Madam President, Mister Special Rapporteur,
FIDH and its member organization ALTSEAN-Burma remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Myanmar.
When the National League for Democracy won the election in November 2015, we never thought that, in the next five years, human rights would be on such a dramatic downward spiral. Sadly, this is exactly what happened.
Regrettably, the upcoming general election is not going to be inclusive and participatory. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya are prevented from voting. They include nearly half of the more than 900,000 who have been either forced to flee Myanmar since October 2016 or kept in IDP camps in Rakhine State since 2012. In addition, Rohingya candidates have been barred from contesting the polls.
The number of political prisoners has increased over the past five years. In August 2015, there were 108 political prisoners in jails across the country. In August 2020, there were 196 – an 81% increase. We urge their immediate and unconditional release.
We remain alarmed that attacks against civilians and related human rights violations continue unabated and are committed with nearly complete impunity. In the first eight months of this year, 720 armed clashes or attacks against civilians occurred in 10 of the country’s 14 states and regions.
We reiterate our call on the government to grant the Special Rapporteur full and unfettered access to all parts of the country to enable him to carry out his mandate. We also urge the government to fully engage and cooperate with the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar.
Thank you.