Thank you Mr. President,
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) welcomes the holding of a special session on the human rights situation in Myanmar. This initiative is timely, vital and a significant opportunity for the Council to prove its worth. However, the session must deliver tangible and constructive outcomes if it is to be considered a success.
The ongoing events represent the first clear chance in a generation to bring positive change to a country that has amongst the very worst human rights records in Asia and the world. Those advocating stability in Myanmar and the region must understand that the status quo will only lead to instability and mass rights abuses, and that inertia must be replaced by change if real stability is to be achieved.
The situation in Myanmar remains critical, with as many as 40% of children suffering from malnutrition. The current crisis and curfews are worsening the economic situation in the country and citizens’ access to necessary basic amenities. Food and basic commodities prices are rising rapidly and stocks in some towns are greatly reduced, due both to the 60-day curfew and the August 15 fuel price increase that started the protests. The World Food Programme, which feeds around half a million people in Myanmar, has stated that the authorities are increasingly restricting its work. In addition, the country’s military leaders risk making large financial transfers out of the country, which could further aggravate the economic situation. All States must take the required steps to block such plunder.
Monasteries have been raided and plundered. Sources inside the country report that at least 700 monks and 500 civilians have been arrested and their whereabouts and conditions remain unknown. None of these persons have been taken into custody through the use of arrest warrants or any other legal procedures, nor have they been produced in court. All such detainees must be treated as forcibly disappeared persons under the standards of international law. Strong action by the Council is vital at this time to protect these people, who risk torture or execution. The United Nations, the ICRC and other humanitarian actors should be allowed to establish centers where people can make complaints concerning disappearances and other rights violations in safety and without reprisals, as no effective mechanism currently exists.
Numerous extra-judicial killings are being reported and bodies are being found each day. These killings need to be immediately and effectively investigated. Weekly news journals were ordered by the Ministry of Information to carry propaganda articles condemning the protests, but many have instead closed down for various reasons. Many households are being forced to provide members to join pro-government rallies designed to give the impression that the regime has widespread support.
The Asian Legal Resource Centre urges the Human Rights Council to ensure that the regime in Myanmar immediately:
1. Halts all violent repression of demonstrations, arbitrary arrests, disappearances, torture and killings;
2. Reveals in full the whereabouts and conditions of all detained or disappeared persons and all those who have died;
3. Enables the United Nations and the ICRC to establish centres where persons can report human rights violations, notably disappearances;
4. Brings all detained persons before courts of law within 24 hours, as required under section 61 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and guarantees their personal integrity at all times;
5. Provides detainees with access to family members, lawyers, the UN and the ICRC, and halts any obstruction of the work of humanitarian actors, notably the World Food Programme;
6. Releases all persons arbitrarily arrested or disappeared during recent weeks;
7. Conducts judicial inquests into the deaths and injuries of all persons fired upon or assaulted by security forces;
8. Grants unhindered access and full cooperation to all UN mechanisms including the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar.
