Following the military-orchestrated sham ‘elections’ in November 2010, a military-dominated Parliament was convened in January 2011 and appointed high-ranking officials from the former State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to top political offices in Burma, ensuring the continued dominance of the political system by the same group of people who have ruled Burma with extreme brutality for the past decades. Leaders of the military junta have simply shed their uniforms for suits to extend their grip on power in the disguise of a ‘civilian’ government.
The election of Aung San Suu Kyi to the Parliament notwithstanding, no genuine justice and accountability measures have been adopted by the government, despite repeated calls from the democratic opposition, genuine representatives of ethnic groups in Burma, civil society, the international community and the United Nations. In November 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted yet another resolution calling on the government to investigate human rights abuses and end impunity without delay. In March 2012, the UN Human Rights Council resolution on Burma repeated the call for investigation and accountability for serious human rights abuses. There is an international coalition in support of the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate numerous allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated in Burma.
This page will be updated regularly and provides quick access to selected documents and information published by FIDH, Altsean-Burma and other partners on these issues:
[bleu marine] Altsean-Burma briefers and resources: [/bleu marine]
Issues and Concerns Vol. 8: Not all that glitters is gold: Burma’s facade of reform (October 2012)
Burma’s Parliament: Fundamental Reforms Still Blocked (September 2012)
Unrest in Burma’s Arakan State: A chronology of events (June 2012)
The war in Kachin State: A year of more displacement and human rights abuses (June 2012)
Burma’s by-elections: Still short of international standards (March 2012)
[bleu marine] Statements and letters [/bleu marine]
Release all remaining political prisoners now and respect civil and political rights (12 July 2012)
Burma campaign groups call for repeal of Citizenship Law (9 July 2012)
Aung San Suu Kyi met with human rights defenders in Paris (2 July 2012)
Paris-based and international human rights community comes together to support Aung San Suu Kyi’s struggle for democracy (25 June 2012)
International monitoring and protection of all civilians from religious and ethnic violence needed in Western Burma (13 June 2012)
European Burma Network joint statement on trade and investment in Burma (2 May 2012)
Urgent reforms are the real litmus test of government’s commitment to change (30 March 2012)
For more statements, please click here.
[bleu marine] Reports and additional resources [/bleu marine]
Burma campaign groups - Key recommendations to UN Members States on the 2012 UN General Assembly resolution on the human rights situation in Burma (September 2012)
Kachin Women’s Association Thailand - Ongoing Impunity: Continued Burma Army Atrocities against the Kachin people (June 2012)
Burma Lawyers’ Council - List of the most problematic provisions in the 2008 Constitution and Burmese laws (June 2012)
Burma Environmental Working Group - Benchmarks for Investment in Energy, Extractive and Land Sectors in Burma (March 2012)
FIDH/Altsean-Burma/FORUM-ASIA/Forum for Democracy in Burma - Joint briefing paper on Burma for the 19th Session of the Human Rights Council (February 2012)
[bleu marine] International Community’s Support for a Commission of Inquiry: [/bleu marine]
Countries supporting the creation of a UN Commission of Inquiry (as of 11 April 2011)
1.Australia (15 March 2010)
2.Belgium (28 October 2010)
3.Canada (2 September 2010)
4.Czech Republic (8 April 2010)
5.Denmark (10 March 2011)
6.Estonia (2 October 2010)
7.France (14 September 2010)
8.Hungary (6 September 2010)
9.Ireland (25 September 2010)
10.Latvia (10 March 2011)
11.Lithuania (29 September 2010)
12.Netherlands (21 September 2010)
13.New Zealand (22 April 2010)
14.Slovakia (8 June 2010)
15.United Kingdom (24 March 2010)
16.United States (18 August 2010)