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burma
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185 total results foundAuthor: Stevenson, Julianne Kerr Title: Crimes in Burma Summary: This report unravels contemporary crimes in Burma with a specific focus on human rights violations. Details: Cambridge, MA: International Human Rights Clinic, Harvard Law School, 2009 Source: Year: 2009 Country: Burma Keywords: Human Rights Shelf Number: 116514 |
Author: Palaung Women's Organisation Title: Poisoned Hills: Opium Cultivation Surges Under Government Control in Burma Summary: Community assessments by the Palaung Women's Organisation (PWO) during the past two years reveal that the amount of opium being cultivated in Burma's northern Shan State has been increasing dramatically. The amounts are far higher than reported in the annual opium surveys of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), and are flourishing not in "insurgent and ceasefire areas," as claimed by the United Nations, but in areas controlled by Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). PWO's findings highlight the structural issues underlying the drug problem in Burma. The regime is pursuing a strategy of increased militarization in the ethnic states to crush ethnic resistence movements, instead of entering into political negotiations with them. For this, it needs an ever growing apparatus, which in turn is subsidized by the drug trade. The regime's desire to maintain power at all costs is thus taking precedence over its stated aims of drug eradication. Details: Mae Sot, Thailand: 2010 Source: Year: 2010 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Enforcement Shelf Number: 117381 |
Author: International Federation for Human rights Title: Burma/Myanmar: International crimes Committed in Burma: The Urgent Need for a Commission of Inquiry Summary: This briefing note presents an overview of existing documentation on serious human rights violations perpetrated by Burma's military regime, and demonstrates that international crimes are still being perpetrated in Burma. Details: Paris: Federation for Human Rights; Bangkok, Thailand: ALTSEAN Burma, 2009. 46p. Source: Year: 2009 Country: Burma Keywords: Human Rights Shelf Number: 117342 |
Author: Palaung Women's Organisation Title: Poisoned Flowers: The Impacts of Spiralling Drug Addiction on Palaung Women in Burma Summary: This research reveals that opium cultivation, and addiction, in Burma's northern Shan State has been increasing over the last three years in areas under the control of the ruling military government. This report examines the impacts of drug addiction on women in Palaung areas of Burma. Details: Tak, Maesot, Thailand, Palaung Women's Organisation, 2006. 67p. Source: Year: 2006 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Addiction (Burma) Shelf Number: 117768 |
Author: Kramer, Tom Title: From Golden Triangle to Rubber Belt? The Future of Opium Bans in the Kokang and Wa Regions Summary: In the Kokang and Wa regions in northern Burma opium bans have ended poppy cultivation, but have caused chronic poverty and food insecurity as a result. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2009. 12p. Source: Internet Resource; Drug Policing Briefing No. 29 Year: 2009 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Enforcement (Burma) Shelf Number: 119157 |
Author: International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School Title: Crime in Burma Summary: This report examines the following human rights abuses in Burma: forced labor; recruitment of child soldiers; widespread sexual violence; extrajudicial killings and torture; and more than a million displaced persons. It calls on the United Nations Security Council urgently to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate and report on crime against humanity and war crimes in Burma. Details: Cambridge, MA: International Human Rights Clinic, Harvard University, 2009. 104 p. Source: Internet Resource Year: 2009 Country: Burma Keywords: Forced Labor Shelf Number: 119146 |
Author: Aung, Winston Set Title: Illegal Heroes and Victimless Crimes: Informal Cross-border Migration frm Myanmar Summary: This paper highlights the perception of those involved in the course of cross-border migration from Myanmar in each step they, intentionally or unintentionally, maintain the status of illegality. It also attempts to identify the implications of cross-border migration on migrants’ families and their community in the country of origin. Interviews and questionnaire surveys conducted in different projects in 2008 and 2009 in different places in Myanmar and neighboring countries, coupled with qualitative and quantitative analyses, attempt to enhance the reliability and representativeness of the findings in this paper. Details: Stockholm: Institute for Security and Development Policy, 2009. 56p. Source: Internet Resource; Asia Paper Year: 2009 Country: Burma Keywords: Human Smuggling Shelf Number: 118592 |
Author: Human Rights Foundation of Monland. Women and Child Rights Project (WCRP) Title: Nowhere Else to Go: An Examination of Sexual Trafficking and Related Human Rights Abuses in Southern Burma Summary: "This report documents sexual trafficking and human rights abuses committed against Burmese women and children from 19 Townships in Mon State, Karen State, Tenasserim Division, Pegu Division, Rangoon Division and Mandalay Division. From 2004 to July 2009 the (Mon) Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP)—Southern Burma documentation program compiled 40 separate incidents totaling 71 victims. This number represents only a small percentage of the instances of sexual trafficking from Burma to Thailand and other bordering nations, though the case studies of this report provide an important lens through which to view the present-day situation. Sexual trafficking and related human rights abuses are pervasive and arguably growing problems systematized by a harsh economic reality under the military rule of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). Whereas the illegitimate junta has become a signatory of anti-trafficking protocols from the United Nations and founded internal regulatory committees to deal with such issues, the last decade has seen flagrant corruption along the border of Burma and Thailand. Government-organized NGOs dedicated to defending the rights’ of its people serve more as roadblocks than as catalysts for social advancement and equitable access to state resources. Facing a broken educational system most likely to betray them, women and girls inside Burma are left with few employable skills and must seek money in any way they can. A reeling marketplace stunted by the government’s economic mismanagement, increased militarization in rural and especially border areas, and the ear-ringing echoes of Cyclone Nargis and price fluctuations from a global economic downturn leave the women of the mainly-agrarian regions of Southern Burma with a glaring ultimatum: migrate or starve. The draw of being able to send money back to their home country in the form of remittances often cannot be tempered even by stories of corrupt traffickers, arrests, or dangerous and abusive living conditions upon arrival. Most of the incidents detailed in this report point to violent sexual abuses that took place during the trafficking process or upon arrival in Thailand, Malaysia, and other destinations. The interview subjects often narrate the types of factory and domestic jobs they were promised to contrast the illegal sex work and other exploitive labor they were forced to perform." Details: Burma: Human Rights Foundation of Monland, 2009. 92p. Source: Internet Resource; Accessed August 13, 2010 at: http://rehmonnya.org/data/nowhereelsetogo.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Burma Keywords: Human Rights Shelf Number: 117670 |
Author: Kubo, Koji Title: Smuggling and Import Duties in Myanmar Summary: This paper examines the effects of import duties on smuggling in Myanmar. Following Fisman and Wei (2004), the reporting discrepancies between Myanmar's imports records and corresponding exports recorded by trading partners are regarded as indicative of smuggling. The paper studies whether reporting discrepancies differ across trading partners as well as across time. Our main findings are first, that the hike in import duties in June 2004 helped to widen the reporting discrepancies, which suggests smuggling for tax evasion purposes and second, that reporting discrepancies differ considerably across trading partners: land borders appear to be particularly attractive venues for smugglers. Details: Chiba, Japan: Institute of Developing Economies, 2010. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: IDE Discussion Paper No. 258: Accessed April 26, 2011 at: http://ir.ide.go.jp/dspace/bitstream/2344/920/1/ARRIDE_Discussion_No.258_kubo.pdf Year: 2010 Country: Burma Keywords: Border Security Shelf Number: 121495 |
Author: Shepherd, Chris R. Title: Elephant and Ivory Trade in Myanmar Summary: Myanmar has been a Party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1997. Illegal trade in ivory and other Asian Elephant Elephas maximus products remains widespread, especially in markets along Myanmar’s international borders. In 2006, TRAFFIC surveyed 14 markets in Myanmar and three border markets in Thailand and China, and found some 9000 pieces of ivory and 16 whole tusks for sale, representing the ivory of an estimated 116 bulls. Illegal killing and capture of elephants for trade continues to be a major cause of decline for Myanmar’s wild Asian Elephant populations. Ivory and other elephant parts are routinely smuggled out of Myanmar in contravention of the Protection of Wildlife and Wild Plants and Conservation of Natural Areas Law (State Law and Order Restoration Council Law No.583/94.1994), suggesting a serious lack of law enforcement and a blatant disregard for international conventions and national laws. The fact that retail dealers openly display ivory and other elephant parts, and rarely hesitate in disclosing smuggling techniques and other illegal activities with potential buyers, further highlights that effective law enforcement is lacking. The observed and reported levels of cross-border trade indicate that neighbouring countries, especially China and Thailand, also have enforcement problems, and that illegal international trade is frequently carried out with minimal risk of detection. In addition to trade in ivory, TRAFFIC documents reports of some 250 live Asian Elephants being exported from Myanmar to neighbouring countries in the last ten years; this is mostly to supply the demand of tourist locations in neighbouring Thailand. It is important to note that no cross-border exports or imports of live elephants have been reported to CITES by either Myanmar or Thailand. Based on observations and discussions with interviewees, the capture of live elephants may be at such a rate that it is also having a negative impact on wild populations. The most significant apparent loophole in Myanmar’s legislation is the allowance of tips of tusks and tusks from government and privately-owned elephants that have died of natural causes to be sold legally. To the extent that this practice defines the current situation, it provides a ready avenue for illicit ivory to be traded under the guise of legally-acquired stocks. Dealers seem well aware of the ambiguous legislation and the potential loopholes it provides, and exploit the situation accordingly. The Government of Myanmar should increase efforts to stop the illegal trade in elephant products, especially ivory, focusing on major trade centres, including Yangon and Mandalay, and at important border markets such as Tachilek. The Government of Myanmar should likewise increase efforts to stop the illegal trade in live elephants, especially when it pertains to cross-border trade. With respect to continued domestic trade in elephants and elephant products, TRAFFIC proposes that Myanmar instigates an effective control system that complies with the requirements of CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP14). The Governments of China and Thailand should take action against the traders of illegal wildlife products along the borders with Myanmar, and work in co-operation with the Myanmar authorities to deal with illegal trade in elephants and elephant products. Based on the findings of this study, TRAFFIC makes the following recommendations: • Recognizing that international co-operation is essential to put an end to this illegal crossborder trade, Myanmar’s CITES, Customs and police authorities should be encouraged to work closely with enforcement officers in neighbouring Thailand and China, the two main consuming countries of Myanmar-sourced ivory. • With respect to both the domestic and international trade in ivory, Myanmar needs to comply with CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP14). Myanmar needs to adopt comprehensive internal legislative, regulatory, and enforcement measures. All importers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers dealing in raw, semi-worked or worked ivory products need to be registered or licensed. Recording and inspecting procedures to enable appropriate government agencies to monitor the flow of ivory in the country by means of a compulsory trade control over raw ivory and a comprehensive reporting and enforcement system for worked ivory need to be introduced. It should be made compulsory for shops, traders, and retail outlets to inform tourist and other non-nationals that they should not purchase ivory in cases where it is illegal for them to import it into their home countries. • Myanmar needs to submit any data on the seizure of elephant products to the Elephant Trade Information System, and a comprehensive overview of trade in ivory should be prepared prior to the CITES Conference of the Parties 15 (CoP15). • Authorities at airports and other points of international entry and exit must be more vigilant to prevent ivory from being carried across Myanmar’s borders. Myanmar should ensure that staff based at these checkpoints are sufficiently trained in CITES implementation, enforcement and species/parts of species identification. • Regular monitoring by Myanmar’s law enforcement agencies of the markets in Myanmar should be carried out to identify and apprehend illegal trade participants, as well as monitor trends in the trade, as a move towards effective enforcement. • Offenders should be prosecuted, to ensure just punishment and to serve as a deterrent for repeat offenders and other dealers. • Myanmar, as a Party to CITES, must introduce and enforce Category I CITES-enabling legislation and clarify the existing national legislation on domestic ivory trade. • Greater monitoring of domestic elephant populations is needed employing microchip and tattoo-based identification/registration systems to prevent illegal cross-border elephant trade, and to assist with management of Myanmar’s wild and captive elephant populations. Details: Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia; TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, 2008. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 9, 2011 at: http://www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/wildlifetrade/WWFBinaryitem10999.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Burma Keywords: Illegal Trade (Myanmar) Shelf Number: 121688 |
Author: Mathieson, David Title: Dead Men Walking: Convict Porters on the Front Lines in Eastern Burma Summary: For decades the Burmese army has forced civilians to risk life and limb serving as porters in barbaric conditions during military operations against rebel armed groups. Among those taken to do this often deadly work, for indefinite periods and without compensation, are common criminals serving time in Burma’s prisons and labor camps. Based on 58 interviews with convict porter survivors who escaped the Burmese army in 2010 and 2011, Dead Men Walking details the harsh treatment prisoners are forced to endure on military operations. Escaped convict porters described how the authorities selected them in a seemingly random fashion from prison and transferred them to army units fighting ethnic armed groups on the front lines. Soldiers force them to carry huge loads of supplies and munitions in mountainous terrain, giving them little food and no medical care. Often they are used as “human shields,” put in front of columns of troops facing ambush or sent first through heavily mined areas. The wounded are left to die; those who try to escape are frequently executed, beaten, or tortured. The use of convict porters is not an isolated, local, or rogue practice employed by some units or commanders, but has been credibly documented since as early as 1992, and has been reported in other conflict zones of Burma. As this report makes clear, serious abuses that amount to war crimes are being committed in Burma with the involvement or knowledge of high-level civilian and military officials. Officers and soldiers commit atrocities with impunity. The use of convict porters on the front line is only one of the brutal counterinsurgency practices Burmese officials have used against ethnic minority populations since Burma’s independence in 1948. These abuses have led to growing calls for the establishment of a United Nations commission of inquiry into longstanding allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law by all parties to the armed conflicts in Burma. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2011. 70p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 20, 2011 at: http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2011/07/12/dead-men-walking-0 Year: 2011 Country: Burma Keywords: Convict Porters Shelf Number: 122130 |
Author: Erikson, Bryan Title: Crimes in Northern Burma: Results from a Fact-Finding Mission to Kachin State Summary: On 9 June 2011, civil war broke out in northern Burma between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), ending a 17-year long ceasefire agreement. This report presents data collected from a Partners investigation in southern Kachin State, Burma in October 2011. The testimony of witnesses and on-site photographs reveal multiple acts perpetrated by Burma Army battalions 74 and 276 against ethnic Kachin civilians that potentially amount to war crimes and other extreme crimes. These acts include torture, extrajudicial killing, the specific targeting of civilians, human shielding, unlawful arrest, unlawful detention, forced labor, forced relocation, displacement, property theft and property destruction. Witnesses reported that Burma Army soldiers entered Nam Lim Pa village on 8 October 2011. Men were arrested and detained for forced labor. Women and children were detained in the Roman Catholic church compound against their will and without provocation or expressed reason. Violent injuries demonstrate signs of extreme physical abuse and strongly suggest the intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering while in custody. Civilian casualties included torture and execution. Eyewitness reports indicate no Kachin Independence Army presence during the time of the attacks. Villagers were forcibly relocated and displaced by armed soldiers. Houses, offices and churches were robbed and vandalized, all without justification. At least one home was robbed and burned to the ground while its owner was arrested and detained. The results from this fact-finding mission to Kachin State reveal evidence of crimes that potentially amount to war crimes, perpetrated by the Burma Army against ethnic Kachin civilians and their properties in October 2011. Based on the incidents documented in this report, the Burma Army is in contravention of its legal obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law. Considering the nature and scale of these acts in combination with documented abuses in the broader civil war in Kachin State, the actions of the Burma government and the Burma Army may also amount to other serious violations, including crimes against humanity. Those responsible must be brought to justice and held accountable for their actions. Partners makes the following key recommendations: To the Burma government and the Burma Army — Cease targeting civilians in the civil war in northern Burma and other ethnic areas, and respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law. — Permit independent, impartial, and credible investigations of human rights violations. — Develop a legal framework to investigate, prosecute and address allegations of abuse. — Allow United Nations and humanitarian agencies unfettered access to conflict-affected communities. To the International Community — Support a UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry into international crimes in Burma, including crimes against humanity and war crimes, as recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana. — Engage the Burmese authorities on serious human rights violations occurring in the country with an emphasis on accountability. To UN agencies and the Donor Community — Support and coordinate activities with Burma-based and border-based humanitarian agencies working with conflict-affected communities. — Urge the Burma government to increase access to at-risk civilian populations and all populations of internally displaced persons. Details: Partner's Relief & Development, 2011. 68p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 13, 2012 at: http://partnersworld.org/usa/images/stories/crimes_in_northern_burma/crimes_in_northern_burma.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Burma Keywords: Extrajudicial Killings Shelf Number: 123596 |
Author: Kramer, Tom Title: Financing Dispossession: China's Opium Substitution Programme in Northern Burma Summary: Northern Burma’s borderlands have undergone dramatic changes in the last two decades. Three main and interconnected developments are simultaneously taking place in Shan State and Kachin State: (1) the increase in opium cultivation in Burma since 2006 after a decade of steady decline; (2) the increase at about the same time in Chinese agricultural investments in northern Burma under China’s opium substitution programme, especially in rubber; and (3) the related increase in dispossession of local communities’ land and livelihoods in Burma’s northern borderlands. The vast majority of the opium and heroin on the Chinese market originates from northern Burma. Apart from attempting to address domestic consumption problems, the Chinese government also has created a poppy substitution development programme, and has been actively promoting Chinese companies to take part, offering subsidies, tax waivers, and import quotas for Chinese companies. The main benefits of these programmes do not go to (ex-)poppy growing communities, but to Chinese businessmen and local authorities, and have further marginalised these communities. Serious concerns arise regarding the long-term economic benefits and costs of agricultural development— mostly rubber—for poor upland villagers. Economic benefits derived from rubber development are very limited. Without access to capital and land to invest in rubber concessions, upland farmers practicing swidden cultivation (many of whom are (ex-) poppy growers) are left with few alternatives but to try to get work as wage labourers on the agricultural concessions. Land tenure and other related resource management issues are vital ingredients for local communities to build licit and sustainable livelihoods. Investment-induced land dispossession has wide implications for drug production and trade, as well as border stability. Investments related to opium substitution should be carried out in a more sustainable, transparent, accountable and equitable fashion. Customary land rights and institutions should be respected. Chinese investors should use a smallholder plantation model instead of confiscating farmers land as a concession. Labourers from the local population should be hired rather than outside migrants in order to funnel economic benefits into nearby communities. China’s opium crop substitution programme has very little to do with providing mechanisms to decrease reliance on poppy cultivation or provide alternative livelihoods for ex-poppy growers. Chinese authorities need to reconsider their regional development strategies of implementation in order to avoid further border conflict and growing antagonism from Burmese society. Financing dispossession is not development. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2012. 92p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 27, 2012 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/tni-financingdispossesion-web.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Shelf Number: 124276 |
Author: Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP), Human Rights Foundation of Monland-Burma (HURFOM) Title: Coercion, Cruelty and Collateral Damage: An assessment of grave violation of children's rights in conflict zones of southern Burma Summary: This report is titled “Coercion, Cruelty and Collateral Damage: An assessment of grave violations of children’s rights in conflict zones of southern Burma”, and it is released by the Woman and Child Rights Project (WCRP), which was founded in 2000 by members of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM) to monitor and protect the rights of women and children in southern Burma. The 24-page report reveals that grave violations of children’s rights such as recruitment of child soldiers, killing and maiming, rape and sexual abuse, and forced labor continue to be committed by the Burmese military, despite the creation, by the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) resolution 1612 on Children and Armed Conflict passed in 2005. Research by the Women and Child Rights Project (WCRP) has demonstrated that grave violations of children’s rights continue to occur in southern Burma despite the creation, by the United Nations, of the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism (MRM) pursuant to United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1612 on Children and Armed Conflict passed in 2005. The Burmese government has failed to meet the time-bound action plan under Resolution 1612, demonstrated by the fact that WCRP researchers found numerous accounts of ‘grave violations’ under United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 1612 on children and armed conflict. These violations, committed by Burmese soldiers against children in southern Burma, include recruitment of child soldiers, killing and maiming, rape and sexual abuse, and forced labor. Though the Burmese government agreed to the implementation of a monitoring and reporting mechanism (MRM), pursuant to Resolution 1612, to report on instances of these grave violations, WCRP has found that abuses have continued unabated since 2005. The data detailed below provide evidence of widespread and systematic abuses, the vast majority of which were committed by soldiers from the Tatmadaw, the Burmese military. These confirmed cases of grave violations, taken from just 15 villages in two townships, committed over a period of 5 years, suggest that the Burmese government has failed to live up to its obligations under international law to protect children during situations of armed conflict. Limitations imposed by the Burmese government on the UN country team has made it difficult for them to receive, or verify, accounts of grave violations, in turn preventing the MRM from making a noticeable impact on the continued widespread abuse of children in southern Burma. WCRP’s data strongly suggests that the real numbers of abuses against children is vastly greater than officially recognized. Additionally, despite the fact that WCRP’s primary research covered only the period from 2005 through November 2010, recent updated reports suggest that all of the violations documented by WCRP have continued to occur over the course of the past year. Despite the political changes that may be underway in Naypyidaw, children in areas where armed conflict is ongoing continue to suffer grave violations. Thus, the international community must take further action to ensure that the MRM can effectively protect the rights of Burma’s children and realize the objective put forth in Resolution 1612, an end to the grave violations of children’s rights. Details: Burma: Human Rights Foundation of Monland - Burma, 2012. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 16, 2012 at http://rehmonnya.org//wp-content/themes/rehmonnya-theme/images/pdf/WCRP%20for%20Report.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Burma Keywords: Armed Conflict (Burma) Shelf Number: 124558 |
Author: Smith, Matthew F. Title: "Untold Miseries": Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Kachin State Summary: When Burmese President Thein Sein took office in March 2011, he said that over 60 years of armed conflict have put Burma’s ethnic populations through “the hell of untold miseries.” Just three months later, the Burmese armed forces resumed military operations against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), leading to serious abuses and a humanitarian crisis affecting tens of thousands of ethnic Kachin civilians. “Untold Miseries”: Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Kachin State is based on over 100 interviews in Burma’s Kachin State and China’s Yunnan province. It details how the Burmese army has killed and tortured civilians, raped women, planted antipersonnel landmines, and used forced labor on the front lines, including children as young as 14-years-old. Soldiers have attacked villages, razed homes, and pillaged properties. Burmese authorities have failed to authorize a serious relief effort in KIA-controlled areas, where most of the 75,000 displaced men, women, and children have sought refuge. The KIA has also been responsible for serious abuses, including using child soldiers and antipersonnel landmines. Human Rights Watch calls on the Burmese government to support an independent international mechanism to investigate violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by all parties to Burma’s ethnic armed conflicts. The government should also provide United Nations and humanitarian agencies unhindered access to all internally displaced populations, and make a long-term commitment with humanitarian agencies to authorize relief to populations in need. Details: New York: Human Rights Watch, 2012. 91p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 23, 2012 at http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/burma0312ForUpload_1.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Burma Keywords: Armed Conflict (Burma) Shelf Number: 124649 |
Author: Toyota, Mika Title: Securitizing Border-Crossing: The Case of Marginalized Stateless Minorities in the Thai-Burma Borderlands Summary: This paper examines the securization process of unauthorized migration in Thailand, in particular how the cross-border flows of marginalized minorities came to be seen as a threat to Thai national identity by the state. The paper aims to present a case of societal security by highlighting the importance of national identity. It explores the reasons for portraying cross-border mobility of border minorities as threats to the integrity of the Thai state. The paper illustrates the importance of ethnocized discourses on national identity by broadening the traditional security studies' framework on states and political-military competition at the borderlands Details: Singapore: Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, 2006. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Working Paper: Accessed May 4, 2012 at: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Digital-Library/Publications/Detail/?ots591=0c54e3b3-1e9c-be1e-2c24-a6a8c7060233&lng=en&id=27045 Year: 2006 Country: Burma Keywords: Border Security (Thailand, Burma) Shelf Number: 125153 |
Author: Human Rights Foundation of Monland-Burma Title: Bitter Pills: Breaking the Silence Surrounding Drug Problems in the Mon Community Summary: In late 2012 the New Mon State Party (NMSP) initiated a vigorous anti-drugs campaign throughout various Mon communities in Burma. Arrests of numerous drug smugglers were made, drug-using youth were sent to NMSP rehabilitation centres, and signs were erected in villages calling on residents to resist and combat drug use. This wave of action brought an issue to the table that had thus far been surrounded by silence from relevant authorities. Prior to this, domestic and international discussions of Burma’s drug problems had largely been restricted to regions in Upper Burma, in particular Shan State. However, NMSP action highlighted that drugs were also prevalent in Mon communities and were being abused by Mon youth. With a new focus on this issue, various questions have been raised. Exactly how widespread is the problem? Where are these drugs coming from? What are authorities outside of the NMSP doing to tackle drug use and trading? So far, these and other queries have been met with few adequate responses. The main purpose of this report is to take on some of these questions and begin the process of providing concerned parties with satisfactory answers. Using testimony from a range of sources, HURFOM aims to offer a preliminary account of drug use and trading in Mon communities. The report also serves as a call to action to various authorities, whose co-operation is needed if decisive action is to be taken. Now that the matter has been brought to the table by the NMSP, HURFOM aims to ensure that authorities do not fall back into a pattern of silence and inactivity. We entreat all authorities, in particular the Burmese government and ethnic armed groups, to follow the lead taken by the NMSP and take up the challenge of tackling drug use in their domains of authority. Details: Kanchanaburi, Thailand: Human Rights Foundation of Monland-Burma (HURFOM), 2013. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2013 at: http://rehmonnya.org/upload/Bitterpills.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Burma) Shelf Number: 129204 |
Author: Labour Rights Clinic Title: Modern Slavery: A Study of Labour Conditions in Yangon's Industrial Zones 2012-2013 Summary: A report by Construction-based Labor Union, Cooperation Program of Independent Laborers, Labour Rights Clinic, Workers Support Group and other labour rights groups highlighting how violations of workers' rights, including long work hours and low wages, oppression of labour unions, unsafe working conditions, lack of protection for women workers, minimum legal protection and corruption, have created a culture of modern slavery. The report also offers insight into the daily life and struggle of workers and how Myanmar's current legal framework is unable to protect their rights and how employers exploit workers by paying bribes to authorities and imposing crippling restrictions on unions. Workers in Yangon's (Rangoon) 13 industrial zones work in unsafe, hot, overcrowded factories, typically for around 11 hours per day, 6 days per week. Despite new labour unions, workers' rights are not adequately protected by law. Striking workers and labour activists are routinely threatened, intimidated, or dismissed by employers. Details: Burma: Labour Rights Clinic, 2013. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 24, 2014 at: http://burmacampaign.org.uk/media/Modern-Slavery.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Burma Keywords: Human Rights Shelf Number: 132171 |
Author: Kachin Women's Association Thailand Title: Silent Offensive: How Burma Army strategies are fuelling the Kachin drug crisis Summary: "Silent Offensive" by the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT) reveals how the Burma Army is allowing its local militia to grow opium and produce heroin and other drugs in exchange for fighting against the KIA. As Burmese troops and their allies have progressively seized control of KIA areas, drug production has been increasing. The main opium growing areas in Kachin State are now in Chipwi and Waingmaw townships, under the control of the Burma Army and its local Border Guard Forces led by Zakhung Ting Ying, a National Assembly MP. In northern Shan State, opium is booming in areas under the Burma Army and thirteen government militia forces, four of whose leaders are MPs in the Shan State Assembly. Opium, heroin and methamphetamines are flooding from these government-controlled areas into Kachin communities, worsening existing problems of drug abuse, particularly among youth. It is estimated that about one third of students in Myitkyina and Bhamo universities are injecting drug users. The report details the harrowing impacts of the drug crisis on women, who struggle to support their families while husbands and sons sell off household property and steal to feed their addiction. Frustrated with the authorities' lack of political will to deal with the drug problem, women are taking a lead among local communities in setting up their own programs to combat drugs. KWAT critiques UNODC and other international donors for not focusing on the role of the war, and particularly the anti-insurgency policies of the government, in fuelling the drug problem in Burma. KWAT urges all stakeholders to focus on finding a just political settlement to the conflict as an urgent priority in tackling the drug crisis. Details: Chiang Mai, Thailand: Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT), 2014. 50p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 15, 2014 at: http://www.kachinwomen.com/images/7Oct14Report/silent_offensive_drug_report_english.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Shelf Number: 133914 |
Author: Women's League of Burma Title: Same Impunity, Same Patterns: Sexual abuses by the Burma Army will not stop until there is a genuine civilian government Summary: Almost a decade ago, the Women's League of Burma (WLB) denounced systematic patterns of sexual crimes committed by the Burma Army against ethnic women and demanded an end to the prevailing system of impunity. Today WLB is renewing these calls. Three years after a nominally civilian government came to power; state-sponsored sexual violence continues to threaten the lives of women in Burma. Women of Burma endure a broad range of violations; this report focuses on sexual violence, as the most gendered crime. WLB and its member organizations have gathered documentation showing that over 100 women have been raped by the Burma Army since the elections of 2010. Due to restrictions on human rights documentation, WLB believes these are only a fraction of the actual abuses taking place. Most cases are linked to the military offensives in Kachin and Northern Shan States since 2011. The Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT) documented that 59 women have been victims of acts of sexual violence committed by Burmese soldiers. The Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) reports 30 cases of sexual violence involving 35 women and girls in the past three years. The incidence of rape correlates with the timing of conflict. These crimes are more than random, isolated acts by rogue soldiers. Their widespread and systematic nature indicates a structural pattern: rape is still used as an instrument of war and oppression. 47 cases were brutal gang rapes, several victims were as young as 8 years old and 28 of the women were either killed or died of their injuries. Over 38 different battalions are implicated in these cases, while several battalions are involved across multiple cases and timeframes, and the incidents took place in at least 35 different townships. These rapes cannot be explained away as a human impulse gone astray. The use of sexual violence in conflict is a strategy and an act of warfare that has political and economic dimensions that go beyond individual cases. In Burma, counterinsurgency tactics designate civilians in ethnic areas as potential threats. Sexual violence is used as a tool by the Burmese military to demoralize and destroy ethnic communities. Army officers are not only passively complicit in these sexual crimes but often perpetrators themselves. Combined with blatant impunity, soldiers are given a "license to rape", as SWAN highlighted in 2002. Several international treaties to which Burma is party, and other sources of international law applicable to Burma prohibit sexual violence; rape is also criminalized under Burma's penal code. But neither international nor domestic laws are enforced effectively. The systematic and widespread use of sexual violence by the Burma Army makes the abuses documented in this report potential war crimes and crimes against humanity under international law, requiring thorough independent investigation. It is high time for Burma's government to take responsibility and live up to the expectations the recent changes have created, to restore the dignity that women of Burma deserve. This can only be achieved through truth and justice for the violence women endure. It necessitates not only an immediate end to the violence, but also a deep reform of Burma's legal framework. Changing the 2008 Constitution, which gives the military the right to independently administer all its affairs, is the first step towards ensuring justice for the women of Burma. Judicial independence has to be guaranteed by the constitution, to allow for reform of the judicial system that will ensure its impartiality. The court-martial system, established by the Constitution to adjudicate all crimes committed by the military, has an unrestricted mandate and overly broad powers: it needs to be reformed to place the military under civilian judicial control. In both military and civilian jurisdictions, victims' access to justice has to be ensured through appropriate complaint mechanisms. At the moment, the National Human Rights Commission does not have the mandate, capacity and willingness to address serious human rights violations in an independent and transparent manner. If the government is serious about its commitments to address violence against women, it should acknowledge ongoing abuses against ethnic women, sign the recent international declaration for prevention of sexual violence in conflict, and adopt laws specifically aimed at protecting women from violence. Recent proposals set out concrete requirements for effective legal protection for women. In addition, the government needs to deeply change its political approach to the peace process, in order to make it a meaningful way to end abuses. Achieving sustainable peace and putting an end to abuses against women will not happen without women's representation in the political dialogue for peace. The fact that almost all the participants involved in the official peace process are male excludes critical perspectives on peace and conflict, and preserves structural gender inequality. Moreover, it is crucial that the upcoming political dialogue addresses past human rights violations as well as the role of the army. This includes accepting that, in a free country, the military is subject to civilian authorities representing the genuine will of the people. Unless and until the military is placed under civilian control through constitutional amendments, we will not see an end to militarized sexual violence. Details: Chiang Mai, Thailand: Women's League of Burma, 2014. 57p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 20, 2014 at: http://womenofburma.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SameImpunitySamePattern_English-final.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Burma Keywords: Gang Rapes Shelf Number: 133741 |
Author: Jelsma, Martin Title: Towards a Healthier Legal Environment: A Review of Myanmar's Drug Laws Summary: This report reviews Myanmar's drug laws and related policies, including the 1917 Burma Excise Act; the 1993 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law; and the 1995 Rules relating to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances. Since these laws were enacted several important changes have taken place inside and outside of Myanmar. The decision of the Myanmar Government to review the law is not only timely but also offers a prospect to improve the drugs legislation and to ensure that the laws address drug-related problems in the country more effectively. It is an opportunity to ensure that affected populations have access to health care and development, taking into account both national conditions and international developments and best practices. This review paper will first give an overview of Myanmar's current legal and policy framework related to drugs, followed by an overall analysis. After that it will make specific comments on a number of key articles. In addition, the review will outline some international obligations and best practices. Finally, the paper will make some overall conclusions and recommendations Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2015. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 2, 2015 at: http://www.tni.org/sites/www.tni.org/files/download/towards_a_healthier_legal_environment.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction (Myanmar) Shelf Number: 134736 |
Author: Physicians for Human Rights Title: Patterns of Anti-Muslim Violence in Burma: A Call for Accountability and Prevention Summary: Violence against ethnic and other minority groups living in Burma (officially the Union of Myanmar) has marked the country's history over the past several decades. Burma's former military regime made common practice of targeting ethnic communities for forced labor, sexual violence, and other serious crimes. Under Burma's current nominally democratic government, violence against marginalized groups has escalated to an unprecedented level as Rohingyas and other Muslims throughout Burma face renewed acts of violence. Persecution and violence against Rohingyas, a Muslim group long excluded from Burmese society and denied citizenship, has spread to other Muslim communities throughout the country. Serious human rights violations, including anti-Muslim violence, have resulted in the displacement of nearly 250,000 people since June 2011, as well as the destruction of more than 10,000 homes, scores of mosques, and a dozen monasteries. The successive waves of violence too often go unpunished by the Burmese government. At times, the crimes have even been facilitated by the police. The failure of the Burmese government to properly protect its people and address human rights violations committed by police officers signals serious obstacles ahead on the path from military dictatorship to a truly democratic country where everyone has a voice and the rights of all people are respected and protected. One of the most extreme and alarming examples of anti-Muslim violence was the March 2013 massacre of dozens of Muslim students, teachers, and other community members in Meiktila, a town in central Burma. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) conducted an in-depth investigation into those killings and released a report in May 2013 detailing the crimes. In an effort to place this particular incident in the wider context of ongoing violence, PHR produced this report to analyze and asses patterns of extreme violence from various sites across the country, which indicate that the government has consistently failed to properly address attacks driven by hate speech and racism. Further investigation by an independent commission is necessary to uncover additional details about the organization and motivation behind the recent violence. There are no simple solutions to stem rising tides of religious hatred and violence. The people of Burma face the significant task of choosing how to grapple with intolerance and anti-Muslim hatred, as well as myriad abuses by the government against other marginalized groups. The ultimate responsibility, however, rests with the Government of Burma, which must ensure that people are protected from violence and that any perpetrators are investigated, arrested, and charged according to fair and transparent legal standards. As this report demonstrates, while there have been several arrests following some of the most extreme outbreaks of violence, the government must do more not only to respond to the individual acts of violence, but also to promote an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance where the rights of all people are protected. The Burmese government also has the responsibility to find durable solutions to end violence that respect ethnic diversity. Institutionalized displacement and segregation are abhorrent and unsustainable responses that have devastating consequences for those displaced by violence or fear of persecution. PHR conducted eight separate investigations in Burma and the surrounding region between 2004 and 2013. PHR's most recent field research in early 2013 indicates a need for renewed attention to violence against minorities and impunity for such crimes. The findings presented in this report are based on investigations conducted in Burma over two separate visits for a combined 21-day period between March and May 2013. The Government of Burma, civil society leaders, and the international community must act immediately to stop anti-Muslim violence in the country. The unhampered spread of violent incidents across Burma exposes concerning indicators of future violence. There is, for instance, rapid dissemination of hate speech against marginalized groups, widespread impunity for most perpetrators, and inaction or acquiescence by many leaders in government and the democracy movement. As we have witnessed in the past, these elements are ingredients for potential catastrophic violence in the future, including potential crimes against humanity and/or genocide. If left unchecked, this particular combination could lead to mass atrocities on a scale heretofore unseen in Burma. Details: New York: Physicians for Human Rights, 2013. 44p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 26, 2015 at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/PHR_Reports/Burma-Violence-Report-August-2013.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Burma Keywords: Bias-related Crimes Shelf Number: 129780 |
Author: Kramer, Tom Title: The Current State of Counternarcotics Policy and Drug Reform Debates in Myanmar Summary: Key Findings - Myanmar is the world's second largest producer of opium after Aghanistan. Following a decade of decline, cultivation has more than doubled since 2006. The production and use of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) is also rising. - Most of the opium is turned into heroin and exported via neighboring countries, especially to China. - Decades of civil war and military rule have stimulated drug production and consumption, and marginalized ethnic communities. - Myanmar has high levels of injecting drug users infected with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C. - Drug policies in Myanmar are repressive and outdated, with an ineffective focus on arresting drug users and eradicating poppy fields. - The central government is unable to provide quality treatment for drug users. Past political repression and human rights violations by the military government caused an international boycott which prevented international donors from providing assistance. - The reform process by the new quasi-civilian government includes both a peace process to end the civil war and a review of the country's drug laws, raising hope for more effective and humane drug policies. Policy Recommendations - Myanmar's drug policies should shift focus and prioritize the provision of services for drug users and promote alternative livelihoods for opium growing communities. - Drug-related legislation should decriminalize drug use, reduce sentences for other drug-related offenses, and allow space for needle exchange programs. - The government should expand harm reduction projects and provide voluntary treatment programs for drug users. - The government should formulate a strategic plan to prioritize alternative development programs. Eradication of poppy farms should not take place unless people have sufficient access to alternative livelihoods. As such, China's opium substitution policy should not continue in its present form. - Affected communities, especially drug users and opium farmers, need to be involved in drug policy making. - More attention should be paid to ATS-related problems, which are largely overlooked by current policies. Details: Washington, DC: Brookings Institute, 2015. 14p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 8, 2015 at: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Research/Files/Papers/2015/04/global-drug-policy/Kramer--Burma-final.pdf?la=en Year: 2015 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Shelf Number: 135926 |
Author: Kar, Dev Title: Flight Capital and Illicit Financial Flows to and from Myanmar: 1960-2013 Summary: Myanmar is the most porous economy we have studied in depth. Long isolation, trade restrictions, and attempts to regulate currency exchange rates have combined to drive a substantial part of the economy underground. Totaling the flight capital numbers indicates that Myanmar has experienced largely unregulated financial movements of nearly US$120 billion over the period (a small portion of flight capital may be licit), while total illicit flows amounted to almost US$100 billion. In 2013 alone, unregulated financial inflows totaled some US$10 billion, over 20 percent of GDP. Purely illicit inflows were on a similar scale in that year, at 17 percent of GDP. And these numbers do not include the smuggling of drugs, timber, precious stones, and other goods, transported across various routes and mountain passes to and from India and China, as indicated by a brief selection of satellite images included in the pages following. Interestingly, the greater part of what we can analyze as illicit flows have been inward, in reaction to import controls and to escape import levies. Undervalued and smuggled imports have sustained the weakened economy through years of insularity, isolation, and instability. Tax collection to GDP at seven percent is one of the lowest in the world, undermining the ability of the state to provide adequate health and education services. Corruption, according to Transparency International's Perceptions Index, places Myanmar among the bottom 20 in the world. These are extremely serious challenges for a nation just beginning, haltingly, to emerge from its shadows. Within our focus on financial transparency concerns, we recommend that Myanmar 1) make concerted efforts to adopt and enforce Financial Action Task Force anti-money laundering and combatting terrorist financing regulations, 2) provide its Customs Department with real-time world market trade pricing data, 3) greatly improve its statistical capabilities, and 4) enhance border security and curtailment of smuggling. For this the nation will need sustained external financial and technical assistance for years to come. Details: Washington, DC: Global Financial Integrity, 2015. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 24, 2015 at: http://www.gfintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Myanmar-Report-Final-1.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Burma Keywords: Border Security Shelf Number: 137330 |
Author: Legal Aid Network (LAN) Title: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied. Seeking Truth about Sexual Violence and War Crime Case in Burma. ((With a Special Focus on the Kawng Kha Case, in Kachin Land) Summary: Despite the so-called democratic transition taking place since 2010, Burma1 remains constitutionally under the control of the Armed Forces. However, our national democratic icon, democratic forces, some ethnic armed organizations, many NGOs -- especially GONGOs - and most of the international community are siding with or exercising a policy of appeasement with the power holders, without scrutinizing whether the source of their power emanates from the genuine will of the various ethnic nationalities and/or indigenous peoples. As a result, terms such as human dignity, human value, and particularly human rights have become empty rhetoric. Accountability is merely a political slogan, used by the incumbent President Thein Sein, the chairperson of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), since coming to office in 2011, but never implemented by any government institution in practice. The vicious circle of impunity continues, and, for the time being, seeking justice is an unpopular concept, voiced only by victims' communities. Against this background, a heinous crime against two young ethnic Kachin female volunteer teachers was committed on January 19, 2015, allegedly by the Myanmar soldiers of the ruling regime. Despite the fact that it has been almost ten months now, the perpetrators are still at large and no suspect has been identified by the police. Investigations carried out by the authorities have not focused on the victims, but have been one-sided, benefitting the perpetrators. The lack of reparative and restorative justice has led to delay and finally a denial of justice. The ominous silence around this case will become a catalyst for recurrence of gross human rights violations in the future. This preliminary report attempts to uncover the truth about this case, relating it to similar past incidents of war crimes, particularly sexual violence. It is also examined as to whether the state is held accountable for failure to provide protection for such heinous crimes and reparations to the victims, due to official state passivity. The government is also reminded of its obligations under domestic and international law. The victims of rape have commonly been non-Burman ethnic females, such as Shan, Karen, Kachin, Karenni, Palaung, etc. As such, the crimes can be categorized as having an ethnic nature. In many previous cases, even though victims were raped, they were not murdered. And even if they were murdered, they were not tortured. However, the Kawng Kha war crime case highlighted in this preliminary report is quite distinct. The victims were not only raped but also murdered. Worse, it was not an ordinary rape but a gang-rape. In addition, the victims were inhumanely and brutally tortured before they were murdered. As of now, nobody knows whether the victims were tortured by the perpetrators before or after being raped. As such, among the gross human rights violations inflicted on the various ethnic nationalities over the past decades, the Kawng Kha case constitutes one of the most heinous crime ever committed. Unfortunately, the ruling regime, albeit having the responsibility as the government, has not yet submitted any report specifically on this case to the Committee against Torture and to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Burma has already acceded to. There are no independent institutions or professionals working with victims of sexual violence nor does there exist any effective law for protection of witnesses in Burma. In accordance with the 2008 Constitution of Burma, the Myanmar Armed Forces, led by the Commander-in-Chief - not the State President - primarily exercise executive power. In addition to the Police and other security institutions, the Judiciary is also subservient to the executive. This legal and institutional framework has exacerbated the situation of the victims, their families and their communities, whenever the culprits or suspects are army personnel or government authorities. In regard to sexual violence, a serious problem is that ethnic women victims, given social, geographical, financial and legal constraints, are unable even to file complaints; and, even if a complaint is filed, it is commonly rejected by the Judiciary or the local authorities. This paper explores the status of State Institutions, focusing on the Police Institution, from the aspect of institutional integrity as well as procedural justice, as underpinned by not only national laws, international human rights laws and humanitarian law, but also the Rule of Law. This paper also establishes the nexus between civil war and human rights violations and attempts to find a reasonable solution. Last, but not least, the role and responsibility of the international community is scrutinized from the perspective of promotion and protection of human rights in connection with the previous and current background scenario of Burma. Details: Chiang Mai, Thailand: Kachin Women's Association in Thailand, 2016. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2016 at: http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs21/KWAT-2016-01-Justice_Delayed_Justice_Denied-en-red.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Burma Keywords: Human Rights Abuses Shelf Number: 137666 |
Author: Karen Women's Organisation (KWO) Title: Salt in the Wound: Outcomes and SGBV Cases in the Karen refugee camps, 2011-13 Summary: The report documents the results of research into the justice outcomes of 289 cases of sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) in the seven Karen-majority refugee camps located along the Thai-Burma border. The results of our research are staggering, and provide ample evidence for the need for change. In the vast majority (80%) of all the SGBV cases in six of the seven camps, women received inadequate justice responses. Even in cases of sexual violence, including rape, we found that there were very weak responses by the judicial systems. The inadequate justice outcomes include perpetrators just signing an agreement to say that they won't do it again (usually with no follow up to ensure that they don't), or paying a small fine to the authorities (usually with zero compensation for the victim) or almost no action at all by authorities. This is not good enough for crimes of violence. Details: Burma: KWO, 2015. 65p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 9, 2016 at: https://karenwomen.org/2015/11/24/kwo-new-report-salt-in-the-wound/ Year: 2015 Country: Burma Keywords: Rape Shelf Number: 137819 |
Author: Global Witness Title: Jade: Myanmar's Summary: Since 2011, Myanmar's rebranded government has told the world it is transitioning from a pariah state run by a ruthless military dictatorship to a civilian regime committed to wholesale political and economic reforms. In important respects, there has been real change. Oft-cited examples include the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and the government's peace talks with ethnic armed groups. But in other critical areas, the reformist narrative bears little scrutiny. Nowhere is this truer than in the jade sector. Drawing on over a year of investigations, this report shows for the first time how a multi-billion dollar trade in one of the planet's most precious gemstones is tightly controlled by the same military elites, US-sanctioned drug lords and crony companies that the government says it is consigning to the past. Companies owned by the family of former dictator Than Shwe and other notorious figures are creaming off vast profits from the country's most valuable natural resource, and the world's finest supply of a stone synonymous with glitz and glamour. Meanwhile, very few revenues reach the people of Kachin State, the site of the Hpakant jade mines, or the population of Myanmar as a whole. As the country approaches an historic election, the importance of these findings to Myanmar's future is hard to overstate. Our investigations show that the elites who between them have most to lose from an open and fair future also have ready access to a vast slush fund in the shape of the jade sector. This raises urgent questions for reformers and their international partners. What is happening to all this jade money? Is it only being spent on real estate, fast cars and lavish parties, or is it being used for political purposes as well? The sums involved in what one industry representative calls "the government's big state secret" are staggering. Until now the jade sector's worth has been almost impossible to determine. However, based on new research and analysis, Global Witness estimates that the value of official jade production in 2014 alone was well over the US$12 billion indicated by Chinese import data, and appears likely to have been as much as US$31 billion. To put it in perspective, this figure equates to 48% of Myanmar's official GDP and 46 times government expenditure on health. Clearly, if openly, fairly and sustainably managed, this industry could transform the fortunes of the Kachin population and help drive development across Myanmar. Instead, the people of Kachin State are seeing their livelihoods disappear and their landscape shattered by the intensifying scramble for their most prized asset. Conditions in jade mines are often fatally dangerous, while those who stand in the way of the guns and machines face land grabs, intimidation and violence. Details: London: Global Witness, 2015. 128p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 6, 2016 at: https://www.globalwitness.org/en-gb/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/myanmarjade/ Year: 2015 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Lords Shelf Number: 138577 |
Author: Women's League of Burma Title: "If they had hope, they would speak": The ongoing use of state sponsored sexual violence in Burma's ethnic communities Summary: Burma Army soldiers continue to engage in acts of sexual violence on a widespread scale, and women and human rights defenders in ethnic communities face harassment and persecution, the Women's League of Burma (WLB) said in a new report published today to coincide with International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. To achieve sustainable peace and help safeguard the rights of ethnic women, the government of Burma must immediately stop its military offensives in the ethnic areas, pull back its troops and begin political dialogue with the ethnic armed groups towards genuine federalism. The WLB's new report, 'If they had hope, they would speak': The ongoing use of state-sponsored sexual violence in Burma's ethnic communities', highlights 118 incidences of gang-rape, rape, and attempted sexual assault that have been documented in Burma since 2010, in both ceasefire and non-ceasefire areas. This number is believed to be a fraction of the actual number of cases that have taken place. These abuses-which are widespread and systematic-must be investigated, and may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under international criminal law Details: Chiang Mai, Thailand: Women's League of Burma, 2014. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 8, 2016 at: http://womenofburma.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/VAW_Iftheyhadhope_TheywouldSpeak_English.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Burma Keywords: Rape Shelf Number: 138603 |
Author: C4ADS Title: Sticks and Stones: Hate Speech Narratives and Facilitators in Myanmar Summary: Conditions for Muslims have steadily declined in Myanmar, with the Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine State facing the gravest threat. In 2012, the country was rocked by the worst sectarian violence in over 50 years, resulting in 200 killed and 140,000 displaced, mostly Rohingya. A 2015 study by the United States Holocaust Museum counted 19 early warning signs of genocide in Myanmar since the start of sectarian violence. Another study by the International State Crime Initiative concluded that the Rohingyas had already passed the first four stages of genocide, including dehumanization and segregation, and are now on the verge of mass annihilation. Anti-Muslim sentiment has grown so widespread that even Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party declined to field a single Muslim among their roster of 1,100 candidates for the November 2015 elections. Details: Washington, DC: C4ADS, 2016. 64p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 8, 2016 at: http://static1.squarespace.com/static/566ef8b4d8af107232d5358a/t/56b41f1ff8baf3b237782313/1454645026098/Sticks+and+Stones.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Burma Keywords: Hate Crimes Shelf Number: 139320 |
Author: Woods, Kevin Title: Baseline Study 4, Myanmar Overview of Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade Summary: Myanmar remains one of the world's only countries with no prohibitions on log exports. The country provides much coveted teak and other hardwood logs to the region and beyond. Sawn wood, and to a lesser extent finished wood products, contribute a relatively small amount to Myanmar's total exports of wood products. As in the majority of Mekong countries, one of the most significant trends affecting forest lands in Myanmar relates to the considerable, and often times informal, foreign direct investments (FDI) in agribusiness plantations such as rubber, oil palm, timber plantation, cashew nut and other horticultural crops. FD are also being made in other resource sector developments, including hydropower and mineral extraction. These types of developments often require the clearing of natural forest areas and has led to land disputes with local communities. Details: Washington, DC: Forest Trends, 2011. 59p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 20, 2016 at: http://www.forest-trends.org/documents/files/doc_3159.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Burma Keywords: Forest Law Enforcement Shelf Number: 145609 |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "The Farmer Becomes the Criminal": Land Confiscation in Burma's Karen State Summary: Conflicts over land in Burma have intensi ed in recent years as the country has embarked on a process of democratic transition, marked by growing foreign investments and efforts to resolve long-running armed conflicts in ethnic areas. As a result, demand for land is greater than ever—whether for resource extraction, agriculture, tourism, or infrastructure development—and powerful interests are seizing control by displacing local people without adequate compensation or effective redress. In Karen State, located on the Thai border, farmers and rural villagers regularly face land confi scation. In a country where over 70 percent of people earn a living through agriculture, losing land oen means losing a livelihood. "The Farmer Becomes the Criminal" documents human rights abuses connected to land seizures in Karen State. The report details cases in which government offcials, military personnel, local militia members, and businessmen have used intimidation, coercion, and force to seize land from local people. Farmers and activists who protest land-taking face retaliation by police and prosecution under peaceful assembly and criminal trespass laws. The report analyzes the corrupt land administration structures and abusive laws that have laid the foundation for these practices. Human Rights Watch calls on the Burmese government to release all land rights activists detained for peacefully protesting land seizures and end the arbitrary arrest of activists by police; impartially investigate allegations of unlawful land seizures; and ensure the return of land taken improperly. The government should establish an independent forum with power to adjudicate land disputes for villagers who challenge decisions about land use, and set up mechanisms for individuals to report rights abuses by local government officials. Details: New York: HRW, 2016. 97p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 3, 2016 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/burma1116_web.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Burma Keywords: Human Rights Abuses Shelf Number: 145317 |
Author: International Crisis Group Title: The Dark Side of Transition: Violence Against Muslims in Myanmar Summary: Following the outbreak of deadly intercommunal clashes in Rakhine State in 2012, anti-Muslim violence has spread to other parts of Myanmar. The depth of anti-Muslim sentiment in the country, and the inadequate response of the security forces, mean that further clashes are likely. Unless there is an effective government response and change in societal attitudes, violence could spread, impacting on Myanmar's transition as well as its standing in the region and beyond. The violence has occurred in the context of rising Burman-Buddhist nationalism, and the growing influence of the monk-led "969" movement that preaches intolerance and urges a boycott of Muslim businesses. This is a dangerous combination: considerable pent-up frustration and anger under years of authoritarianism are now being directed towards Muslims by a populist political force that cloaks itself in religious respectability and moral authority. Anti-Indian and anti-Muslim violence is nothing new in Myanmar. It is rooted in the country's colonial history and demographics, and the rise of Burman nationalism in that context. Deadly violence has erupted regularly in different parts of the country in the decades since. But the lifting of authoritarian controls and the greater availability of modern communications mean that there is a much greater risk of the violence spreading. Among the most discriminated against populations in Myanmar is the Muslim community in northern Rakhine State, the Rohingya. Most are denied citizenship, and face severe restrictions on freedom of movement as well as numerous abusive policies. In June and October 2012, clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine State left almost 200 people dead and around 140,000 displaced, the great majority of them Muslims. Communities remain essentially segregated to this day, and the humanitarian situation is dire. In early 2013, the violence spread to central Myanmar. The worst incident occurred in the town of Meiktila, where a dispute at a shop led to anti-Muslim violence. The brutal killing of a Buddhist monk sharply escalated the situation, with two days of riots by a 1,000-strong mob resulting in widespread destruction of Muslim neighbourhoods, and leaving at least 44 people dead, including twenty students and several teachers massacred at an Islamic school. There has been strong domestic and international criticism of the police response. In Rakhine State, the police – who are overwhelmingly made up of Rakhine Buddhists – reportedly had little ability to stop the attacks, and there are allegations of some being complicit in the violence. The army, once it was deployed, performed better. In Meiktila, the police were apparently incapable of controlling the angry crowds that gathered outside the shop, and were hopelessly outnumbered and ineffective when the clashes rapidly escalated. The violence has regional implications. There has been a sharp increase in the number of Muslims making the treacherous journey by boat from Rakhine State to other countries in the region, prompting public criticism from some of those countries. The intercommunal tensions have also spilled over Myanmar's borders, with the murders of Myanmar Buddhists in Malaysia, and related violence in other countries. There have also been threats of jihad against Myanmar, and plots and attacks against Myanmar or Buddhist targets in the region. As Myanmar prepares to take over the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014, this could become a serious political issue. The Myanmar government understands what is at stake. President Thein Sein has spoken publicly on the dangers of the violence, and announced a "zero-tolerance" approach. The police response has been improving somewhat, with faster and more effective interventions bringing incidents under control more quickly. And after some delay, perpetrators of these crimes are being prosecuted and imprisoned, although there are concerns that Buddhists sometimes appear to be treated more leniently. But much more needs to be done. Beyond improved riot-control training and equipment for police, broader reform of the police service is necessary so that it can be more effective and trusted, particularly at the community level, including officers from ethnic and religious minorities. This is only just starting. The government and society at large must also do more to combat extremist rhetoric, in public, in the media and online. At a moment of historic reform and opening, Myanmar cannot afford to become hostage to intolerance and bigotry. Details: Brussels: International Crisis Group, 2013. 30p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2017 at: https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/the-dark-side-of-transition-violence-against-muslims-in-myanmar.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Burma Keywords: Bias-Motivated Crimes Shelf Number: 146641 |
Author: Women and Child Rights Project (WCRP) Title: Cracks in the Silence: Sexual Violence against children and challenges to accessing justice in Mon State and Mon areas of southeast Burma Summary: Since 2013, the number of reported cases of violence, particularly sexual violence, toward children in Burma has increased dramatically. HURFOM itself has seen a significant increase in the number of cases of violence toward children received between 2013 and 2016. However, due to the shame and stigma associated with sexual violence, as well as the challenges faced when accessing justice in Burma's complex, pluralistic legal system, it is likely that the number is much higher than actually documented. This report analyzes 20 cases of violence toward children received from Mon State and Mon areas of southeast Burma between December 2013 and January 2017. The types of violence ranged from rape to human trafficking; however, in the majority of cases sexual violence was identified as the primary motive. In all cases received by HURFOM, the victims were female and those experiencing violence ranged in age from as young as three to 17 years of age. While HURFOM acknowledges the small size of the dataset, this report aims to provide a platform for community perspectives on issues that they have identified as important to them, rather than to make general conclusions regarding the phenomenon. While analyzing the cases, interesting patterns in how families navigated the pluralistic legal system in Burma emerged, as well as a number of challenges they face when accessing justice while reporting a crime involving sexual violence. Thus, this report looks not only at individual cases, but also at the challenges villagers face when pursuing justice and the forms of agency, both individual and collective, they use to overcome these obstacles. As law makers in Burma are currently drafting a national policy on the prevention of violence against women, as well as amending the 1993 Child Law, this report’s findings and recommendations are particularly relevant and serve as a guide for law makers to promote and protect women and child rights. Details: Kanchanaburi, Thailand: Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), 63p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2017 at: http://www.rehmonnya.org/reports/Cracks-in-the-Silence-Eng.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Burma Keywords: Child Abuse and Neglect Shelf Number: 144629 |
Author: McCartan, Brian Title: Ethnic Armed Actors and Justice Provision in Myanmar Summary: As a result of decades of ongoing civil war, large areas of Myanmar remain outside government rule, or are subject to mixed control and governance by the government and an array of ethnic armed actors (EAAs). These included ethnic armed organizations, with ceasefires or in conflict with the state, as well as state-backed ethnic paramilitary organizations, such as the Border Guard Forces and People's Militia Forces. Despite this complexity, order has been created in these areas, in large part through customary justice mechanisms at the community level, and as a result of justice systems administered by EAAs. Though the rule of law and the workings of Myanmar's justice system are receiving increasing attention, the role and structure of EAA justice systems and village justice remain little known and therefore, poorly understood. As such, The Asia Foundation is pleased to present this research on justice provision and ethnic armed actors in Myanmar. Details: Yangon, Myanmar: Asia Foundation, 2016. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: POLICY DIALOGUE BRIEF SERIES NO.17: Accessed April 6, 2017 at: http://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Policy-Brief_Ethnic-Armed-Actors-and-Justice-Provision-in-Myanmar_EN.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Burma Keywords: Justice Systems Shelf Number: 144723 |
Author: Selth, Andrew Title: Police Reform in Burma (Myanmar): Aims Obstacles and Outcomes Summary: Despite all the publicity that Burma has received since the inauguration of a hybrid military-civilian parliament in 2011, and the launch of an ambitious reform program by President Thein Sein, there are some important issues which seem to have escaped serious study. It has become clear, for example, that the new government wishes not only to reinvigorate plans to expand and remodel the Myanmar Police Force (MPF), but also to give it a more distinctive civilian style and ethos, and see it take greater responsibility for some key aspects of the country's internal security. Indeed, such steps will be essential if Burma is to strengthen the rule of law and make an orderly transition to a genuine and sustainable democracy. The armed forces (Tatmadaw) will remain responsible for external defence and for counter-insurgency campaigns against armed ethnic groups. However, it seems to be envisaged that, as part of the broad democratisation process, the MPF will assume a greater role in terms of law enforcement and the maintenance of internal order. Already, there are more blue uniforms than green uniforms on the streets protecting VIPs and standing static guard outside diplomatic missions. The police can also be expected to play a larger part in quelling civil unrest, with the army only called upon to provide aid to the 'civil' power during emergencies, as occurred in Arakan (Rakhine) State in 2012 and Meiktila in 2013. To this end, the MPF is being expanded, restructured and modernised. It is already larger and more powerful than it has been since the colonial era, but the goal is a force of over 100,000 men and women, with 34 'combat' battalions. Recruitment and officer corps entry standards have been raised. At the same time, the MPF's doctrine and training programs are being changed to give greater emphasis to 'community-based policing' by unarmed officers working in close cooperation with the civil population. This approach is not completely new to Burma but, if fully and successfully adopted, it will be in stark contrast to the tough paramilitary style of policing that has characterised the force since General Ne Win's 1962 coup. As the Indonesian example has shown, however, such a transition will be neither quick nor easy. Burma's armed forces remain very powerful. There will be some areas, such as intelligence collection and internal security operations, where the interests of the MPF and Tatmadaw will overlap. The respective roles, responsibilities and associated benefits of the two institutions may be sorted out - probably in the Tatmadaw's favour - but there is likely to be friction. Also, there are cultural issues in the police force which will take a long time to resolve. Corruption and the abuse of power, for example, are deeply-rooted problems that will be difficult to eradicate. Until they are, the force's relations with the general population will remain problematical. Should the MPF be able to reinvent itself, however, it has the potential to make a major contribution to Thein Sein's reform program and the development of a more democratic, stable and humane society in Burma. Also, as an important civilian body answerable to the public through an 'elected' government, its behaviour - and treatment by the government - will be important indicators of progress in current attempts to implement the rule of law in Burma and make the security forces more accountable for their actions. Details: Brisbane: Griffith University, Griffith Asia Institute, 2013. 40p. Source: Internet Resource: Regional Outlook Paper, No. 44: Accessed April 6, 2017 at: http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs20/Selth-2013-Police_Reform-red.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Burma Keywords: Criminal Justice Reform Shelf Number: 144725 |
Author: Kham, Nang Yin Title: An Introduction to the Law and Judicial System of Myanmar Summary: The intention of this paper is to provide an introduction to the law and legal system of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (Myanmar). Based on common legal texts, the paper highlights the main sources of law and legal institutions, in particular the judiciary and the legal profession. The paper also reviews the structure of the judicial system through different time periods, describes judicial appointments in the highest courts, and summarises key processes in civil and criminal practice and procedure. A brief bibliography is provided at the end of the paper. Details: Singapore: Centre for Asian Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore,. 2014. 25p. Source: Internet Resource: Myanmar Law Working Paper Series Working Paper No.001: Accessed April 6, 2017 at: http://law.nus.edu.sg/pdfs/cals/working_papers/Myanmar/MWPS001.pdf Year: 2014 Country: Burma Keywords: Criminal Law Shelf Number: 144726 |
Author: Jensema, Ernestien Title: 'Found in the Dark': The Impact of Drug Law Enforcement Practices in Myanmar Summary: Key Points - Myanmar has serious drug use problems, largely related to unsafe practices such as needle sharing by injecting heroin users. The country's current approach to addressing drug-related problems focuses on repression, mainly by arresting and incarcerating drug users. This paper analyses the impact of drug law enforcement practices on drug users in Myanmar. It shows the failure of the current drug law enforcement system, with drug users and their families as the principal victims. - The criminalisation of drug use and possession for personal use is heavily impacting the lives of drug users and their families. It is cause for stigmatisation by the community they live in; it increases risky drug use behaviour, and is the basis for police harassment and corruption. - The vast majority of arrests made as a result of drug laws concern drug users and small dealer/users. Prisons are overcrowded with drug users sentenced to excessively long jail terms. Prisons and labour camps lack appropriate health care and do not provide for the basic needs of inmates. Very few large-scale traffickers are targeted for arrest or have been put in prison. - Female drug users, in particular, have received very little support to face their problems. Often abandoned by their families and communities, female drug users are in need of services targeting their specific needs. - Instead of a repressive approach, voluntary and evidence-based treatment and public health services, including harm reduction, should be made available to people who use drugs. Harassment by enforcement officials and corruption in the justice system should be addressed. A harm reduction approach needs to become generally accepted by enforcement officials and by the community at large. Myanmar's drug laws should be reformed to address these issues, and support drug users and other marginalised communities affected by drugs instead of punishing them. Details: Amsterdam: Transnational Institute, 2016. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Drug Policy Briefing, no. 47: Accessed April 21, 2017 at: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/drug_policy_briefing_47_found_in_the_dark.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Abuse and Addiction Shelf Number: 145145 |
Author: Felbab-Brown, Vanda Title: Myanmar Maneuvers: How to Break Political-Criminal Alliances in Contexts of Transition Summary: The Myanmar case study analyzes the complex interactions between illegal economies - conflict and peace. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding the effects of illegal economies on Myanmar's political transitions since the early 1990s, including the current period, up through the first year of the administration of Aung San Suu Kyi. Described is the evolution of illegal economies in drugs, logging, wildlife trafficking, and gems and minerals as well as land grabbing and crony capitalism, showing how they shaped and were shaped by various political transitions. Also examined was the impact of geopolitics and the regional environment, particularly the role of China, both in shaping domestic political developments in Myanmar and dynamics within illicit economies. For decades, Burma has been one of the world's epicenters of opiate and methamphetamine production. Cultivation of poppy and production of opium have coincided with five decades of complex and fragmented civil war and counterinsurgency policies. An early 1990s laissez-faire policy of allowing the insurgencies in designated semi-autonomous regions to trade any products - including drugs, timber, jade, and wildlife - enabled conflict to subside. The incorporation of key drug traffickers and their assets into the state structures significantly strengthened the state and the military regime. The Burmese junta negotiated ceasefires with the insurgencies, and underpinned the agreements by giving the insurgent groups economic stakes in resource exploitation and illegal economies. Under pressure, including from China, opium poppy cultivation was suppressed in the late 1990s and early 2000s, even as unregulated and often illegal trade in timber, jade, and wildlife continued. Although local populations suffered major economic deprivation, the ceasefires lasted. The armed ethnic groups, however, did not lose their source of revenues, compensating for the diminished heroin business by switching to methamphetamines and, with the participation of Chinese businesses, augmenting the legal and illegal extraction of other resources, such as timber and gems. Since the middle of the 2000s, however, the ceasefires have started to break down, and violent conflict has escalated. As of this writing in February 2017, it is probably at its most intense at any time since the early 1990s. Among the reasons is the effort of the previous Myanmar government and military since 2008 as well as powerful Bamar and Chinese businessmen and powerbrokers (many linked to the military and military business conglomerates) to restructure the 1990s economic underpinnings of the ceasefires so their economic profits increase. Business conglomerates linked to the Tatmadaw, such as Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), came to enjoy special access to the significant gem mines and other resource economies and trade more broadly, serving crucial political survival interests of the military. Control of the jade economy became a key enrichment and strategic priority for the junta. The military also sought to guarantee a steady pension for former Tatmadaw officials and soldiers and thus keep them from potentially rebelling. The MEHL and other military-linked economic conglomerates and cronies hence were accorded monopolies on the import of various consumer goods. Meanwhile, however, illegal and unregulated resource economies, including the drug trade, logging, mining, and wildlife trafficking, have thrived and devastate Burma's ecosystems, even as the plunder-underpinned peace has slid into war again. In 2011, the Myanmar military embarked on political and economic liberalization that, though a miscalculation of the military, culminated in the election of the Aung Sang Suu Kyi government in November 2015. However, the military has retained significant formal and informal power. Indeed, despite the military's electoral miscalculation, the entire transition had been at the discretion of the junta. Illicit economies played an integral part of the transition process, being a crucial element of the golden parachute that the junta awarded itself. Moreover, with its continuing lock on constitutional power, the military regime also guaranteed itself a sufficient budget. Any reforms that took place, including those directed at illicit economies, such as the embrace of greater transparency measures in mining, greater enforcement in logging, and the significant weakening the power of the cronies, were still at the direction of the military. Reforms and actions against illicit economies and organized crime that would not be advantageous to the military's institutional power or enrichment of key individuals have not taken place and could be subverted or vetoed by the key powerbrokers of the military. Similarly, the selective suppression of organized crime and aspects of the illicit economies has served crucial political and strategic objectives of the military. Nonetheless, under President Thein Sein, significant economic liberalization was in fact undertaken, with a surprising willingness to change economic arrangements with privileged economic actors. As a result of growing economic competition, the footprint of the military conglomerates and crony companies in the formal economy was reduced. Thein Sein also launched an anti-corruption drive, limited in its reach and determination mainly to the civil service, but nonetheless not insignificant. A comprehensive new land law was passed, and some stolen land was returned to local populations as a result of civil society mobilization. Details: Tokyo: United Nations University, 2017. 35p. Source: Internet Resource: Crime-Conflict Nexus Series: No 9: Accessed June 19, 2017 at: https://i.unu.edu/media/cpr.unu.edu/attachment/2445/Myanmar-Maneuvers-How-to-Break-Political-Criminal-Alliances-in-Contexts-of-Transition.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Burma Keywords: Crime-Conflict Nexus Shelf Number: 146260 |
Author: Amnesty International Title: "My World Is Finished": Rohingya Targeted in Crimes Against Humanity in Myanmar Summary: On 25 August 2017, members of a Rohingya armed group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), attacked approximately 30 security force outposts in Myanmar's Rakhine State. In its response, the Myanmar military launched an attack on the Rohingya population in northern Rakhine State as a whole. Often working with Border Guard Police and local vigilantes, the military has carried out a campaign of violence that has been systematic, organized, and ruthless. Based on more than 150 interviews as well as an analysis of satellite imagery and data, this briefing shows that the Myanmar military has killed at least hundreds of Rohingya women, men, and children; raped and perpetrated other forms of sexual violence on Rohingya women and girls; and carried out organized, targeted burning of entire Rohingya villages. In seven weeks, the relentless human rights violations, which amount to crimes against humanity under international law, have forced more than 520,000 Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. Details: London: AI, 2017. 47p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 7, 2017 at: file:///C:/Users/pschultze/Downloads/ASA1672882017ENGLISH.PDF Year: 2017 Country: Burma Keywords: Human Rights Abuses Shelf Number: 148057 |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "All of My Body Was Pain": Sexual Violence against Rohingya Women and Girls in Burma Summary: Burmese soldiers committed widespread rape against women and girls during the military's campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Burma's Rakhine State. Since August 25, 2017, more than 600,000 Rohingya have fled killings, sexual violence, and mass arson, seeking refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. "All of My Body Was Pain" is based on 52 interviews with women and girls, including 29 survivors of rape. In many of the cases women and girls reported being raped by six or more soldiers. Women also described with great distress seeing security forces murder their young children or other relatives or neighbors. The journey to Bangladesh was particularly painful and difficult for survivors of gang rape walking with serious injuries and for pregnant women. Bangladesh and international donors have provided funds and critical services to assist the refugees. But numerous crimes against humanity have been committed without accountability for senior military officials or others responsible for the worst abuses. The United Nations Security Council should urgently implement a full arms embargo on Burma, impose targeted sanctions against leaders responsible for grave violations of human rights, and refer the situation to the International Criminal Court. Attention to sexual violence and other abuses suffered by Rohingya women and girls should be integrated into every aspect of the response to this human rights and humanitarian crisis. This includes rigorous investigations of the scope of sexual violence against the Rohingya, provision of medical and psychosocial services to survivors, and measures to prevent and respond to genderbased violence in refugee camps. Details: New York: HRW, 2017. 46p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 21, 2017 at: https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/burma1117_web_1.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Burma Keywords: Rape Shelf Number: 148282 |
Author: Drug Policy Advocacy Group - Myanmar Title: Guiding Drug Law Reform in Myanmar: A Legal Analysis of the Draft Bill Amending 1993 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law Summary: A draft bill amending Myanmar 1993 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law was published in newspapers in March 2017 for public consultation. It was subsequently discussed in the upper house of Parliament (Amyothar Hluttaw) on 16 August 2017. The draft bill introduces important changes to Myanmar drug law. Most significantly, it intends to place public health at the heart of the country's drug control strategy, and lengthy prison penalties for drug use have been eliminated to facilitate access to health services for drug users. This is a positive improvement and must be applauded as a progressive measure. Nevertheless, the draft bill also contains a number of shortfalls that could be addressed with a few basic, although fundamental, adjustments. This paper thoroughly analyses the draft bill, and looks in detail at its provisions in the light of UN drug control treaties, international human rights norms, and the latest evidence and international best practices. We hope that this document will be a useful tool for members of the Government, Members of the Parliament, and other policy makers who are taking part in the drug law and policy reform processes in Myanmar. In this way we believe it can help further improve the current legislation. Details: Amsterdam: The Policy Group, 2017. 32p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 12, 2018 at: https://www.tni.org/files/publication-downloads/legal_analysis_english_final_version.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Burma Keywords: Drug Control Shelf Number: 149098 |
Author: Barsa, Michelle Title: Inclusive Ceasefires: Women, gender, and a sustainable end to violence Summary: Traditional approaches to ending wars-where armed groups meet behind closed doors to hammer out a truce-are falling short in the face of 21st century conflicts. In 2014, the world experienced the highest battle-related death toll since the Cold War. Belligerents increasingly target civilians, and global displacement from conflict, violence, and persecution has reached the highest level ever recorded. States that emerge from war also persistently relapse; in the 2000s, 90 percent of conflicts occurred in countries previously afflicted by war. Partly as a means to address these challenges, calls for inclusive approaches to resolving conflict and insecurity have grown louder. The full impact of women's participation on peace and security outcomes remains poorly understood, but overwhelming anecdotal and quantitative evidence shows that women's empowerment and gender equality are associated with peace and stability. While the inclusion of women and civil society in peace processes is consequently gaining normative traction, one consistent exception has emerged: ceasefires. The terms "ceasefire," "truce," and "cessations of hostilities" have long been used interchangeably, both on paper and in practice. Even today, the distinction between them remains at best unclear and, at worst, contested. This paper defines ceasefires as negotiated agreements between parties that "define the rules and modalities for conflict parties to stop fighting." As such, we treat them as more binding and comprehensive in scope than truces, which can be unilateral and encompass many types of breaks in the fighting. Cessations of hostilities can also be declaratory and non-binding, but when reached as negotiated agreements, they too are typically narrower in scope and more temporary in nature than ceasefires. True to their name, cessations of hostilities simply suspend the violence. As such, most ceasefire agreements include a cessation of hostilities section that lists the violent acts to be halted. But ceasefires go further by outlining additional rules and modalities to de-escalate tensions between the warring parties: lines of disengagement and withdrawal of forces, demilitarized zones, cantonment of forces, monitoring and verification, dispute resolution, and disarmament.10 These additional mechanisms are designed to support (and as one econometric model shows, are more likely to achieve)11 a more durable cessation of violence. This paper will focus on ceasefire and cessation of hostilities agreements that are or were intended to create space for comprehensive peace negotiations. That ceasefires in particular remain unquestionably untouched by the principle of inclusion is remarkable, given the foundational role they often play in peace processes. Ceasefires can heavily influence-if not determine outright-which actors will subsequently be invited to the peace table and which issues will appear on the agenda of those talks. And the stakes are high. According to one of the most extensive studies to date on ceasefires and peace, strong agreements-defined as those that implement detailed mechanisms like demilitarized zones and peacekeeping forces-reduce the risk of another war by more than 80 percent. At the very least, this warrants an evidence-based debate of the merits of including stakeholders other than the belligerent parties. Yet the growing body of research on ceasefires contains little information on if, how, and why women's and civil society's needs, perspectives, and considerations are being incorporated. This paper will explore the possible benefits of women's participation in ceasefires; the inclusion of women in the 2014 South Sudanese Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and the 2015 Myanmar Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement; women's impact as measured by the two agreements' meaningful attention to gender; and the consequences for the agreements'. Details: Washington, DC: Inclusive Security, 2016. 62p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 16, 2018 at: https://www.inclusivesecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Inclusive-Ceasefires-ISA-paper-Final-3.10.2016.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Burma Keywords: Conflict Resolution Shelf Number: 149165 |
Author: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) Title: State of Corruption: The top-level conspiracy behind the global trade in Myanmar's stolen teak Summary: The forests of Myanmar are defined by their monetary value and have been part of the military and economic elites' profits and, in some cases, survival for decades. The entire legal state forestry and timber trade sectors are riddled with corruption. Current laws seem to seek the criminalisation of local people and the Government is undermining the communities' reliance on resources while at the same time introducing a centralised system of management they are unable to implement. Myanmar's government presents the teak trade as being wholly legal and sustainable, produced in compliance with the rule of law. This is simply not the case. A two-year undercover investigation by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) into a near-mythic 'Burmese teak kingpin' who conspired with and bribed the most senior military and government officials in Myanmar has revealed how he was able to establish a system of fraudulent trade. This was run in parallel to, and within, the official legal trade administered by the Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) - a state-owned company with a monopoly on all logging and timber trade in the country. Details: London: EIA, 2019. 43p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 27, 2019 at: https://www.illegal-logging.info/sites/files/chlogging/EIA-report-State-of-Corruption-ilovepdf-compressed.pdf Year: 2019 Country: Burma Keywords: Environmental Crimes Shelf Number: 154772 |
Author: Robinson, W. Courtland Title: Estimating trafficking of Myanmar women for forced marriage and childbearing in China Summary: Thousands of women and girls are being trafficked from Myanmar to China and forced to marry and bear children, according to new research led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT). Over 7,400 women and girls were estimated to be victims of forced marriage in four districts (Kachin State and Northern Shan State) in Myanmar and one Chinese prefecture in Yunnan Province along the border, with over 5,000 females forced to bear children with their Chinese husbands. While the Johns Hopkins and KWAT study was limited to a particular geographical region, findings from the study, supported by other empirical evidence, suggest that there are likely many more victims beyond the surveyed areas. "Victims of forced marriage suffer a range of rights violations and exposure to physical and psychological risks," said Courtland Robinson, PhD, associate professor in the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School and the report's lead author. "This research draws attention to the scope of the problem and to the urgent need for support services for victims." The report, "Estimating trafficking of Myanmar women for forced marriage and childbearing in China," is the first systematic effort to quantify the scale of a problem that has important implications for cross-border migration and marriage policies and protection programs. There are 34 million more males than females in China as a result of China's previous longstanding one-child policy, and this disparity is fueling bride trafficking from neighboring countries. In Myanmar, conditions resulting from conflict, land confiscation, forced relocation and human rights abuses have spurred widespread landlessness and joblessness, resulting in increased migration to China. Lacking proper documentation, language and education, Myanmar women are increasingly at risk of trafficking, including into forced marriage. Nearly 40 percent of women reported being forced into marriage in the districts examined in the report. A forced marriage is one in which either partner is unable to refuse entry or to leave the marriage without threat of penalty or menace. Roughly 65 percent of the women in forced marriages entered the arrangement through a recruiter or broker and, thus, met the criteria for being trafficked into forced marriage. One-third of the women interviewed bore children while in a forced marriage to a Chinese man and, thus, met the study's definition of being a victim of forced childbearing. The research was conducted between June 2017 and April 2018 in Kachin State and Northern Shan State in Myanmar and in Yunnan Province in China. Researchers conducted household surveys of a total of 400 women over the age of 18 in 40 sites in Myanmar and China. In addition, community key informants were used to obtain local estimates of populations, including migration patterns, in these 40 sites. These community-based estimates of female migrant populations were used in conjunction with the findings from household surveys-to estimate numbers of victims of forced marriage, forced childbearing and trafficking in the study sites and to make extrapolations to larger areas in Kachin State and Northern Shan State in Myanmar, and in Dehong Dai and Jingpo Prefecture in Yunnan Province. The study also found that victims of forced marriage suffer an increased risk for multiple health problems. Women and girls in forced marriages were 6.5 times more likely to experience intimate partner violence compared to women in autonomous (non-coerced) marriages. Researchers also found they were 4.7 times more likely to suffer a miscarriage or stillbirth and 4.6 times more likely to suffer the death of at least one child. The findings also highlight the dilemma faced by mothers who were forced to bear a child and the fact that they felt they were unable to exit the marriage regardless of how badly they were treated by their husbands. The report makes several recommendations to reduce forced marriages in the region: The Myanmar government should work to end the armed conflict in Kachin State and Northern Shan State, which has heightened levels of violence and increased levels of impoverishment, further spurring survival migration into China. The government of Myanmar should institute policies to protect Myanmar residents and would-be migrants through the issuance of personal identification documents that would provide them with proof of citizenship and nationality and enable them to obtain travel passes and work authorization in China. The Chinese government should allow women, girls, men and boys fleeing the conflict in Myanmar to access safe refuge and humanitarian aid in China, thereby reducing their vulnerability to being exploited and trafficked. China should also strengthen and enforce laws and regulations against forced marriage, forced childbearing and trafficking. Details: Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University; Kachin Women's Association Thailand, 2018. 94p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 5, 2019 at: https://www.jhsph.edu/departments/international-health/news/_publications/ETFM_Full%20Report_07Dec2018_Final.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Burma Keywords: Forced Childbearing Shelf Number: 155350 |
Author: International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Title: No Stone Unturned: Q&A on Accountability for Crimes in Myanmar Summary: The release of the report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Myanmar on 27 August 2018 marked a pivotal moment in the establishment of the facts concerning crimes committed in recent years in Myanmar's Rakhine, Shan, and Kachin States. Overwhelming evidence collected by the FFM points to the commission of "the gravest crimes" against civilians by Myanmar's military ('Tatmadaw') and police forces. It is now of crucial importance that the process of ensuring accountability for these crimes moves forward through the pursuit of the following key steps: 1) consolidating evidence; 2) carrying out prosecutions; and 3) supporting any established international accountability mechanism and enabling it to deliver justice to the victims. These three steps must be pursued without delay through simultaneous actions taken by three key United Nations (UN) bodies, namely the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly, and the Security Council, as well as by the international community as a whole. The Human Rights Council and the General Assembly should promptly set up an International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM). The IIIM is a dedicated body responsible for collecting, preserving, and analyzing evidence that will be used by prosecutors in national and international tribunals that will assert their jurisdiction over crimes committed in Myanmar. At the same time, the Security Council should refer the situation of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and commit to providing concrete support to, and cooperation with, the ICC in order to ensure that prosecutions are carried out without delay in relation to all crimes within the ICC's jurisdiction and in all parts of the country. In addition, the international community should fully support the possible ICC investigations and prosecutions following the court's decision on 6 September 2018. ICC Pre-Trial judges ruled that the ICC may exercise its jurisdiction over the alleged deportation of Rohingya from Myanmar to Bangladesh and other international crimes, provided part of these crimes occurred on the territory of Bangladesh, a State Party to the Rome Statute of the ICC. Only with the political will, financial support, and cooperation of the international community will international accountability mechanisms be able to effectively deliver justice to the victims and ensure that those who bear the greatest responsibility are held accountable. In addition, in States that recognize the principle of extra-territorial jurisdiction and in which the legal system allows its implementation, national authorities should open investigations and initiate prosecutions of Myanmar individuals accused of committing international crimes in Myanmar. This document provides answers to the most pressing questions concerning the issue of accountability for crimes in Myanmar and seeks to help understand the intricacies of international justice mechanisms and how they can be applied to the situation in Myanmar. Details: Paris, France: International Federation for Human Rights, 2018. 20p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 28, 2019 at: https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/burma/new-report-urges-international-action-on-accountability-for-crimes Year: 2018 Country: Burma Keywords: Burma Shelf Number: 156050 |