UN Myanmar rights expert: Backtracking on democratic space
gains momentum in election year
YANGON / GENEVA (19 January 2015) – “Valuable gains made in
the area of freedom of expression and assembly risk being lost,” United Nations
Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee said at the end of her ten-day official visit*
to the country. “Indeed, there are signs that since my last visit, restrictions
and harassment on civil society and the media may have worsened.”
The Special Rapporteur expressed her concern about ongoing
harassment, intimidation and prosecution of journalists, civil society
activists and protesters opposed to government projects or calling for
accountability of state officials. She highlighted recent cases where excessive
force was used against rural farmers and urban residents protesting against
development projects.
“If Myanmar is serious about transitioning to democracy, it
must be serious about allowing persons affected by its actions to express their
frustrations without being punished,” she stressed. “In relation to land
disputes, the Government must proactively ensure that adequate consultation on
development projects has taken place and that comments have been properly
considered.”
During her visit, Ms. Lee met with political prisoners in
Insein prison, Yangon, as well as persons in custody and awaiting trial for
protest related offences. At the end of 2014, official figures state that 27
political prisoners remain in detention. However, the Special Rapporteur
considers that the 78 farmers charged with trespassing during land protests are
also political prisoners. In addition, hundreds of persons on politically
motivated charges are awaiting trial. “These figures are too high,” she said.
The Special Rapporteur highlighted intercommunal violence as
an issue that continues to be a barrier to peace to prosperity throughout the
country. “I am disturbed to see some
minorities targeted through rumours, discriminatory policies and in extreme
cases, hate speech,” she noted. “During my visit I was personally subjected to
the kind of sexist intimidation that female human rights defenders experience
when advocating on controversial issues.”
Ms. Lee urged government and community leaders to show
leadership in eliminating violence through respect non-discrimination towards
all religious and ethnic minorities.”
“In the town of Lashio, in Northern Shan State, I was
impressed by the commitment of inter-religious leaders to work together towards
maintaining a peaceful community following attacks on the Muslim community in
May 2013,” the expert highlighted.
In contrast, Ms. Lee pointed out that the Rakhine State
remains in crisis. “The atmosphere between Budhhists and Muslims remains
hostile. I saw internally displaced persons in Muslim camps living in abysmal
conditions with limited access to food, health care and essential services.
They are unable to leave the camps due to the continuing level of tensions.
Some have been living inside the camps for two years,” she said.
“International human rights norms must be at the centre of a
solution in the Rakhine State,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Collective
punishment of the entire Muslim population in the State for the deeds of a
limited number of perpetrators from the violence in 2012 is not the answer.”
In her meetings with government authorities and
parliamentarians the rights expert raised her concerns about a package of four
‘race and religion’ bills that, if passed, “will legitimize discrimination, in
particular against religious and ethnic minorities, and ingrain patriarchal
attitudes towards women.”
The Population Control Healthcare Bill, the Bill Relating to
the Practice of Monogamy, the Bill on Religious Conversion, and the Myanmar
Buddhist Women’s Special Marriage Bill respectively authorizes the designation
of special zones for population control activities; prohibit and criminalize
bigamy, polygamy and extramarital relationships; and propose State regulation
of religious conversion, and of interfaith marriages involving Buddhist women
and non-Buddhist men.
“Passage of any one of the four bills will signal to the
international community that Myanmar is backtracking in its democratic
transition,” the independent human rights expert warned. “I call upon all
parliamentarians to thoroughly scrutinize these bills and to play a role in
building a more tolerant and inclusive community. If these bills are passed, it
could be viewed as one of the indicators of backtracking in the political
reform process”.
“Much was said to me about the importance of the rule of law
in Myanmar, and I fully agree. Yet much remains to be done before confidence in
the legal system and authorities becomes a feature of this new State,” Ms. Lee
stated.
The Special Rapporteur remains particularly concerned at the
failure of measures to ensure accountability of military officials, including
sexual and gender based violence in conflict zones. She also called on the
ethnic armed groups “to address violations of international humanitarian law
and international human rights law committed by their personnel.”
During her ten-day visit, the expert met with Government
officials, members of Parliament and the judiciary, the National Human Rights
commission and civil society in Naypyitaw and Yangon.
The Special Rapporteur will submit a report to the Human
Rights Council in March 2015, which will included her observations and
recommendations to the Government of Myanmar.
(*) Check the full end-of-mission statement:
http://yangon.sites.unicnetwork.org
ENDS
Ms. Yanghee Lee (Republic of Korea) was appointed as Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar by the UN Human Rights
Council in 2014. Ms. Lee served as member and chairperson of the UN Committee
on the Rights of the Child (2003-2011). She is currently a professor at
Sungkyunwan University, Seoul, and serves on the Advisory Committee of the
National Human Rights Commission of Korea. Ms. Lee is the founding President of
International Child Rights Center, and serves as Vice-chair of the National
Unification Advisory Council. Learn more, go to:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/SP/CountriesMandates/MM/Pages/SRMyanmar.aspx
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, country page – Myanmar:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/MMIndex.aspx
For more information and media requests, please contact
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9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
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