Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-‐ASIA) Burma Partnership
Briefing Paper on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma/Myanmar 25th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council
1.1 Introduction
While acknowledging the positive developments that have occurred in some areas relating to human rights in Burma/Myanmar, in other areas, progress has been lacking, while in some others still, significant backsliding has taken place. The areas that have witnessed significant backsliding or lack of progress include:
- the continued criminalisation and harassment of political activists and human rights defenders (HRDs);
- the continued existence of repressive laws in the country;
- the lack of progress in achieving sustained peace as well as the ongoing gross human rights violations in ethnic areas;
- the escalation of communal conflict and the continued failure to address the systemic discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, especially the Rohingya; and
- the rise in human rights violations as a result of development and business investmen
It is thus vital to maintain pressure on the government of Burma/Myanmar through a resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar under agenda item 4 of the UN Human Rights Council to highlight these concerns, and to ensure that it continues with its reforms and addresses these issues as a matter of extreme urgency. This call has also been made by 46 civil society groups in an open letter to the Member States of the HRC on 10 March 2014.1
