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Myanmar: Report of the Secretary-Ge
- Subject: Myanmar: Report of the Secretary-Ge
- From: darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 06 Nov 2001 09:11:00
United Nations
General Assembly
A/56/505
Distr.: General
24 October 2001
Original: English
Fifty-sixth session
Agenda item 119 (c)
Human rights questions: human rights situations and reports of special
rapporteurs and representatives
Situation of human rights in Myanmar
Report of the Secretary-General*
I. Introduction
1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 23 of General
Assembly resolution 55/112 of 4 December 2000, entitled "Situation of human
rights in Myanmar", in which the Assembly requested me to continue my
discussions on the situation of human rights and the restoration of
democracy with the Government of Myanmar, to submit additional reports to
the Assembly during its fifty-fifth session on the progress of those
discussions, and to report to the Assembly at its fifty-sixth session and
to the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-seventh session on the
progress made in the implementation of resolution 55/112.
2. As indicated in my previous reports, I consider the role entrusted to me
by the General Assembly as being one of good offices, as opposed to the
fact-finding mandate assigned by the Commission on Human Rights to its
Special Rapporteur. In this context, the General Assembly, in resolution
55/112, endorsed the appeal of my Special Envoy for Myanmar, Razali Ismail,
for the initiation of a process of dialogue that would lead to national
reconciliation and supported his efforts to achieve such a dialogue.
3. In implementation of resolution 55/112, my Special Envoy has so far
visited Myanmar three times in 2001: from 5 to 9 January, from 1 to 4 June
and from 27 to 30 August. During the three visits, his primary
interlocutors from the Government side were Secretary-1 of the State Peace
and Development Council, Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, the Minister for
Foreign Affairs, U Win Aung, and the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, U
Khin Maung Win. Other governmental officials with whom the Special Envoy
had discussions included the Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, U Tin
Winn, and the Minister at the Office of the Chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council, Brigadier General D. O. Abel. During each of his
visits, he met separately with the General-Secretary of the National League
for Democracy (NLD), Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In August, Mr. Razali was able
to meet with the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of NLD, U Aung Shwe and U
Tin Oo, who had been released from their house arrest one day prior to his
arrival in Yangon. My Special Envoy also held useful exchanges of views
with representatives of the ethnic nationalities, the diplomatic corps, the
United Nations country team and international non-governmental
organizations in Myanmar. In addition, my Special Envoy has received
considerable help both from inside and outside the region.
* The footnote requested by the General Assembly in resolution 54/248 was
not included in the submission.
II. Contents of the discussions
4. Each visit by my Special Envoy has been conducted with a view to
developing and sustaining the momentum for change that has been generated
since the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi embarked upon the most recent
stage in the national reconciliation process in October 2000. Some
encouraging developments have since emerged which have contributed to
improving the political climate, and some basis of understanding is
beginning to take root between the Government and NLD. During the visit of
my Special Envoy to Myanmar in January, for example, the Foreign Minister,
U Win Aung, acknowledged that, after an interval of six years, direct talks
between the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had resumed. Both sides
have requested that the substance of their discussions remain confidential
since the national reconciliation process is still fragile and at the
confidence-building stage.
5. These and other recent developments demonstrated that national
reconciliation should be home-grown and can only be successfully achieved
by the people of Myanmar. My role, therefore, is to assist their efforts
and help to facilitate the national reconciliation process among all of the
interested parties in Myanmar. In that regard, the catalytic role that Mr.
Razali has played and continues to play in facilitating the national
reconciliation process, and his efforts to find ways to move the process
forward, are appreciated.
6. In his separate discussions with Secretary-1 and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
Mr. Razali has emphasized that there is no alternative to the ongoing talks
if Myanmar is to achieve national reconciliation and to return fully to the
mainstream of the international community. His discussions centred mostly
on three areas in which the two sides had indicated that some progress
could be made: the release of political prisoners, allowing for normal
activities of legal political parties, and the provision of enhanced
humanitarian assistance.
7. Mr. Razali reasoned with his interlocutors from the Government that the
imprisonment of people who are viewed as being only political activists
could not but impact negatively on its goal of returning the country to
democracy. He consistently urged the Government to consider releasing
political prisoners detained at various facilities, including those
described as guest houses. In so doing, my Special Envoy emphasized that
priority should be given to members of Parliament elected in the 1990
elections, the elderly, women and those who have completed their sentences.
In parallel with the release of prisoners, he also emphasized the need for
freedom of activity to be restored to legitimate political parties,
including NLD.
8. The response of the Government to the release of political detainees has
been relatively positive. Secretary-1 explained to Mr. Razali that, because
of the need to maintain national security and stability, the Government
would consider the release of political detainees on a case-by-case basis
and on the basis of its discussions with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The
Government of Myanmar has so far released 174 prisoners since January 2001,
including all members of Parliament detained at guest houses and most of
those detained at prisons. The Government has allowed NLD to open 21
township offices in the Yangon district and has indicated to my Special
Envoy that further offices would be allowed to reopen in the near future.
For its part, the NLD leadership has reminded party members of the
importance of exercising self-control at the present, delicate stage of the
national reconciliation process.
9. In his meetings with the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Mr. Razali
discussed the possibility of greater United Nations humanitarian assistance
to deal with the challenge posed by HIV/AIDS and other health-related
issues, including malaria and the lack of immunization. The Government
mentioned maternal and child welfare as an area in which international
assistance is also required, while Daw Aung San Suu Kyi spoke of the threat
from tuberculosis. My Special Envoy has reported that both sides are
beginning to take an increasingly pragmatic approach in addressing the
issue of humanitarian assistance, and he is hopeful that modalities
acceptable to the two sides can soon be found.
10. My Special Envoy has made an effort to explain recent developments in
the national reconciliation process to representatives of ethnic
nationalities whose eventual inclusion in the process is supported by the
United Nations. He has informed them that, at the present stage, neither
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi nor the Government considered that the time was right
to enter into a trilateral dialogue. Ethnic nationality leaders have
expressed their support for the ongoing talks, and their hope that they
would be invited to take part in the national reconciliation process at an
appropriate time.
11. Mr. Razali stressed the need for the Government to deal seriously with
the International Labour Organization (ILO) issue of forced labour. The
Government assured him that it was prepared to grant free access to the
high-level team from the International Labour Organization, which visited
Myanmar for three weeks from 17 September to 6 October 2001. While the
team's report on its mission is not yet available, initial reports from
Yangon indicate that the team was indeed able to go to the areas that it
had wanted to visit. The interim report (see A/56/312) prepared by the
Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, on the basis of his first
visit to Myanmar from 3 to 5 April 2001, and a further report reflecting
the results of his second visit, from 9 to 17 October 2001, should be noted.
III. Observations
12. The national reconciliation process in Myanmar is at a crossroads.
Important positive developments have taken place since January 2001, and I
am encouraged by the growing indications that a climate of understanding
between the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD is taking root.
I commend the Prime Minister and Chairman of the State Peace and
Development Council, Senior General Than Shwe, and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
for their decision to enter into a dialogue on national reconciliation and
democratization in Myanmar. The process is, however, still at the
confidence-building stage and the present positive climate must lead to
more positive results in the process towards national reconciliation and
democracy. Much more needs to be done to make the process irreversible. To
that end, I urge the Government to continue releasing the remaining
political detainees and to further restore freedom of activity for
legitimate political parties at an early date. At the same time, I note
with regret that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remains at her house, and express the
hope that the ongoing talks between the two sides will soon lead to the
restoration of her rights to move freely around the country, as the leader
of a lawful political party. I appeal to Senior General Than Shwe and other
leaders of the Government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to continue to work
closely together to ensure that a national reconciliation that is
acceptable to all involved parties in Myanmar can be achieved at an early
date. I also call upon the international community to continue to respond
in equal measure to further progress in the national reconciliation
process. The international community must play its role in various ways to
encourage realization of the goals of national reconciliation and
democracy. The United Nations remains committed to assisting the people of
Myanmar to achieve progress and social viability in a democratic framework,
since this is their inalienable right. I am particularly grateful for the
consistent support that certain interested Member States, both inside and
outside the region, have provided to my Special Envoy's mission of good
offices over the past year. I stand ready to continue to do my utmost to
assist the process of national reconciliation in Myanmar, especially with
the assistance of those countries.