{"id":2828,"date":"2016-02-16T21:30:20","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T12:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/?p=2828"},"modified":"2023-10-25T09:45:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T00:45:43","slug":"hrc-myanmar-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/news\/2016\/02\/16\/hrc-myanmar-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Human Rights Situation in Myanmar\/Written Statement to 31st Human Rights Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

Human Rights Now has submitted a written statement “Current Human Rights Situation in Myanmar”\u00a0to the 3\uff11st session of Human Rights Council, which is going to be held in Geneva from February 29 to March 24, 2016.<\/p>\n

31st Human Rights Council Written Statement (Myanmar)<\/a>\u00a0[PDF]<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll deliver an oral statement in the HRC session in Geneva as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Current Human Rights Situation in Myanmar<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Introduction<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Human Rights Now (HRN), a Tokyo-based international human rights NGO, welcomes the recent progress towards democracy and legal reforms in Myanmar and expects democratic transition will be peacefully advanced soon following the general election last November 2015.<\/p>\n

    However, we remain seriously concerned over the human rights situation in Myanmar given continuing human rights violations. These include discrimination against Rohingya and other minorities, human rights violations in conflict areas, continuing restrictions on media and free expression, land confiscations, and other issues highlighted by UPR recommendations. HRN calls on Myanmar to meet its international obligations by rectifying these human rights violations with appropriate and effective measures, and to follow recommendations from the UPR process. Also, it stresses the necessity to extend the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar under Agenda Item 4.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Rohingya and other minority rights<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      The rights of minorities continue to be violated in Myanmar, most significantly the Rohingya population of northern Rakhine state.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Under four discriminatory laws passed in 2014 and 2015\u2014The Religious Conversion Law, the Population Control Healthcare Law, the Buddhist Women\u2019s Special Marriage Law and the Monogamy Law\u2014Rohingya and other Muslims need state permission to convert, marry, and have more than two children or face criminal sanction. These laws inhibit Muslims\u2019 social integration in the name of \u201cprotecting race and religion,\u201d and they violate numerous rights including the freedom of religion and association.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      The ability of Rohingya, along with other former Temporary Registration Card Holders, to have equal access to applying for citizenship through a non-discriminatory process continues to be restricted, including by the 1982 Citizenship Law which limits the granting of citizenship based on ethnicity or race.[2]<\/a>\u00a0In the 2015 census, persons self-identifying as \u201cRohingya\u201d were not included, leaving them uncounted and their status precarious.[3]<\/a>\u00a0The non-citizenship status of Rohingya means they are not protected by important rights and subject to persecutions without recourse.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      There are severe restrictions on Rohingya\u2019s freedom of movement in Rakhine state including curfews and a need for authorities\u2019 permission for meetings or travel between townships.[4]<\/a>\u00a0These restrictions on movement are in the context of widespread displacement of Rohingya following 2012 communal violence and 2015 flooding in Rakhine state, with about 140,000 living in displacement camps with squalid conditions and lack of access to health care, food, water, sanitation, education, and work, violating Rohingya\u2019s rights to all of these, and particularly negatively impacting Rohingya women.[5]<\/a>\u00a0The situation has precipitated a trafficking crisis as a reported 32,000 people (many Rohingya) were smuggled out of Myanmar in 2015 to flee persecution, often with the participation of corrupt local authorities.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Myanmar authorities allow persecutions, violence, and hate speech against Rohingya to continue with impunity, perpetuating their discrimination.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Human rights violations in conflict zones<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Human rights violations in Myanmar have been particularly concentrated in conflict areas. UNHCR estimates 587,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Myanmar, and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre reports 662,400 IDPs due to conflict, primarily in Kachin, north Shan, and Rakhine states, to camps where living conditions are dire and access to health, education, and work is limited.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        There have been continuing reports of torture, ill treatment, and sexual violence by the Myanmar military in conflict zones in Kachin, northern Shan, and Rakhine states, with widespread impunity for these violations.[9]<\/a>Criminal investigations are either not carried out or are flawed, and military courts are not transparent.[10]<\/a>Persons making allegations against the military have also found themselves subject to criminal defamation charges.[11]<\/a><\/p>\n

        Regarding the recruitment of child soldiers, despite efforts to end the practice, it continues by the military, border forces, and non-state armed groups, and child soldiers which attempt to leave the military continue to be detained as \u201cdeserters.\u201d[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Violations of the freedoms of assembly and expression<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

          While the Myanmar government has reformed some media laws since 2012, such as dissolving its censorship board, widespread restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly remain.[13]<\/a><\/p>\n

          The 2014 Law on the right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession requires demonstrations to receive government approval or face criminal sanctions, and vague and broad language permits arrests and detentions for peaceful assemblies virtually at authorities\u2019 discretion, as was seen in the peaceful protests in Letpadaung and Michaungkan in late 2014 and early 2015.[14]<\/a><\/p>\n

          With regards to journalism, a report by the PEN American Center recently detailed continuing prosecutions, jail sentences, harassment, physical attacks, censorship, weak protection, restrictive laws, and intrusive bureaucracy for journalists and media workers.[15]<\/a>\u00a0Freedom House lists multiple laws under which acts of investigative journalism may be directly or indirectly (through overbroad or ambiguous language) criminalized, restricting the ability of a free press to hold the government accountable.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Land rights and confiscations<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Land confiscations and forced evictions by the military, police, and private companies in the name of \u201cland development,\u201d as well as the displacements they cause without sufficient compensation or access to services, remain a serious problem in Myanmar, prompting protests among farmers, women, and ethnic groups.[17]<\/a>Farmers are threatened with arrests to leave their land, and a variety of laws give the government significant discretion to confiscate land with little to no protections for farmers land rights, particularly in a context where many farmers do not possess formal title, and customary and communal land use is unprotected.[18]<\/a><\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Recommendations<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

               <\/p>\n