HRW Urge US Secretary Of State To Use Burma Visit To Pressure Govt On Human Rights

The New York based Human Rights Watch has issued a media statement urging the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, to use his forthcoming visit to Burma to pressure the government to put the “country’s deteriorating rights situation” back on its reform agenda.

HRW said in its statement released to the media on 7th August that it had serious concerns that the Burma’s government was “backsliding on religion, ethnic minorities and constitutional reform.”

It is planned that the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, will visit Burma from the 8th to the 10th of August to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings.

HRW have claim in their statement that human rights situation in Burma “have stalled or are backsliding”.

HRW noted that in 2013 the number of political prisoners has increased, political protestors are being arrested and the country’s media persecuted.

HRW said that these key human rights indicators should be used by the US Secretary of State to send a clear and public message to the Burma government that its ‘reforms’ are under constant scrutiny and it needs to do more than gloss over the grave ongoing human rights abuses. Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch said in the statement that “while the United States continues to spin a positive story about reforms in Burma, the reality is that the reform process has not only stopped but is going into reverse.”

Mr Adams urged the US Secretary of State to take seriously the Burma government’s failure to deliver on human rights.

“Kerry should use his visit to deliver a clear and public message of deep concern about serious human rights problems, including continued persecution of the Rohingya, continued military abuses against ethnic groups, and the need for constitutional reform.”

HRW said Burma’s government has, despite promises, done little to reform the justice system or enforce rule of law. HRW noted that country’s “military has been involved in widespread abuses linked to land grabbing and continued fighting in ethnic minority areas.”

HRW urged Mr Kerry to take a strong stand and “raise concerns about the persecution of the largely stateless Rohingya in Arakan State.”

HRW pointed out that violence against the country’s Rohingya people has gone unpunished.

“No one has been held responsible for the “ethnic cleansing” and crimes against humanity committed against the Rohingya in 2012, which caused more than 100,000 to flee the country and left another 140,000 displaced and living in dire conditions. 

The government has not taken a public stand against Buddhist religious leaders whose statements and actions have fomented anti-Muslim violence and discrimination throughout the country.”

HRW said the Burma government is using the law to target rather than protect. “The government has endorsed several draft laws on religious conversion and interfaith marriage that would further isolate, intimidate, and discriminate against Muslims and other religious minorities.”

In June this year a team of UN experts criticized the Burma’s government draft legislation that would restrict religious freedom. The inter-faith marriage law and the religion conversion law place restrictions on a citizens’ right to convert outside of their religion or to marry someone who is not of the same faith.

Heiner Bielefeldt, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, said in statement released in June that the Burma government had no right interfering with its citizens private religious affairs and that laws that did so were “illegitimate and incompatible with international human rights standards. “Freedom of religion or belief is a human right, irrespective of State approval, and respect for freedom of religion or belief does not depend on administrative registration procedures.”

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, Yanghee Lee, said she was worried that Burma was now “backtracking” on human rights and democratic values, citing the arbitrary arrest of journalists and activists “deemed anti-establishment. Ms Lee’s June statement said that the Burma government’s failure to protect the Rohingya and the arrest of activists was a clear warning that was failing in its obligations to its citizens.

“[The religious laws] signal the risk of Myanmar [Burma] going off-track on its path to being a responsible member of the international community that respects and protects human rights,” Ms Lee said.”

Yesterday, 7 August, a coalition of Shan community-based-organizations sent a formal letter addressed to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urging the United States to pressure Burma’s government to stop all its military offensives in Shan State.

“We are now gravely concerned for the security of over 800 villagers, including 300 recently displaced, in Wan Warp village, Ke See Township. Over 500 heavily armed Burmese government troops are encamped in and around Wan Warp, restricting villagers’ movement and refusing to withdraw until today,” the Shan CBO’s said in its letter that was also released to the media.

Human Rights Watch stressed that Mr Kerry should make it clear to the Burmese government that reforms need to be in place so that the Burmese people will be able to participate freely and fairly in elections in 2015. 


“Kerry should work with other donors and friends of the Burmese people to deliver a clear message to the country’s leaders,” Adams said. “They need to be put on notice that Burma will lose US and international support if reforms do not continue.”

Human Rights Watch said in its statement that the Mr Kerry should use his position as US Secretary of State to “denounce continuing rights abuses by the Burmese army and opposition armed groups in ethnic minority areas and press for prosecution of those responsible.”

Human Rights Watch warned that with Burma’s national election due in 2015, “[Mr] Kerry should make clear to the Burmese government that reforms need to be in place so that the Burmese people will be able to freely and fairly elect their leaders in 2015.”

Asia director at Human Rights Watch, Brad Adams said. “Kerry should work with other donors and friends of the Burmese people to deliver a clear message to the country’s leaders. They need to be put on notice that Burma will lose US and international support if reforms do not continue.”