Jul 22, 2022 | DFF, Opinion Articles
Speech pronounced on 19 July 2022 by ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) Board Member, Teddy Baguilat, on the occasion of “Martyrs’ Day” in Myanmar, at an online event organized by the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a group founded after the coup d’état of 1 February 2022 by elected lawmakers. “Martyrs’ Day,” also known as “Arzani Day,” commemorates the assassination in 1947 of Aung San, the hero of Myanmar’s independence, and several other members of his cabinet.
By Teddy Baguilat.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, friends, I am Teddy Baguilat, Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, and overseeing our advocacy work on Myanmar. Thank you to the National Unity Government and the CRPH for inviting me to speak today. It is a great honour to stand here before the courageous people of Myanmar to express our solidarity and support on a day of such significance to your people.
It has been the hardest of times for Myanmar since the illegal coup more than a year ago. Martyrs Day was established to honour the heroes of the fight for independence who paid the ultimate price for their courage to act on their beliefs and their faith in the Myanmar people.
It is one of the most grotesque outcomes of Myanmar’s history that the military terrorists, who were supposed to carry the legacy of those heroes of independence, are now carrying out atrocities against the brave Myanmar people. Aung San, whose assassination is remembered today and who founded the modern Myanmar military, was adamant that soldiers should be put under the authority of the civilian government. When he founded the Myanmar military to free the Myanmar people from the yoke of imperialism, he surely did not foresee what it would become: the enemy of this very same Myanmar people.
Indeed, his daughter is languishing in jail, charged as a criminal. She and more than 90 other elected parliamentarians are being kept in jail just for being elected.
The military that is supposed to protect the people of Myanmar have instead been committing atrocities of the most brutal and cruel kind on a daily basis all because of the ambitions of a small clique led by Min Aung Hlaing. His military and security forces have shown flagrant disregard for human life, bombarding populated areas with airstrikes and heavy weapons, and deliberately targeting civilians.
The international community including ASEAN has not done enough to prevent these and other atrocities and bring the junta to account for their crimes. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights herself has said: “the military has engaged in systematic and widespread human rights violations and abuses – some of which may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.” But still the atrocities, the torture, the detentions, destruction of homes and livelihoods continue. The world is standing idly by. Even the UN has said the appalling breadth and scale of violations of international law suffered by the people of Myanmar demand a firm, unified, and resolute international response.
While we mourn for the loss of the lives of thousands of Myanmar people under the jackboot of the military, we believe that we must also take action to alleviate the suffering of the Myanmar people so that the sacrifices made by these martyrs are not for nothing. That is why APHR has undertaken an International Parliamentary Inquiry into the international failures to respond to the Myanmar crisis. Our findings will result in recommendations which will be the basis for advocacy for urgent and effective action by governments throughout the world, ASEAN and the United Nations.
We, at APHR, want the people of Myanmar to know you are not alone. We stand with you in your grief today, we too recognise your suffering. All through the extreme violence and turmoil since the coup, it is clear that the will of the Myanmar people has not been broken. You remain committed to seeing a return to the path of democracy and to institutions that truly reflect the diversity, will and aspirations of your beautiful country. We support and stand in solidarity with your courage to take up the fight of the martyrs of Myanmar. For today, we recognise the new martyrs who fight for a new Myanmar that is at peace, inclusive, democratic and prosperous.
Teddy Baguilat is a board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and a former member of the House of Representatives in the Philippines.
Jul 20, 2022 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – The Myanmar people are not receiving the humanitarian assistance they need as the crisis triggered by the coup d’état of February last year worsens, parliamentarians from seven different countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe have denounced, ahead of the fourth public oral hearing of their International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) on the global response to the crisis in Myanmar, to be held today, 20 July.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) puts at over 750,000 the number of people displaced by the violence perpetrated by the Myanmar military in order to cement their power since the takeover, bringing the total for the country the record number of over 1 million.
Experts audited by the IPI in previous oral hearings have described a rapidly deteriorating situation, marked by a worsening economic crisis, an almost complete collapse of the health system and the systematic targeting of the civilian population by the military.
“Time is rapidly running out to prevent the worst-case scenario for millions of people in Myanmar. But instead of increased attention to the situation, we are seeing the opposite: less engagement by regional and international actors, less efforts to lead the junta to the negotiation table, and a unconscionable shortfall of almost 90 percent of funding for the humanitarian needs of the country in 2022. Inaction must end now,” said Heidi Hautala, IPI Committee Chair and Vice-President of the European Parliament.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), as of June 2022, only 11 percent of the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Myanmar has been funded, “negatively affecting the breadth and quality of assistance delivered by humanitarians.”
“The utter failure of ASEAN’s 5-Point Consensus should be clear to all, yet there has been no effort made to change course. Meanwhile, the international community continues to ignore evidence indicating that a primary reliance on ASEAN has not and will not result in an alleviation of the plight of the Myanmar people. Reliance on ASEAN is not a strategy, but rather a disingenuous deflection of responsibility by international actors which must stop in order for solutions to the humanitarian crisis to be found,” said Charles Santiago, IPI Committee Member, Malaysian MP, and Chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
To address these and other issues, the IPI will hold its fourth hearing on the global response to the crisis in Myanmar on July 20, at 6 pm (Bangkok time), via Zoom.
Experts who have confirmed their participation at the hearing include:
– Matthew Wells – Deputy Director, Crisis Response, Amnesty International.
– Dr Ashley South – Research Fellow, Chiang Mai University.
– Salai Za Uk Ling – Deputy Executive Director, Chin Human Rights Organisation (CHRO).
– Adelina Kamal -Former Executive Director for the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), currently Associate Senior Fellow at the Yusof Ishak Institute (ISEAS).
Join the IPI Fourth Oral Hearing by Zoom by following the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0rcOyvqjorHNeUbaXpzbMBClSV1ekKN_ci
Livestream: https://facebook.com/aseanmp
All previous hearings can be found at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbpyEyu66jrCv5HORbeIV4w/videos
Jul 18, 2022 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia are urging the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair to Myanmar, the Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn, to meet representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, after his recent trip to the country, in which he met Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and other members of the military junta that continues to try to rule the country after its illegal coup d’état of February last year.
Formed by MPs elected before the military takeover and widely respected leaders from civil society and the ethnic minorities, the NUG was established in April 2022 to oppose the self-styled State Administration Council (SAC) led by Min Aung Hlaing. The NUG is supported by the vast majority of the Myanmar people.
“Most Myanmar citizens see the NUG as their legitimate government, and that is how the international community at large, and ASEAN in particular, should regard it. If Mr. Sokhonn is serious about implementing ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus, he should publicly engage the NUG, rather than limit himself to meet the leaders of an illegal junta that is committing all kinds of international crimes and throwing the country into chaos while attempting to cement its power,” said Tom Villarin, former MP from the Philippines and Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).
The Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar was signed on 24 April 2021 by all ASEAN leaders and Min Aung Hlaing. The Consensus prescribes the delivery of humanitarian aid, and calls for an immediate cessation of violence, as well as the commencement of a dialogue process between all the parties involved in the conflict, to be facilitated by the ASEAN Special Envoy appointed by the group’s rotatory Chair.
Since Cambodia assumed the chairmanship of ASEAN this year, its leaders have met Min Aung Hlaing and other representatives of the SAC on several occasions, including a visit by the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, to Myanmar in January; but has never met with any member of the NUG, most of whom are in hiding or exiled. As Chair of ASEAN this year, Cambodia should hold conversations with the democratic leaders of Myanmar, by inviting them to meet outside Myanmar or online if necessary, given the challenges involved in meeting them in their own country, APHR said.
The SAC has utterly failed to implement any of the five points included in the consensus and the situation has steadily deteriorated in Myanmar. With at least 2,088 people killed by the junta; over 11,000 political prisoners, a record number in Myanmar’s history; and over one million internally displaced people in the country, Min Aung Hlaing and his men are responsible for “systematic and widespread human rights violations and abuses” that may amount to “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“We at APHR have repeatedly called on ASEAN to hold Min Aung Hlaing and his criminal junta accountable for their crimes and for not abiding to the Consensus they signed to. The military is the main source of Myanmar’s woes and instability, and ASEAN member states should not accept its illegal rule as a fait accompli. Instead, they should engage and support the NUG and Myanmar’s civil society if they truly want to put the country back on the path towards democracy and prevent it from becoming a failed state at their doorstep,” said Villarin.
Jun 15, 2022 | DFF, Open Letters
To:
H.E. General Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Cambodia
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulahibni Al-Marhum, Minister of Defense, Brunei Darussalam
H.E. Prabowo Subianto, Minister of Defence, Indoensia
H.E. General Chansamone Chanyalath, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Lao PDR
The Honerable Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein, Senior Minister of Defence, Malaysia
H.E. Delfin N. Lorenzana, Secretary of National Defense, Philippines
H.E. Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence, Singapore
H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Thailand
H.E. General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defence, Viet Nam
15 June 2022
Re: Myanmar junta participation in ADMM
Your Excellencies,
We, the undersigned 677 Myanmar, regional and international civil society organisations appeal to you not to extend an invitation to the Myanmar military junta’s Minister of Defence at the upcoming ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM).
The Myanmar military junta’s acts fully meet the definition of terror under international and national law, and is responsible for ongoing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law following the military’s illegal coup attempt. Since the military’s illegal coup attempt, almost 700,000 people have been forcibly displaced as the junta wages a terror campaign against the Myanmar people. In the face of mass public resistance, the junta has murdered more than 1,900 people, arbitrarily arrested over 14,000 more, committed widespread torture, indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling, burnt villages and looted public property.
In the upcoming 16th ADMM, scheduled for June 22, we understand that the Junta defense minister General Mya Tun Oo will be representing Myanmar. General Mya Tun Oo plays a leading role in the management of the military, which is responsible for committing ongoing atrocity crimes with total impunity. Mya Tun Oo’s direct responsibility for international law violations have been recognised by the USA, UK, EU, Canada and New Zealand, which sanctioned him. In its designation, the UK stated that Mya Tun Oo has “command responsibility for these violations and can therefore be held responsible for these actions.” Mya Tun Oo is also a member of the State Administration Council (SAC). The EU recognised that “as member of the SAC, General Mya Tun Oo has been directly involved in and responsible for decision making concerning state functions and is therefore responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law”. Mya Tun Oo should be held accountable for his role in the military’s attempted coup and the junta’s atrocity crimes, and not rewarded through participation in ADMM.
We welcome ASEAN’s exclusion of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing from the 2021 ASEAN Summit, and the exclusion of the junta foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin from the 2022 Foreign Ministers’ Retreat. However, we note with concern that ADMM has invited the junta to participate in meetings, including at the ministerial level since its illegal coup attempt, which is inconsistent with decisions made by ASEAN to not invite General Min Aung Hlaing and Wunna Maung Lwin. ADMM’s engagement with the junta, which has included military exercises, may likely amount to the aiding and abetting of the junta’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It is imperative that ASEAN does not award legitimacy to the Myanmar military junta, upholds its own charter and respects international human rights and humanitarian law by excluding the junta from ADMM. In allowing the junta to participate in ADMM, ASEAN is further risking complicity in the junta’s atrocity crimes by providing support and legitimacy to the military and emboldening a military that is waging a nationwide campaign of terror.
We appeal to you as ASEAN defence ministers to disinvite Mya Tun Oo from the 16th ADMM and all future meetings. Engage with the National Unity Government as the legitimate government of Myanmar, and work to resolve the crisis in Myanmar.
For any further inquiries, please contact:
Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice, info@progressive-voice.org
Debbie Stothard, ALTSEAN-Burma, debbie@altsean.org
Salai Za Uk Ling, Chin Human Rights Organization, zauk@chinhumanrights.org
List of Signatories
List of signatories below include the following 299 Myanmar, regional and international organisations and 378 Myanmar civil society organisations that have chosen not to disclose their names.
Signed by:
- “Do” farmer Organization
- 8888 Generation (New Zealand)
- 8888 New Generation (Mohnyin)
- Action Against Myanmar Military Coup (Sydney)
- Action Committee for Democracy Development
- Active Youths (Kalaymyo)
- Ah Nah podcast- Conversation with Myanmar
- Ah. La. Ka (12) Hta Khwe, Primary Education Student Union
- All Arakan Students and Youths’ Congress
- All Burma Democratic Face in New Zealand
- All Burma Student Democratic Front – Australia Branch
- All Religions Strike Column
- All Young Burmese League (AYBL)
- Alliance for Free Burma Solidarity
- Alternative Solutions for Rural Communities (ASORCOM)
- ALTSEAN-Burma
- Anti Dictatorship in Burma DC Metropolitan Area
- Anti-Myanmar Dictatorship Movement
- Anti-Myanmar Military Dictatorship Network (AMMDN)
- Arakan CSO Network
- Arakan Humanitarian Coordination Team- AHCT
- ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
- Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)
- Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition
- Asian Cultural Forum on Development (ACFOD) Philippines
- Asian Cultural Forum on Development Foundation (ACFOD) Thailand
- Asian Dignity Initiative
- Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Association for Advancement of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Vietnam (AAFORB-VN)
- Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
- Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
- Auckland Kachin Community NZ
- Auckland Zomi Community
- Aung Myay Thar Zan Education Schools Strike Column
- Aung Pin Lae Main Strike Column
- Australia Burma Friendship Association, Northern Territory
- Australia Karen Organization WA Inc.
- Australia Myanmar Doctors, Nurses and Friends
- Australia Myanmar Youth Alliance (AMYA)
- Australian Burmese Muslim Organisation
- Australian Chin Community (Eastern Melbourne Inc)
- Australian Karen Organisation (AKO)
- Australian Karen Organisation Inc
- Back Pack Health Workers Team
- Bamar Community Tasmania
- BCC (စစ်ကိုင်း)
- Blood Money Campaign
- Buddhist Solidarity Association
- Burma Action Ireland
- Burma Campaign UK
- Burma Human Rights Network
- Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC)
- Burma Medical Association
- Burma Soumalaiset (Finland)
- Burmese Community – South Australia
- Burmese Community Development Collaboration (BCDC)
- Burmese Community Group (Manawatu, NZ)
- Burmese Community Support Group (BCSG)
- Burmese Friendship Association
- Burmese Medical Association Australia (BMAA)
- Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
- Burmese Rohingya Welfare Organisation New Zealand
- Burmese Women’s Union
- Cambodian Americans and Friends for Democracy and Human Rights Advocate
- Campaign for a New Myanmar
- Canberra Karen Association
- CDM Support Team Mandalay (CSTM)
- Chan Mya Thar Si Township People Strike Column
- Chin Community – South Australia
- Chin Community of Auckland
- Chin Community of Western Australia Inc.
- Chin Community Tasmania
- Chin Human Rights Organization
- Chin MATA Working Group
- Chin Resources Center
- Chin Youth Organization (Matupi)
- Citizen of Burma Award – New Zealand
- CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
- Committee Representing Mandalay Region Hluttaw
- Cooperative University Student Strike Column
- CRPH & NUG Supporters Ireland
- CRPH Funding Ireland
- CRPH Support Group, Norway
- CRPH, NUG Support Team Germany – Deutschland
- CRPH/NUG support group Australia
- Dawei Development Association
- Dawei Probono Lawyer Network
- Democracy for Myanmar – Working Group (NZ)
- Democracy, Peace and Women’s Organization
- Democratic Youth Council
- Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
- Dragon Dawn
- Education and health care for Myanmar-Thailand Association
- Education Family (Anti – Fascists Education Strike Columns Coordination Committee)
- Educational Initiatives Myanmar
- Equality Myanmar
- Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee
- Falam Community – South Australia
- Federal Myanmar Benevolence Group (NZ)
- Foundation of Khmer Samaki
- Free Burma Campaign (South Africa)
- Free Expression Myanmar (FEM)
- Free Rohingya Coalition
- Future Light Center
- Future Thanlwin
- General Strike Committee of Nationalities – GSCN
- Generation Wave
- Generations (မျိုးဆက်)
- GenY For Revolution Japan
- German Solidarity with Myanmar Democracy e.V.
- Global Myanmar Spring Revolution
- Global Myanmar Spring Revolution – Japan
- Global Myanmar Spring Revolution – Korea
- Golden Heart Organization
- Grass-root People
- Human Rights Educators’ Network
- Human Rights Foundation of Monland
- In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) Philippines
- India For Myanmar
- Industrial Training Centre (ITC) Family Sydney
- Info Birmanie
- Initiatives for International Dialogue
- Institute for Asian Democracy
- Inter Pares
- Interfaith Youth Coalition on Aids in Myanmar (IYCA-Myanmar)
- International Campaign for the Rohingya
- International Karen Organisation
- JASS Southeast Asia
- Joint Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (JACDB)
- Justice 4 Myanmar – Hope & Development
- Justice Movement for Community-Innlay
- Justice For Myanmar
- Kachin Association Australia
- Kachin Association of Australia WA Inc.
- Kachin Human Rights Watch
- Kachin State Women Network
- Kachin Women’s Association Thailand
- Kachin Women’s Union
- Kadu Youth Development Association (KYDA)
- Kalyarna Metta Association (Khin U)
- Kanbung Youth (Matupi)
- Kanpetlet Land Development Organization
- Karen Community – South Australia
- Karen Human Rights Group
- Karen Peace Support Network
- Karen Swedish Community (KSC)
- Karen Women’s Organization
- Karenni Community of Western Australia Inc.
- Karenni Federation of Australia
- Karenni Human Rights Group
- Karenni Society New Zealand
- Kayan Internally Displacement Supervising Committee (KIDSC)
- Kayan Women’s Organization
- Kayin Community Tasmania
- Keng Tung Youth
- Khanthar Farmers Network
- Khumzup Local Development Committee
- Kurawal Foundation
- Kyauktada Strike Committee
- LA COMMUNAUTÉ BIRMANE DE FRANCE
- LGBTIQ Strike of Mandalay
- Maha Aung Myay Township People Collective Strike Column
- Mandalar University Student Strike Column
- Mandalay Alliance Strike Collective Column
- Mandalay Based People Strike Column
- Mandalay Civil Society Organizations
- Mandalay Engineer Group
- Mandalay Engineer United Force
- Mandalay University Student Alumni Union
- Mandalay Wholesale Strike Column
- Mandalay Youth Association
- Mandalay Youth Strike Column
- MATA Sagaing Region
- Matu Chin Community – South Australia
- Matu Forum Committee
- Matu Women Association
- Medical Family – Mandalay
- Metta Campaign Mandalay
- MIIT Student Strike Column
- MilkTeaAlliance Calendar
- MilkTeaAlliance Galleries
- Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute Foundation, Inc. (MPI)
- Mindat Chin Community NSW
- Mindat Community – South Australia
- Mindat Emergency Response Team (MERT)
- Mizo Community – South Australia
- Mon Families Group
- Mon National Council (MNC)
- Mung Chying Rawt Jat (MRJ)
- Muslim Youth Network
- Muslim Youth Union
- Mya Taung Strike Column
- Myanmar Accountability Project
- Myanmar Action Group Denmark
- Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability
- Myanmar Buddhist Community of South Australia
- Myanmar Community Coffs Harbour (MCC)
- Myanmar Cultural Research Society (MCRS)
- Myanmar Democracy and Peace Committee (Australia)
- Myanmar Democratic Movement (MDM)
- Myanmar Diaspora Group Finland
- Myanmar Engineering Association of Australia (MEAA)
- Myanmar Engineers – New Zealand
- Myanmar Gonye (New Zealand)
- Myanmar People Alliance (Shan State)
- Myanmar People from Ireland
- Myanmar People Residing in Canberra
- Myanmar Professionals Association Australia (MPAA)
- Myanmar Railway, Region (3) CDM Strike Column
- Myanmar Students’ Association Australia (MSAA)
- Myanmar Students’ Union in New Zealand
- Netherlands Myanmar Solidarity Platform
- Network for Advocacy Action
- Network for Human Rights Documentation Burma (ND-Burma)
- New Zealand Doctors for NUG
- New Zealand Karen Association
- New Zealand Zo Community Inc.
- NLD Solidarity Association (Australia)
- No 7 State High School Alumni Strike Column
- No Business With Genocide
- Northern Spectrum Youth Association
- NSW Karenni (Kayah) Communities
- OCTOPUS (Youth Organization)
- Open Development Foundation
- Overseas Mon Association, New Zealand
- Pan Pa Wash People Strike Column
- Patriotic War Vetrans of Burma (PWVB)
- Peace and Culture Foundation
- People’s Hope Spring Revolution
- Phayagye Peace Strike Column
- Private Pre-school Teachers Association
- Progressive Voice
- Pusat Komas
- Pyi Gyi Ta Gon Strike
- Pyithu Gonye (New Zealand)
- Queensland Kachin Community (QKC)
- Queensland Myanmar Youth Collective (QMYC
- Queensland Rohingya Community
- Rohingya Action Ireland
- Rvwang Community Association New Zealand
- Sangha Samaga Strike Column
- Save and Care Organization for Women at Border Areas
- SAVE MYANMAR – USA
- Save Myanmar Fundraising Group (New Zealand)
- Sein Pan Strike Column
- Shan Community (New Zealand)
- Shan MATA
- Shan Women Development Network
- Shape-Sea
- Shwe Youth Democratic Alliance (SYDA)
- Shwechinthae Farmers Network
- Sisters 2 Sisters
- Sitt Nyein Pann Foundation
- Social Garden
- Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet)
- Southern Youth Development Organization
- Strike Column of Representatives of Arbitrarily Arrested People
- Strike Column of Teachers from Universities and Degree Colleges of Mandalay
- Students & Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB)
- Support for Myanmar
- Swedish Burma Committee
- Swedish Foundation for Human Rights
- Sydney Friends for Myanmar Unity
- Ta’ang Women’s Organization
- Taekwando Sport Association
- Tanintharyi MATA
- Tanintharyi Nationalities Congress
- Tanintharyi People’s Voice
- Tanintharyi Women’s Network
- Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB)
- Thapaynyo News Letter
- The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
- The Institution of Professional Engineers Myanmar (IPEM)
- Together Thanlyin
- Twitter Team for Revolution
- U.S. Campaign for Burma
- Uakthon Local Social Development Organization
- United Myanmar Community of South Australia
- Victorian Burmese Care Community (VBCC)
- Victorian Myanmar Youth (VMY)
- Way Way Nay
- We Pledge CDM (Australia)
- Western Australia Myanmar Community (WAMC)
- Western Australia Myanmar Democratic Network (WAMDN)
- Winemaw Civil Society Network
- Winemaw Lisu Development Association
- Women Activists Myanmar (WAM)
- Women Advocacy Coalition-Myanmar
- Women’s League of Burma
- Women’s Peace Network
- Zo Community – South Australia
- Zomi Association Australia Inc.
- Zomi Community – South Australia
- Zomi Community Queensland
- ခုနစ်စင်ကြယ်အဖွဲ့
- ဒို့မြေကွန်ရက် (LIOH)
- ဒေါင်းစစ်သည်
- ပွင့်ဖြူလယ်ယာမြေကွန်ရက်
- ပဲခူး MATA
Jun 15, 2022 | DFF, Statements
JAKARTA – Despite pledges to oppose the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Myanmar and hold the country’s abusive military to account, international actors have failed to take the necessary steps to force the junta to negotiate a political solution, failed to address the mounting humanitarian needs, and failed to bring about the necessary diplomatic coordination to prevent Myanmar from becoming a failed state, a newly established international parliamentary inquiry said today.
The International Parliamentary Inquiry into the Global Response to the Crisis in Myanmar (IPI), chaired by Heidi Hautala, Vice-President of the European Parliament, brings together members of parliaments from Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas to investigate the international response to the crisis triggered by the coup d’état in Myanmar and where it is failing. The members of the committee form a truly international panel that has come together because of their common concern to protect the rights of the most vulnerable.
“The response to the devastating crisis unfolding in Myanmar is going nowhere fast,” said Hautala. “As parliamentarians, we know that governments and international institutions can, and must, do more to end the current impasse. These hearings aim to shed light on where the response is falling short, and to provide information on the next steps that can be taken to put effective pressure on the Myanmar junta.”
The IPI is an initiative of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR). It will follow the format of tried-and-tested parliamentary inquiries conducted at a national level. In addition to requesting information from individual governments and international organizations, the IPI will accept both written and oral submissions of testimony and evidence from a variety of stakeholders.
“We are concerned that international institutions have not lived up to their own promises, and we are appalled that the situation in Myanmar is worsening the longer the international inertia continues,” said Charles Santiago, Chair of APHR. “We, as parliamentarians from all over the world united by a common purpose, will approach this inquiry unhindered by the type of geopolitical considerations that have resulted in the current deadlock.”
The violence, death, and suffering being caused as a result of the Myanmar coup continues to escalate and intensify in the absence of adequate international efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Myanmar people. In January, the U.N. High Commissioner on Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, stated that the international response had been “ineffectual and lacks a sense of urgency commensurate to the magnitude of the crisis.”
“The Burmese people have clearly and courageously demonstrated their aspiration for democracy”, stated Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who will be participating from the United States. “They do not want a military government. The United States must stand unequivocally with those advocating for a Burmese democracy rooted in human rights and equality. We must also support the human rights of religious and political minorities, including Rohingya who have already suffered so much, and indeed all those facing oppression.”
The Committee is to gather evidence by sending requests for information to key agencies/institutions, opening a call for written submissions, and conducting public hearings in June and July.
The Committee welcomes evidence on the following points:
- How can international actors improve their response to the crisis in Myanmar?
- How can, and how should, governments engage and support the democratic opposition, civil society, and ethnic organizations?
- What has the UN contributed to resolve this crisis so far? What else can be done given the impasse at the U.N. Security Council (UNSC)?
- What has ASEAN contributed so far in resolving this crisis? What else can be done?
- What alternative mechanisms or actions could be considered to influence the situation in Myanmar?
- How can international actors, including governments, support justice for victims and provide redress for the junta’s crimes?
- To what extent is humanitarian aid reaching the people in need in Myanmar? What can be done to ensure effective delivery of aid?
- What protection is being given and what is lacking for Myanmar refugees?
- What may have triggered the coup? How did international actors contribute to the environment and situation in Myanmar that eventually resulted in the coup?
The Committee members of the IPI are:
- Mercy Barends (Indonesia)
- Taufik Basari (Indonesia)
- Amadou Camara (Gambia)
- Heidi Hautala (Chair) (European Parliament)
- Nqabayomzi Kwankwa (South Africa)
- Ilhan Ohmar (USA)
- Nitipon Piwmow (Thailand)
- Charles Santiago (Malaysia)
Click here to read our Media Advisory on the IPI.
For further information, contact Nicholas Bequelin at ipi@aseanmp.org
For updates follow us on social media with the hashtag #MPs4Myanmar and check our website www.aseanmp.org
