Tentative steps towards Rohingya rehabilitation

The return of the Rohingya refugees to Burma: Voluntary repatriation or refoulement? (Issue paper / U.S. Committee for Refugees)

UN agencies and NGOs are working to address the urgent humanitarian needs of the Rohingya in Myanmar, even as the government considers changes to their status, the UN says.

Officially referred to as Muslims, the Rohingya are de jure stateless in accordance with the laws of Myanmar.

In its draft stage, the Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP) will for the first time consolidate humanitarian aid efforts for all residents in Northern Rakhine State (NRS), where the Rohingya live.

"The humanitarian needs in northern Rakhine State are quite significant, so we need to work together, all the stakeholders," Bhairaja Panday, country representative for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Myanmar, the lead agency in NRS, told IRIN.

"It's a one-year plan to begin with, but if it works it could be replicated in the years to come," he said.

The move comes amid a possible shift in government policy that may see the Rohingya - an ethnic, linguistic and religious minority - given legal status, and therefore accorded more rights.

"I think the government is looking sympathetically at their legal position, and seeing how to improve it," Panday said.

A review of their legal status is under way, against a backdrop of preparations for this year’s upcoming elections.

"We are confident that the situation will improve [for them] in some measure; we don't know exactly how much," Panday said.

Urgent needs
A tale of refugees: Rohingyas in BangladeshSearch Amazon.com for Rohingya Refugee
Myanmar's Rohingya population was effectively made stateless in 1982 after the country passed a citizenship law requiring everyone to trace Burmese ancestry to 1823 to be considered a citizen.

They face severe discrimination, say human rights groups. Confined to just three townships in NRS, which restricts their economic opportunities, they need permission to travel from one village to another.

They also need official permission to marry and couples are restricted to having only two children, while common-law couples are vulnerable to prosecution.

At the same time, communal tensions exist between the Rohingya and Rakhine population.

Although hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled the country, most to squalid conditions in neighbouring Bangladesh, according to UN agencies, some 735,000 still live in NRS.

The region ranks below national and Rakhine State averages on most demographic and socio-economic indicators. Meanwhile, humanitarian needs are critical in agriculture and food security, education, health and nutrition, infrastructure, and water and sanitation.

"All the five sectors need urgent intervention," said Panday.

These areas have been identified by the government and will be addressed by the CHAP, which agencies aim to finalize with the approval of the government before April. No budget has been set.

Alarming indicators

In NRS, most of the population is landless and relies on daily labour, fishing or subsistence farming on leased land.

There has been chronic food insecurity for years, with an average 84 percent of household spending going on food alone, according to UN agencies.

In rural areas, access to health services is extremely limited, with public health structures open only one day a week.

In Buthidaung Township, for example, there are just two government doctors for 300,000 people, one nurse for every 18,400 people - the national average is one nurse for 3,280 - and one midwife for every 5,500 people.

An assessment of 600 children in August and September 2009 found that only about 55 percent had satisfactory nutritional status. It also found that there was a global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 16.3 percent among them; the World Health Organization's (WHO) emergency threshold is 15 percent.

Myanmar has been widely criticized for the treatment of the Muslim population in NRS, and Panday said there now seemed to be some political commitment to tackle the situation.

"I think the government feels they need to address the problem now, and they do not want it to linger like this for a long time," he said.

The development of the CHAP is also an indication that the government is more open to international humanitarian assistance, he said.

"There is a general positive outlook towards solutions," said Panday.
The return of the Rohingya refugees to Burma: Voluntary repatriation or refoulement? (Issue paper / U.S. Committee for Refugees)

President Obama’s Priorities: Human Rights Be Damned

The UN Human Rights Council’s month-long session ended in Geneva on Friday, along with any justification for believing that President Obama is a champion of human rights. The president insisted that America join the UN’s lead human-rights body for the first time very early in his presidency, and the consequences are now painfully clear. The enemies of democracy and freedom are having a field day at the expense of American interests and values.

Human rights violations in Myanmar criticized by UN body

Speaking out against violations of fundamental freedoms of the people of Myanmar, the United Nations Human Rights Council today called on the Asian nation’s Government to ensure that polls slated for later this year – the first in two decades – are free and transparent.

On the last day of its 13th regular session, the 47-member body passed a resolution voicing concern that electoral laws unveiled earlier this month do not meet the international community’s expectations.

According to media reports, these laws relate to the registration of political parties and prohibit anyone with a criminal conviction from being a member of an official party.Ms. Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was sentenced last August to an additional 18 months of house arrest
The Council today urged authorities in Myanmar to desist from carrying out any further politically-motivated arrests and to release all prisoners of conscience, believed to number above 2,000, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ms. Suu Kyi, a pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was sentenced last August to an additional 18 months of house arrest, effectively barring her from taking part in the polls. The leader of the party known as the National League for Democracy (NLD), she was reportedly convicted of violating State security laws after an uninvited United States citizen gained access to her home.

The Council also took action today to extend the mandate for one year of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana.

Earlier this month, Mr. Ojea Quintana, who visited the country in February, said that there is no indication that the Government is willing to release political prisoners ahead of the national elections.

“Without full participation, including by the some 2,100 prisoners of conscience, and an environment that allows people and parties to engage in the range of electoral activities, the elections cannot be credible,” he said.

Following his meeting yesterday with the so-called Group of Friends of Myanmar, which brings together more than one dozen nations and one regional bloc in support of greater dialogue in the country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed for “inclusive, participatory and transparent” elections to “advance the prospects of stability, democracy and development for all the people” of the country.

Responding to a question on whether or not Ms. Suu Kyi’s call for her NLD party to not take part in the polls will hurt the electoral process, Mr. Ban, who last visited Myanmar in July, said that her decision must be respected.

He has told the leaders of Myanmar, he said, that “without full participation of all the people, including political prisoners, and particularly Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it may not be regarded as credible and inclusive.”

The Human Rights Council’s latest session, which kicked off on 1 March, ended with 29 resolutions passed on torture, the rights of the child and other issues. Twenty of the resolutions were adopted by consensus.
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday the Burmese military junta's effort to make the upcoming election

Junta 'Frustrating,' Says Ban UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday the Burmese military junta's effort to make the upcoming election inclusive, free and fair is “frustrating” and “disappointing.”

Speaking after a meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar [Burma] at UN headquarters in New York, Ban said that he is grateful for the continuing support and commitment of the members.

Authoritative sources told The cripdo that the 15-member group was sharply divided and unable to arrive at a unanimous decision as to what should be the next step forward for the UN and, in particular, the good offices role of the UN secretary-general.

Sources said that it is likely that the UN will try to send a high-level official to Burma in another effort to inform the military junta of the aspirations of the international community.

“It’s frustrating and, as I said, disappointing that we have not seen much progress. Some members of the group expressed that,” Ban said in response to a question. “When I was there and meeting with the senior general, I urged him to take concrete actions, and he made several commitments. I think this implementation of commitments seems to come very slowly and gradually.

“One of the commitments was publishing the electoral laws, but the [election] date has not yet been announced, and the release of political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi—still we are urging them to do that. For null

“It’s frustrating to all of us, and we will continue to work to realize full democratization, so that the people of Myanmar can enjoy genuine freedom and genuine democracy. That is our commitment,” Ban said.

Ban seemed reluctant to publicly support the viewpoint of Aung San Suu Kyi that her National League for Democracy should boycott the forthcoming election. When referred to her recent statement that the NLD should not register for the polls under the current law, Ban said: “If what she said is based on her genuine belief, based on the current situation, then we have to respect her decision.

Noting that as a matter of principle, he has said repeatedly that the election should be open, transparent, and inclusive, Ban said: “I told the Myanmar leadership that without full participation of all the people, including political prisoners, and particularly Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it may not be regarded as credible and inclusive. Therefore all the processes and developments, we have to carefully monitor.”

Ban said two key messages emerged from the meeting of advisory body on Burma.

First, the group stressed the need for elections to be inclusive and transparent in order to advance the prospects of stability, democracy and development for all the people of Burma.

“I have expressed my concerns that the published electoral laws and the overall electoral environment so far do not fully measure up to what is needed for an inclusive political process. I have taken note of the continued engagement between the government and key parties national reconciliation process, including the ethnic cease-fire groups and several meetings with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said. “Despite these efforts it is disappointing that we have not seen the progress that we had expected.”

Second, Ban said the group stressed the need to work for better standards of living for the people of Burma.

“This reflects our view that Myanmar’s political, humanitarian and developmental challenges should be addressed in parallel and with equal attention,” he said to cripdo.

UN calls on Burma to make elections credible

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged the Burmese government to create the conditions for credible elections.

He was speaking after a meeting of a group of nations, established to back the UN's efforts to promote democracy in Burma.

The group is calling on the military government to free political prisoners, especially the detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burma's new laws effectively ban Ms Suu Kyi's participation in the vote, but Mr Ban says this year's election will not be credible unless she is allowed to run.

"Without the full participation of all the people including political prisoners, in particular Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, may not be regarded as credible and inclusive."
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Suu Kyi condemns Myanmar poll law

The Rohingyas of Arakan: Their Quest for Justice

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's opposition leader, has denounced the military government's new laws passed earlier this week that bar her from running for office as "unjust" and "repressive".

Commenting for the first time since the set of five laws were passed on Monday, she said she is surprised but undaunted by the laws which will also bar her from voting in elections expected later this year.

The country's ruling generals enacted five election-related laws on Monday to govern the polls, and have been gradually unveiling details in state-run newspapers.

Several provisions announced so far severely curtail Aung San Suu Kyi's involvement in national politics, even if she were to be freed from house arrest before her term ends in November.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said on Thursday that she had called for a strong response from supporters but has not yet specified what they should do.

Opposition challenges

"[She] said she never expected such repressive laws would come out but said she's not disappointed," he told reporters after meeting the Nobel laureate at her home on Thursday.
"She said such challenges call for resolute responses and calls on the people and democratic forces to take unanimous action against such unjust laws."

This year's elections are part of the junta's long-announced "roadmap to democracy", which critics deride as a sham designed to cement the military's power base.

A military-backed constitution was approved by a national referendum last May, but the opposition charges that the vote was unfair.

An election law announced on Wednesday prohibits anyone convicted of a crime
from being a member of a political party, making Aung San Suu Kyi ineligible to become a candidate in the elections, or even a member of her own NLD party.

Two other laws unveiled a day later take away her right to vote, saying those convicted of crimes are barred from the polls.

They also formally invalidated the 1990 election results, saying the 1989 election law under which those polls were held will be repealed by the new legislation.

'Systematic abuses'

Meanwhile, a UN special envoy for human rights in Myanmar called for an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity by the military government, based on a report following a tour of the country last month.

"[The] violations "are the result of a state policy that originates from decisions by authorities in the executive, military and judiciary at all levels"

Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN special envoy for human rights in Myanmar


Tomas Ojea Quintana in a draft report to the UN Human Rights Council said there was an indication that a "systematic violation of human rights" in Myanmar was the result of state policy.

"According to consistent reports, the possibility exists that some of these human rights violations may entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms of the statute of the International Criminal Court," said the report.

Quintana said the violations "are the result of a state policy that originates from decisions by authorities in the executive, military and judiciary at all levels".

Among them were the recruitment of child soldiers, discrimination against the Muslim minority in northern Rakhine state and the deprivation of basic rights to food, shelter, health and education, which he said had continued unabated for years.

The report will be examined in Geneva on Monday.

Highlighting abuses

Myanmar pressure groups hailed the UN rights report saying they hoped to see an inquiry held without further delay.

"This is the time for action," said Aung Din, executive director of the US Campaign for Burma, as Myanmar was formerly known.

"This is the first time in the nearly 20 years of UN involvement in my country that an UN official made a credible, meaningful and important recommendation to help transform the situation in Burma."

The US State Department in a separate report released on Thursday highlighted Myanmar's "severe human rights abuses", including deaths in custody, rape and torture.

The department's annual report said Buddhist monks were subjected to particularly "cruel treatment" including beatings, due to the role the clergy played in the bloody pro-democracy protests in 2007.

On Friday Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state, said the administration's new policy of engagement appears to be failing in view of the restrictive elections laws.

Speaking in Bangkok, Campbell said Washington's approach was to "encourage domestic dialogue between the key stakeholders" but the ruling military's recent announcements on elections restrictions are very disappointing.
The Rohingyas of Arakan: Their Quest for Justice

Today U.N. rights forum condemns Myanmar, extends probe.

null The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned Friday widespread violations in Myanmar and called on its generals to release 2,100 political prisoners ahead of an election this year, saying the vote must be free and fair.
It adopted by consensus a resolution, presented by the European Union, which also extended by one year the mandate of the Council's special investigator on the former Burma.

Tomas Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, called in a report this month for an international inquiry into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the ruling junta.

The Council condemned "systematic violations," including disappearances, arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and recruitment of child soldiers.

It urged Myanmar's government to "ensure a free, transparent, fair electoral process which allows for the participation of all voters, all political parties."

This included the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the 1990 poll in a landslide, a result the regime ignored and recently annulled.

The Council voiced concern at the "continued arbitrary house arrest" of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, head of the NLD party, who has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years. She was sentenced to a further 18 months of house arrest last August.

Myanmar's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, Wunna Maung Lwin, rejected the EU resolution as being "politically motivated" and infringing on his country's internal affairs.

Resource-rich Myanmar, crippled by sanctions, has promised to hand over power to an elected civilian government, although few people believe the military will really transfer power.

Spain's ambassador Javier Garrigues, presenting the EU resolution, told the Council: "We reaffirm the essential importance of inclusive political dialogue with a view to national reconciliation and of the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed frustration on Thursday at slow progress toward democracy in Myanmar, where planned elections have been derided in the West as a sham.

Ban spoke after discussing Myanmar with a group of countries, but diplomats said any Security Council action was blocked by objections from China and Russia to what they see as interference in the Asian country's internal affairs.

In Geneva, Chinese diplomat Ke Yousheng told the Council his country regretted that the EU resolution was "sharp in words" and failed to reflect efforts by Myanmar's rulers.

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