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TIME FOR THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE OF MYANMAR

August 8, 2022/in Member statements

Date: August 7, 2022 In recognition of the 34th anniversary of the 8888 Revolution Day on 8 August 2022, the CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar)[1] (abbreviation “Working Group”) and 32 Myanmar civil society organizations signing below pay tribute to and honor people of different religious communities, ethnicities, and classes who sacrificed […]

Hundreds killed, thousands forced to flee since coup in Myanmar Tanintharyi region

August 5, 2022/in News

Violence has risen sharply in the southern region since the start of the year, a research group says. At least 214 civilians have been killed and 89 injured in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region in the 18 months since the country’s military seized power in a coup, according to local research group Southern Monitor. The group […]

TIME FOR THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE OF MYANMAR

August 8, 2022/in Member statements

Hundreds killed, thousands forced to flee since coup in Myanmar Tanintharyi region

August 5, 2022/in News

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TIME FOR THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE OF MYANMAR

August 8, 2022/in Member statements

Date: August 7, 2022

In recognition of the 34th anniversary of the 8888 Revolution Day on 8 August 2022, the CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar)[1] (abbreviation “Working Group”) and 32 Myanmar civil society organizations signing below pay tribute to and honor people of different religious communities, ethnicities, and classes who sacrificed their lives for federal democracy and human rights in Myanmar, and it is time to establish a new human rights commission that will uphold, protect and promote human rights in line with international standards.

The military junta has systematically and deliberately committed violent offensives and mass human rights violations against the people across the country every day since its coup attempt on 1 February 2021. Within 551 days of the attempted coup, over 2,000 innocent people, including children, have been killed by the military, with the actual number is likely to be higher. Likewise, the junta murdered four democracy activists who had been unjustly sentenced to death by its puppet court. More than 11,900 civilians have been detained by the junta for opposing the attempted coup. At the same time, residents of ethnic minority areas and central Myanmar are living in psychological and physical insecurity as a result of the junta’s airstrikes, indiscriminate shelling, unlawful arrests, unlawful killings, massacres, plunder, destruction and arson of their villages with severe violations of their right to life, right to livelihood, right to movement and right to safety. Under the junta’s control, Myanmar’s judicial system is void of independence and justice, and people need independent and fair mechanisms to inform and report rights violations.

Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) was established as a national human rights institution under the quasi-civilian government led by U Thein Sein in 2011. Due to its failure to align with international standards, including the Paris Principles which guides national human rights institutions, and its lack of independence, the MNHRC has lost the trust of international and local human rights organizations as well as the public. Despite repeated demands by civil society organizations to denounce the military’s attempted coup since 11 February 2021, the MNHRC has ignored the demands and continues to stand with the military junta, which has committed grave human rights violations. Even worse, the MNHRC members have extorted money from the detainees during their pretentious military approved prison inspections.

The MNHRC shamelessly attends regional and international human rights forums and conferences, representing Myanmar to the international community as a propaganda tool of the junta.

In its stance, activities, and existence, the MNHRC undermines the federal democratic revolution in Myanmar. There is clearly a dire need to replace the MNHRC with a new national human rights commission that can promote and protect human rights independently and fairly in accordance with international standards. Only then a newly established national human rights commission can represent Myanmar people’s desire for human rights and federal democracy on the international stage.

A human rights commission bill was drafted by the Working Group and submitted to the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), and National Unity Government (NUG) on December 6, 2021 in order to fulfill this necessity. The members of the Working Group will continue to strive towards the establishment of the Union Human Rights Commission.

We, the undersigned civil society organizations, jointly call for the MNHRC to be dissolved and for a new Union Human Rights Commission to be established by the NUG. We call on the people of Myanmar to participate in condemning the MNHRC, one of the supporting pillars of the military junta, in order to achieve a new national human rights commission that respects and follows human rights standards.

For more information please contact:

Nang Zun Moe, info@progressive-voice.org
Ma Thinzar Shunlei Yi, thinzarshunleiyi@protonmail.com

The Statement was initiated by CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) which consists of 20 civil society organizations from diverse backgrounds. Following 32 Myanmar civil society organizations endorsed the statement.

Endorsed by

Active Youths (Kalay Myo)
All Arakan Students and Youths’ Congress
Back Pack Health Workers Team
Bama Youth Network
Basic Education Students and Youths Association
Burma Medical Association
Burmese Women’s Union
Democracy for Ethnic Minorities Organization
Democracy, Peace and Women’s Organization
Dhanu youth organization
Future ThanLwin
India For Myanmar
Kayan Women’s Organization
Keng Tung Youth
Kyaukse Students’ Union
Let’s Help Each Other
LGBT Alliance Myanmar
LGBT Community Yangon
LGBT Union Mandalay
Mandalay Regional Youth Association
Network for Human Rights Documentation Burma (ND-Burma)
OCTOPUS (Youth Organization)
Olive organization
Oway Institute
Pa-O Women’s Union
Save and Care Organization for Women at Border Areas
Second Tap Root
Shan MATA
Sister 2 Sister
Southern Youth Development Organization
Tanintharyi MATA
ပညာနန်းတော်ကိုယ်ပိုင်ကျောင်း ကျောင်းသားများသမဂ္ဂ(သီးခြားအကသ)

Additional endorsement after release of the statement

Karen Women’s Organization
Blooming Padauk
ကျေးလက်မြေ

[1] Working Group was formerly known as the CSO Working Group on Myanmar National Human Rights Commission Reform, founded in 2019. The Working Group currently consists of 20 civil society organizations from diverse backgrounds to reflect the new mission of establishing a new national human rights institution that is in line with the Paris Principles.

Download PDF in English I Burmese

Hundreds killed, thousands forced to flee since coup in Myanmar Tanintharyi region

August 5, 2022/in News

Violence has risen sharply in the southern region since the start of the year, a research group says.

At least 214 civilians have been killed and 89 injured in southern Myanmar’s Tanintharyi region in the 18 months since the country’s military seized power in a coup, according to local research group Southern Monitor.

The group said in a statement on Thursday that since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, at least 17,415 people in Tanintharyi – the home region of junta chief Snr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing’s parents – were forced to flee their homes, while 93 homes were destroyed in arson attacks over the same period.

The dead included those killed by junta troops as well as victims of retribution attacks by the armed opposition for their alleged role as informants for the military regime, it said.

Southern Monitor’s information officer told RFA Burmese that the number of civilian deaths in Tanintharyi has risen sharply since the beginning of 2022, with the months of April and June being the deadliest.

“Violent incidents in Tanintharyi region have increased significantly in 2022. People died in an increasing number of battles as well as in bombings and landmine incidents,” said the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“Another worrying trend is the killing of civilians. It can be said that killings by both sides have increased quite a bit.”

He said most of the assassinations and civilian deaths occurred in Tanintharyi’s townships of Launglon and Yebyu.

At least 93 houses were razed in Tanintharyi since the coup, according to Southern Monitor – 33 in Palaw township, 30 in Thayetchaung township, 18 in Tanintharyi township, six in Dawei township, three in Yebyu township, two in Launglon township, and one in Myeik township.

A spokesman for the anti-junta Democracy Action Strike Committee (Dawei) told RFA that most of the fires were started by the junta troops and pro-military Pyu Saw Htee militia fighters raiding villages.

“A military column would come and a battle with PDFs would occur. When [the military] couldn’t proceed any further, they’d set fire to a nearby house,” said the spokesman, who also declined to be named, citing security concerns.

In Launglon, they just set fire to the houses, even though there were no clashes. One of the houses burnt down was owned by a former Dawei District Protest Committee member. At the time of the incident, he was a member of the committee. There were also cases when the Pyu Saw Htee and the military came together and just burned down a house for no reason.”

According to the Dawei Political Prisoners Network, as of April 29, there were 221 political prisoners in detention in Tanintharyi, two of whom have been sentenced to death by the junta.

Military crackdown

Residents of the region told RFA that the armed resistance in Tanintharyi started in earnest in August 2021 in response to the military’s violent crackdowns on civilians.

A spokesman for the Palaw Township People’s Defense Force said most of the fighting in Tanintharyi region, up until recently, had been caused by military clearance operations. He claimed that the armed resistance was not responsible for starting any clashes.

“The fighting we have here began when they entered the area,” said the spokesman, who also asked to remain anonymous.

“We’re not in a position to attack them yet because we are still in a state of preparation. The PDF has not launched any offensives, except one.”

According to the list compiled by Southern Monitor, from June 2021 to July 2022, there were 133 battles and at least 141 attacks using landmines. Most of the attacks took place in the townships of Dawei, Launglon, Thayetchaung, Palaw and Tanintharyi.

Attempts by RFA to reach junta Deputy Information Minister Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun for comment on the violence in Tanintharyi went unanswered Thursday.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced Wednesday that the number of people displaced by violence in Myanmar had ballooned to 866,000 from 346,000 prior to the coup.

It said most of the refugees are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, but the junta has yet to announce any plans to address the problem.

Written by Joshua Lipes.

RFA News

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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.

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