ND Burma
ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.
Recent Posts
- Myanmar junta bombs Rohingya Muslim village killing 41, rescuers say
- Myanmar’s junta cuts filmmaker’s life sentence to 15 years as part of wider amnesty
- Close The Sky
- International condemnation of the escalating humanitarian crisis and rights violations in Myanmar
- Women in Karenni State face increasing levels of violence
Workshop on Memorialization
/in ActivitiesImpunity Watch and ND-Burma held a two-day workshop in Chiang Mai on the subject of Transitional Justice efforts in Burma.
The workshop was in preparation for a five-day exchange of ideas for upcoming workshop, with the meeting being attended by a varied number of organizations including:
1. AAPP (Assistance Association for Political Prisoners)
2. Burmese Women’s Union (BWU)
3. Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT)
4. Network for Human Rights Documentation Burma (ND Burma)
5. 88 Generation Peace and Open Society
6. Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
7. Karen Women’s Empowerment Group (KWEG)
8. Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)
9. Forum Asia (Notes)
10. Facilitators from GIZ and KDK
The attendees spent the two days discussing concepts and principles of Transitional Justice, Memorialization efforts and Truth Seeking process. The facilitators from Cambodia introduced the participants to Transitional Justice efforts currently being undertaken in Burundi and Guatemala and then went into more detail about the Cambodian context. This preceded a discussion on the current situation in Burma and the work currently being carried out in the country and on the border.
The workshop was an excellent opportunity for different groups to meet and discuss these concepts, whilst recognizing the Transitional Justice work currently being carried out in Burma. The participants contributed many excellent ideas and ambitions for the future, ideas which will be carried over into the upcoming exchange. This exchange will further cement the ideas and opinions that were discussed in Chiang Mai and will seek to enhance Transitional Justice efforts in Burma.
ND-Burma would like to extend our thanks to the participants and the facilitators for a very enjoyable and informative workshop.
Press Release: The death of freelance journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, aka Par Gyi.
/in Member statementsPress Release: The death of freelance journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, aka Par Gyi
27th October 2014
The death of well known freelance journalist Aung Kyaw Naing, aka Par Gyi, while in military custody in Kyaikmayaw Township, Mon State, comes as a shocking reminder of how extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and torture are still being used against citizens in Burma.
Par Gyi worked as a security guard for Aung San Suu Kyi during the 1988 Democratic Movement and was a member of the Tri Color Students Group. He has since been working as a freelance journalist in and around the Thai-Burma border. Par Gyi disappeared after he completed photo documentation work in Kyaikmayaw Township, reporting on the ongoing violent clashes between the government forces and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA).
It has since been reported he was arrested on September 30th by Light Infantry Battalion No-204 and died in custody on October 4th. The government position on the death of Par Gyi is that his alleged actions in trying to steal a gun during his detention caused his own death. So far we have seen no basis for this allegation, with his body not even being returned to his family. The fact is he was killed whilst in custody, an unacceptable violation of basic civil rights.
Par Gyi’s death is a reprehensible demonstration of how the rights of the citizen in Burma are not respected and how intimidation and violence are used against them. Extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention and torture are abhorrent violations of basic human rights and the death of Par Gyi serves to highlight how these practices are systematically being used to oppress people and deny basic civil liberties. The government must be open about what really happened to Par Gyi and we demand an investigation into not only his death but into all accounts of extrajudicial killings.
We strongly decry the actions of the government in this case and in all cases of extrajudicial killing, arbitrary detention and of
torture. We are calling for an investigation into both Par Gyi’s case and all other cases that violate basic human rights and ignore the rule of law. If this government wishes to see a free democratic Burma then they must be strong in this issue and end these systematic and inhumane practices.
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
Contact persons:
Secretary Tate Naing – 66 (0)812878751
Joint Secretary Bo Kyi – 95 (0)9425308840
Silent Offensive: How Burma Army Strategies are Fuelling the Kachin Drug Crisis
/in ND-Burma Members' ReportsThis report, based on interviews with Kachin drug users, their family members, drug sellers, and community leaders in eight townships of northern Burma, paints a disturbing picture of the drug crisis in Kachin areas. Read more
KWAT’s 7 Year Activity Report (2007-2013)
/in ND-Burma Members' ReportsKWAT team is happy to share our 7 year activity report (2007-2013) with you all. Read more
Human rights abuses still ‘rampant’ in Burma: Report
/in NewsAn alliance of rights groups revealed on Thursday that they have documented 103 cases of human rights abuse in Burma since the start of 2014.
A 21-page report by the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma), released on Thursday, claimed that violations are still “rampant” in conflict areas as well as in territories currently under ceasefire agreements.
Among the documented violations, which the group said are “just a fraction of the true number of human rights abuses”, are cases of rape, land confiscation, human trafficking and torture.
ND-Burma is a 12-member alliance of rights organisations from all over the country, some still working in exile in neighbouring Thailand. The group, which has operated as a rights watchdog for Burmese citizens since 2004, collected information from fieldworkers in eight of the country’s 14 administrative divisions from January to June 2014.
The most frequent abuses documented, the report says, were unlawful land acquisitions in ethnic areas. Thirty-six cases of land-grabbing were reported, a number that the group said is “almost certainly a low estimate”.
Fourteen killings and 14 instances of torture were also reported.
Sexual assault committed by the Burmese military remains a serious concern in many of Burma’s ethnic areas despite progress towards achieving a nationwide peace deal, the report said. In Mon State, eastern Burma, local researchers reported that an ethnic Mon woman was abducted and beaten by a Burmese army corporal in early January — just weeks after another woman was assaulted by a soldier in the same township.
The report said that the woman bit her attacker’s arm when he attempted to rape her. The corporal then “retaliated by severely beating the woman”, leaving her with injuries to the face, neck, chest, back and hands. Her current condition was described as “critical” and she is still in need of surgery, nearly eight months after the incident.
While some improvements have been observed in the remote and vulnerable territories across Burma, which are historically prone and geographically amenable for undocumented rights violations, the group claims that violations still happen regularly and enormous obstacles remain for rights workers. Laws targeting activists, arbitrary arrests and limitations on press freedom are recurring threats for rights defenders, the group said.
The first of ND-Burma’s 2014 bi-annual rights reports shows little improvement from 2013, when 253 cases were reported throughout the course of the entire year.
Report on the Human Rights Situation in Burma (January – June, 2014)
/in ND-Burma's Reports, Periodic Report, Press Releases and StatementsMedia Advisory:
New report by Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) documenting on-going human rights abuses in Burma
Date: 14 August 2014 Read more