Blog Elements – Page 47

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

CRISIS IN RAKHINE: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MUST CONVENE URGENT SPECIAL SESSION ON MYANMAR

May 20, 2024/in News

19 May 2024: The Rohingya people in western Myanmar are again at risk of genocide. The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council must address this risk and the worsening human rights emergency in Myanmar generally, by convening an urgent special session, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M). This weekend, Rohingya remaining in Buthidaung township, […]

About 30 Rohingya killed in clashes between Myanmar junta, insurgents

May 18, 2024/in News

Thousands are fleeing a township after the Arakan Army ordered them to leave. About 30 members of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority have been killed in clashes between junta forces and ethnic minority Buddhist insurgents, residents of Rakhine State said on Saturday, raising new fears that the persecuted Muslim community is being caught in the middle of […]

CRISIS IN RAKHINE: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MUST CONVENE URGENT SPECIAL SESSION ON MYANMAR

May 20, 2024/in News

About 30 Rohingya killed in clashes between Myanmar junta, insurgents

May 18, 2024/in News

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

CRISIS IN RAKHINE: UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MUST CONVENE URGENT SPECIAL SESSION ON MYANMAR

May 20, 2024/in News

19 May 2024: The Rohingya people in western Myanmar are again at risk of genocide. The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council must address this risk and the worsening human rights emergency in Myanmar generally, by convening an urgent special session, says the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M).

This weekend, Rohingya remaining in Buthidaung township, northern Rakhine state, have reported being targeted with coordinated killings, large-scale arson attacks and shelling, beginning on Friday 17 May. 200,000 people are reported to be displaced with unconfirmed numbers of casualties. Credible sources cite Arakan Army soldiers as committing the attacks. The Arakan Army claimed on 18 May that its forces had seized the last remaining Myanmar military junta bases in Buthidaung township, which borders Bangladesh. The Human Rights Council must convene an urgent special session to address the crisis.

The Arakan Army has been one of the most effective armed groups opposing the vicious Myanmar military following the attempted coup in February 2021. Since last October it has succeeded in defeating the military throughout much of northern Rakhine state and southern Chin state in western Myanmar. It has also joined other resistance forces in freeing large areas of north-east Myanmar. Now, however, it seems to be turning its guns on the defenceless Rohingya people to complete the genocide undertaken by the same military it has opposed. The Arakan Army is bound by obligations under international humanitarian law and is required to investigate possible violations of international humanitarian law by troops under its command.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFM) reported to the Human Rights Council in 2018 that war crimes, crimes against humanity and possible genocide were committed against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine by the Myanmar military in 2016 and 2017. As a result, 750,000 Rohingya refugees sought shelter in Bangladesh, where they remain today along with 300,000 other Rohingya who fled earlier military campaigns. Around 600,000 Rohingya are still in Myanmar.

The events of 2016 and 2017 are subject to a continuing investigation at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and proceedings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the Genocide Convention. In January 2020, the ICJ issued an interim ruling, finding a real and imminent risk of further irreparable harm to the right of the Rohingya in Myanmar to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts, and, pending its final decision, it indicated a series of binding provisional measures to protect those rights. Four and a half years later, Rohingya in Myanmar remain subject to persecution and denial of their rights and continue to be at serious risk of genocide.

The ICC has been investigating the forced displacement of Rohingya to Bangladesh since 2019 but it has not yet taken any action against the leaders of the Myanmar military who were responsible then and who are responsible now for continuing atrocities.

The situation in Myanmar is shifting significantly. The Myanmar military junta does not have effective control of the country and has a rapidly diminishing influence in Rakhine. The military junta remains by far the primary source of violence and instability and grave violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. This includes the military’s destruction, by burning and shelling, of entire towns seized by resistance forces since October 2023.

The Human Rights Council should use the special session to adopt a resolution calling on all parties to comply fully with the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ and to uphold international human rights and international humanitarian law in Myanmar at all times. The Council must also expedite efforts to address the accountability deficit in Myanmar and identify ways to use the extensive evidence already collected by the UN Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, including by calling on the Security Council to refer the whole situation in Myanmar to the ICC or through the establishment of a special international criminal tribunal for Myanmar.

Download the English version of the statement: SAC-M PR HRC special session ENGLISH

About 30 Rohingya killed in clashes between Myanmar junta, insurgents

May 18, 2024/in News

Thousands are fleeing a township after the Arakan Army ordered them to leave.

About 30 members of Myanmar’s Rohingya minority have been killed in clashes between junta forces and ethnic minority Buddhist insurgents, residents of Rakhine State said on Saturday, raising new fears that the persecuted Muslim community is being caught in the middle of increasingly bitter fighting.

Twelve Rohingya civilians were killed in junta airstrikes targeting fighters from the Arakan Army, or AA, in Buthidaung township on Friday. Later in the day, the Arakan Army bombed a school where Rohingyas were sheltering with drones, killing 18 of them, residents said.

About 200 people were wounded, a Buthidaung Rohingya resident who identified himself as Khin Zaw Moe told RFA.

“People are scared. The casualties may be even higher,” he said. “The exact number is not known due to the difficulty in communicating.”

Rohingyas from about 20 villages were sheltering in the high school when it was attacked, he said. It was not clear why the Arakan Army bombed the school.

RFA tried to telephone the AA spokesman, Khaing Thukha, and the junta’s Rakhine State spokesperson, Hla Thein, but could not get through to either of them.

The AA, who are battling the junta for self-determination of the Buddhist ethnic Arakan community in the state, said in a statement on Saturday its forces had captured all junta bases in Buthidaung. It did not mention Rohingya civilians.

Rohingya, who have been persecuted for decades in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, are getting caught up in the war between the AA and junta forces, human rights workers say.

Both sides have pressed Rohingya into their ranks and at the same time have accused Rohingya of helping their rivals. Both the AA and junta forces subjected members of the Muslim minority to violence, residents and rights workers say.

Another Rohingya resident of Buthidaung said the AA burned down homes in eight neighborhoods of the town although he didn’t know how many of the homes had been destroyed.

Rohingya activist Nay San Lwin told RFA that tens of thousands of Rohingyas had fled from their homes after the AA ordered them to leave the town by 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Another township resident told RFA on Saturday that AA fighters had rounded up thousands of Rohingya near Buthidaung prison.

RFA was unable to confirm any of the accounts because telephone lines and internet links were down.

More than 700,000 Rohingya fled from a Myanmar military crackdown in 2017, in response to a series of attacks on the security forces by Rohingya insurgents. Most of those refugees are sheltering in camps in southeast Bangladesh, where they joined hundreds of thousands who fled earlier abuses.

More than half a million Rohingya remain in Rakhine State, many of them in camps for the internally displaced. Rohingya activists estimate the Rohingya population of Buthidaung to be around 200,000.

RFA News

Spring Revolution

Civil Society Position Paper on ASEAN’s Goal of a Myanmar-Owned and -Led SolutionDecember 18, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Recommendations to ASEAN and Its Member States (1) Move beyond the 5PC to achieve a Myanmar people-led and people-centered solution to the crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “Myanmar-owned and -led” approach must be backed by genuine political will that aligns with and supports the collective aspirations of the people of Myanmar. (2) Cease all pressure on […]
The Airstrikes after the journey to the China of the Junta Military LeaderDecember 10, 2024 - 1:28 pm
Operation 1027 was a coordinated military attack against the junta on October 27th, 2023. It was carried out by the Northern Brotherhood, which includes the Arakan Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. Several months later, the Three Brotherhood Alliance held three meetings to negotiate with China on January 11 […]
Human Rights Situation weekly update (September 15 to 21, 2024)September 27, 2024 - 8:26 am
Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]

Multimedia

Reparation (Cartoon Animation)December 21, 2024 - 8:08 am
Human Rights Basic 4 signs Cartoon AnimationDecember 8, 2024 - 9:07 am
Human Rights Cartoon AnimationDecember 8, 2024 - 9:03 am
JusticeOctober 7, 2024 - 10:28 am

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.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

ND Burma

Recent Posts