Burma about their human rights and help them conduct advocacy....
was formed in 2002 to raise awareness among the people of Burma about their human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
.
Minorities
Evidence has been gathered suggesting that the Burmese regime has marked certain ethnic minorities such as the KarenKaren people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
for extermination or 'Burmisation'. This, however, has received little attention from the international community since it has been more subtle and indirect than the mass killings in places like Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
.
According to Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, the Muslim Rohingya people
Rohingya people
The Rohingya is a predominantly Muslim ethnic group of disputed origin who live in Arakan State, western Burma. The Rohingya population is mostly concentrated to the cities of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Akyab, Rathedaung and Kyauktaw.-Etymology:...
have continued to suffer human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
violations under the Burma junta
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
since 1978, and many have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
as a result
See also
- Internal conflict in BurmaInternal conflict in BurmaThe internal conflict in Burma is a term that is employed to refer to the current violence in Burma that has existed since approximately April 1948 between the Burmese government and the various ethnic groups in the country. More recently, the conflict has been against the military regime that has...
- Censorship in BurmaCensorship in BurmaCensorship in Burma refers to government policies in controlling and regulating certain information, particularly on religious, ethnic, political, and moral grounds...
- Internet censorship in Burma
- Rohingya peopleRohingya peopleThe Rohingya is a predominantly Muslim ethnic group of disputed origin who live in Arakan State, western Burma. The Rohingya population is mostly concentrated to the cities of Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Akyab, Rathedaung and Kyauktaw.-Etymology:...
- LGBT rights in BurmaLGBT rights in BurmaHomosexuality is illegal in Burma. The authoritarian nature of the government makes it difficult to obtain accurate information about the legal or social status of LGBT Burmese citizens.- Criminal Code :...
- RamboRambo (film)Rambo is a 2008 German/American Action film starring Sylvester Stallone returning and reprising his famous role as legendary Cold War/Vietnam veteran John Rambo. Stallone also co-wrote and directed the film. It is the fourth and most recent installment in the Rambo franchise, twenty years since...
- Burma VJBurma VJBurma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country is a 2008 documentary film directed by Anders Østergaard. It follows the September 2007 uprisings against the military regime in Burma. Some of it was filmed on hand-held cameras, and the footage was smuggled out of the country...
- Burma Center PragueBurma Center PragueBurma Center Prague is a non-profit Non Governmental Organization based in Prague, Czech Republic. It has been founded by two individuals in 2006...
External links
- Burmese soldiers target Christians in recent attacks - 2 November, 2011
- Human Rights Watch: Burma
- Burma Campaign UK
- Collection of reports on issues in Burma, maintained by Burma Center Prague
- Amnesty International report on prisoners of conscience
- International Confederation of Free Trade Unions' Burma Campaign
- Freedom House's Burma ratings
- Minorities in Burma and Burma: Time for Change by Minority Rights Group International
- Licence to rape, a report on the Burmese military regime's use of sexual violence in Shan State, by The Shan Human Rights Foundation and The Shan Women's Action Network
- Karen Human Rights Group, Documenting the voices of villagers in rural Burma
- Refugees International on Burmese refugees
- Burma Project (Open Society Institute)
- The Free Burma Coalition
- Censorship in Burma: IFEXInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
- Focus on Myanmar The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
. November 16, 2005 - Burma Labour Solidarity Organisation
- Asian Human Rights Commission - Burma homepage
- Rule of Lords Weekly column on human rights & the rule of law in Burma & Thailand
- Chin Human Rights Organization
- Human Rights abuse in Burma reported on by Guy Horton