Discrimination against the Kachin
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Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
About 340,000 results (January 2018)
Source/publisher:
www via Google
Date of entry/update:
2018-01-02
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English +?
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Description:
"In Burma the military regime has been in power for several decades, resulting in armed conflict with the various minority ethnic people including the Kachin, who occupy the northernmost state on the China border. The Kachin Independence Army was the first to negotiate a ceasefire with the junta in 1994 but promises of investment in the infrastructure in Kachin State have not been realised. Instead, the military regime has authorised and benefitted from large-scale extraction of Kachin?s natural resources – timber, gold, jade and HEP – and these benefits are not shared with the Kachin people. Mismanagement of the economy, the prioritising of military expenditure over public services, spiralling costs of basic commodities as well as schooling and medical care, are making it increasingly difficult for people to survive so many Kachin people, mainly young men and women, have left their homeland and scattered to foreign countries.
Some of KWAT?s founding members
The number of Kachin people coming to Thailand is growing year on year and the social and economic problems in the Kachin community have also increased accordingly. Recognizing the urgent need for women to organize themselves to help solve these problems both in Kachin State and in Thailand, five far-sighted women formed the Kachin Women?s Association Thailand (KWAT) in Chiang Mai on the 9th September 1999.
Mission
The empowerment and advancement of Kachin women in order to improve the lives of women and children in Kachin society.
Vision
As a non profit-making organisation working on behalf of Kachin women, we have a vision of a Kachin State where all forms of discrimination are eliminated; where all women are empowered to participate in decision making at a local, national and international level; and where all Kachin children have the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
Values
We are committed to meeting the needs of the Kachin community by promoting equality, respect, human dignity and independence. To this purpose, we are committed to the development of KWAT as a strong organisation, based upon unity and trust through transparency and honesty. As individuals, we are committed to working together with love, patience, wisdom and sacrifice.
Strategic aims
• To promote women?s rights, children?s rights and gender equality
• To promote women?s participation in politics and in peace & reconciliation processes
• To oppose all forms of violence against women including human trafficking
• To provide health education & health services
• To promote women?s awareness of how to manage and protect the environment"...
Last Updated on Wednesday, 03 August 2011 12:00
Source/publisher:
Kachin Women?s Association of Thailand (KWAT)
Date of entry/update:
2011-11-24
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Language:
English
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Individual Documents
Topic:
Explosive Weapons in Civilian Areas , Landmines , Internally Displaced People
Sub-title:
Statement of Manny Maung, Myanmar Researcher, Human Rights Watch Subcommittee on International Human Rights Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development
Topic:
Explosive Weapons in Civilian Areas , Landmines , Internally Displaced People
Description:
"Study of the Impacts of Covid-19 on Internally Displaced People in Myanmar
Thank you to the Chairperson and Honorable Members of Parliament for inviting me to appear before this Committee to discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on internally displaced people in Myanmar. My name is Manny Maung and I am the Myanmar Researcher for Human Rights Watch.
Decades of conflict have resulted in over 360,000 internally displaced peoples across the country. They are mainly members of ethnic minority communities spread across northern Myanmar, in Kachin and Shan States; in western Rakhine State; and in the southeast near the Myanmar-Thai border. Renewed conflict has created fresh displacements in 2020 in both Rakhine and Shan States. Humanitarian agencies reported that the government did not take measures to ensure that they could deliver emergency aid under the government-imposed travel restrictions to protect against the spread of Covid-19.
In October, Human Rights Watch released a report, “An Open Prison without End,” on Myanmar’s detention of 130,000 Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State since 2012.[1] Human Rights Watch found that the squalid and oppressive conditions imposed on the interned Rohingya and Kaman Muslims amount to the crimes against humanity of persecution, apartheid, and severe deprivation of liberty. Starting in August 2017, a military campaign of killings, sexual violence, arson, and forced eviction of Rohingya in northern Rakhine State forced more than 700,000 to flee to Bangladesh. Human Rights Watch determined the Myanmar security forces committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-12-10
Date of entry/update:
2021-01-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, Burma: Internal displacement/forced migration of several ethnic groups., Internal displacement/forced migration of Rohingyas, Internal displacement/forced migration of Kachin, Internal displacement/forced migration of Shan. Palaung and Wa villagers, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Discrimination against the Rakhine, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Discrimination against the Shan, Discrimination against the Kachin, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first)
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Description:
" In Myanmar, an estimated 350,000 internally displaced persons living in crowded and sometimes unsanitary conditions face the danger of a widespread outbreak of COVID-19.
Access to food, aid and information has become increasingly difficult as travel restrictions and lockdowns increase.
In Kachin state, camps formed since 2011, when fighting resumed between the Myanmar forces and the Kachin Independence Army after a 17-year cease-fire was broken, are feeling the impact.
In the Myanmar government-controlled capital of Myitkyina, long-time residents who depend on casual labor earnings say they have more to worry about than the virus itself.
”We aren’t afraid to get the virus COVID-19 because the most important and dangerous thing for us is having the money needed for our family’s food supply,” says Naw Ja Pee, a Jaw Masat IDP camp resident.
“If we are shut out of food, we will all die,” she adds.
The camps surrounding the Kachin capital have been locked down since April 8.
Those who return to the camp from China and elsewhere are quarantined for 14 days and their vehicles are sprayed with disinfectants..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher:
"VOA" (Washington, D.C)
Date of publication:
2020-04-29
Date of entry/update:
2020-05-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Kachin State - displacement and the humanitarian situation, Internal displacement/forced migration of Kachin, Discrimination against the Kachin
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Description:
"A court in the Kachin State capital, Myitkyina, has penalised the organisers of the first demonstrations in the city to be held by youth displaced by fighting since a ceasefire collapsed in 2011.
Nhkum La Nu, 20, and Malang Hka Mai, 50, were on September 10 each sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment or a fine of K20,000, and opted to pay the fine. The protests were held over three days, on September 5, 6 and 9.
La Nu and Hka Mai, who are both IDPs, were convicted under section 20 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law over the display of unauthorised placards at a demonstration in the state capital on September 5. Two of the offending placards read “War is not the answer” and “We hate war”.
They were also convicted under the same offence because of slogans on T-shirts that condemned attempts by the Tatmadaw to stifle freedom of expression.
The T-shirts were worn by members of Yangon-based freedom of expression advocacy group Athan, who travelled to Myitkyina to protest at the township courthouse against the Tatmadaw's complaint against Kachin Baptist Convention President Reverend Hkalam Samson. After the complaint was withdrawn on September 9, the Athan members joined the final day of the IDP demonstration instead.
La Nu said that within hours of the September 5 protest, he and Hka Mai were summoned to Myitkyina police station and told they would be charged under a complaint filed by a township police officer because prior approval had not been given to some of the placards displayed at the event, which was attended by about 250 people..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher:
"Frontier Myanmar"
Date of publication:
2019-09-12
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Discrimination against the Kachin, Kachin State, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political)
Language:
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Description:
"A Kachin rights activist found guilty of violating the Peaceful Assembly Law received an additional sentence of three months in prison on Friday for giving a set of broken scales to a judge in Myitkyina Township Court.
Ko Paul was sentenced to 15 days imprisonment on Sept. 2 for violating Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly Law. When the sentence was handed down, he gave Judge U Than Tun a set of broken scales to show his dissatisfaction with the sentence.
The judge responded by filing a lawsuit against Ko Paul for disturbing the duties of a civil servant and for insulting and disrespecting the court.
“I gave him broken scales to represent the collapse of the judiciary in this country. The scales of justice in this country are broken. For that, I’ve been sentenced to three months imprisonment. This shows Kachin State, the country and the world that there is no justice,” Ko Paul said after leaving the court and before he was escorted to Myitkyina Prison..."
Creator/author:
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy"
Date of publication:
2019-09-06
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Laws, decrees, bills and regulations relating to the judiciary (commentaries), Discrimination against the Kachin
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Description:
"For the past seven years, around 100,000 people uprooted by conflict, primarily between Myanmar’s military and the Kachin Independence Organisation, have lived in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kachin state and the northern part of Shan state. Several recent developments have created a potential opening for a limited number of these IDPs to return to their homes or be resettled in new locations. In June 2018, the Myanmar government announced plans to close IDP camps across the country, and in December 2018 the Myanmar military proclaimed a unilateral ceasefire through 30 April 2019 covering Kachin and northern Shan. The latter declaration included a pledge to help people displaced by war return to where they had come from. The ceasefire has since been extended for a further two months, to 30 June 2019.
The military’s ceasefire declaration has created a significant opening to accelerate IDP returns and resettlement, even though it has not yet translated into a bilateral ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Organisation. The prospect of the military’s assistance with demining and its willingness to pursue negotiations on troop withdrawals, both of which are in many cases necessary for the safe and voluntary return or resettlement of IDPs, create new potential for progress.
Moreover, in parallel, support is also building among ethnic Kachin leaders for returning the IDPs to their former homes or resettling them elsewhere. Even prior to the ceasefire announcement, ethnic Kachin leaders were preparing for IDP returns and resettlement to begin. Though they are not yet of one mind about when the time is right to start accelerating these efforts, in recent months they have displayed a clear willingness to work with civilian and military authorities on the issue. Some have publicly estimated that between 6,000 and 10,000 IDPs might be able to return to their places of origin or resettle in the near term..."
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (ICG)
Date of publication:
2019-05-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-06-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Peace processes, ceasefires and ceasefire talks (websites, documents, reports and studies), Armed conflict in Kachin State - ceasefires and ceasefire talks, Discrimination against the Kachin
Language:
English
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Description:
''A court in northern Myanmar sentenced Lum Zawng (m), Nang Pu (f), and Zau Jet (m) today to six months imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 MMK (320 USD) each. On 3 September 2018, the three peaceful activists were charged under Section 500 of the Penal Code with defamation of the Myanmar military.
The charges relate to statements they made at a peaceful rally in Myitkyina, Kachin State, on 30 April 2018 and at a press conference the next day, following major escalation in fighting in early April 2018 between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an ethnic armed group in Kachin State.
The fighting displaced more than 5,000 civilians, 2,000 of whom were trapped for several weeks in a forest near the village of Aung Lawt, without access to humanitarian assistance or safe passage from the conflict-affected area...''
Source/publisher:
Amnesty International
Date of publication:
2018-12-07
Date of entry/update:
2019-01-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Kachin State - human rights violations, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Discrimination against the Kachin
Language:
English
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Description:
"The Kachin of northern Burma are beleaguered, desperately in need of aid and vulnerable to attack. The Burma Army has conducted military offensives against civilian populations and forced more than 100,000 Kachin to flee since 2011, becoming internally displaced people (IDPs) in their historic lands. The displaced reside in camps and the jungle in various levels of deprivation, fearful of the army’s return.
They call out for help, and during FBR’s September 2018 humanitarian relief mission the villagers all said the same thing: “We don’t want to run. We need peace in our Kachin land.”
Lawa, the FBR team leader, coordinated with state government officials and camp leaders to locate vulnerable IDPs that the team could impact the most. Several camps were identified in the Putao District jungle in northern Kachin State, where over 900 IDPs struggle to access basic goods as they are located far from supplies, medical care and Kachin State government assistance, yet within Burma Army-controlled territory and the military’s reach..."
Source/publisher:
Free Burma Rangers
Date of publication:
2018-12-08
Date of entry/update:
2018-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Kachin State - hostilities, Discrimination against the Kachin, Internal displacement/forced migration of Kachin
Language:
English
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Description:
"The suffering of civilians and forced displacement of ethnic minorities by Myanmar?s military goes beyond the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in the west of the country. In northern Myanmar, nearly 100,000 people continue to live in displacement camps in Kachin and northern Shan States. Most were first displaced by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army in 2011, and many have been displaced multiple times, including in recent months.
Kachin Report Photo 3.jpg
Approaching seven years of displacement and despite ongoing and often increasing needs, displaced persons in northern Myanmar face decreasing aid and protection services. Over the past two years, the Government of Myanmar has dramatically increased restrictions on delivery of aid to this displaced population at the same time that the overall amount of aid provided by international donors has decreased. Nearly half of this displaced population lives in areas controlled by ethnic armed groups, areas where the government now forbids any international aid delivery and denies virtually all access for the United Nations and international humanitarian groups. Even for the displaced persons living in camps in government-controlled areas, access to aid and services has dramatically decreased as the government levies increasingly onerous bureaucratic requirements, limiting access to international and local humanitarians alike. These restrictions heighten the risks of abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking, creating a serious protection crisis..."
Source/publisher:
Refugees International
Date of publication:
2017-12-10
Date of entry/update:
2018-03-26
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Individual Documents
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"...For the past three years, Myanmar authorities have systematically tortured Kachin civilians perceived to be aligned with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Fortify Rights said in a new report released today. Fortify Rights believes these abuses constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. The government of Myanmar should intervene immediately to end the use of torture in the conduct of the ongoing war in Kachin State and northern Shan State, and it should credibly investigate and prosecute members of the Myanmar Army, Myanmar Police Force, and Military Intelligence who are responsible for the serious crimes described in this report.
The 71-page report, ?I Thought They Would Kill Me?: Ending Wartime Torture in Northern Myanmar, describes the systematic use of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment (?ill treatment?) of more than 60 civilians by Myanmar authorities from June 2011 to April 2014. Members of the Myanmar Army, Myanmar Police Force, and Military Intelligence deliberately caused severe and lasting mental and physical pain to civilians in combat zones, villages, and places of detention in Kachin State. While some impacts of these crimes are irreparable, none of the survivors interviewed by Fortify Rights have received adequate medical care..."
Source/publisher:
Fortify Rights
Date of publication:
2014-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2014-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Torture and ill-treatment: reports of incidents in Burma, Discrimination against the Kachin, Armed conflict in Kachin State - human rights violations
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
5.76 MB
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Summary:
"In late 2012, the Burma Army intensified military operations against strongholds of the
Kachin Independence Army (KIA). This culminated in a massive offensive on the KIA
headquarters at Laiza on the China-Burma border starting in mid-December. This month-long
assault involved repeated mortar shelling and aerial bombings in the Laiza area, populated by
20,000 civilians, over half of whom are internally displaced persons (IDPs) who were denied
refuge in China.
This report documents the killing or injury of 26 civilians, including women, children and the
elderly, in Burmese artillery attacks in five areas during the recent military operations. The
repeated authorization of artillery fire into areas populated by civilians, as well as deliberate
torching of villages and IDP shelters, represent serious breaches of international humanitarian
law, and are likely to amount to war crimes.
The humanitarian situation in Kachin areas remains critical, with 364 villages wholly or
partially abandoned, and over 100,000 people internally displaced. Hardly any international
aid has been provided to the 66,000 IDPs in Kachin-controlled areas.
There has been little international condemnation of the Burma Army aggression in Kachin
State. Foreign governments appear more interested in pursuing diplomatic and economic
engagement with Burma?s military-backed government. However, silence on the Burmese
military?s crimes risks plunging Burma deeper into civil war, by emboldening Burma?s rulers
to continue using force to crush the ethnic resistance movements. .
The international community must strongly condemn the crimes committed by the Burma
Army, and pressure the Burmese government to end all military aggression, begin troop
withdrawal from Kachin areas of Burma, and enter into political dialogue with the Kachin
Independence Army to address the demands for ethnic equality at the root of the conflict."
Source/publisher:
Kachin Women?s Association Thailand (KWAT)
Date of publication:
2013-02-28
Date of entry/update:
2013-04-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Kachin State - human rights violations, Discrimination against the Kachin, Armed conflict in Kachin State - displacement and the humanitarian situation
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1018.18 KB
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Description:
KEY DEVELOPMENTS:
Burma Army Infantry Battalion (IB) 105, commanded by Major Moe Kyaw, stabbed and shot three villagers to death, shot a 70-year-old woman and tortured four villagers in Mun Si Township, Kachin State
Source/publisher:
Free Burma Rangers (FBR)
Date of publication:
2012-01-17
Date of entry/update:
2012-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Kachin State - human rights violations, Discrimination against the Kachin, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians
Language:
English
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Description:
?When Burmese President Thein Sein took office in March 2011, he said that over 60 years of armed conflict have put Burma?s
ethnic populations through ?the hell of untold miseries.? Just three months later, the Burmese armed forces resumed military
operations against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), leading to serious abuses and a humanitarian crisis affecting tens of
thousands of ethnic Kachin civilians.
?Untold Miseries?: Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Kachin State is based on over 100 interviews in Burma?s Kachin
State and China?s Yunnan province. It details how the Burmese army has killed and tortured civilians, raped women, planted
antipersonnel landmines, and used forced labor on the front lines, including children as young as 14-years-old. Soldiers have
attacked villages, razed homes, and pillaged properties. Burmese authorities have failed to authorize a serious relief effort in
KIA-controlled areas, where most of the 75,000 displaced men, women, and children have sought refuge. The KIA has also been
responsible for serious abuses, including using child soldiers and antipersonnel landmines.
Human Rights Watch calls on the Burmese government to support an independent international mechanism to investigate
violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by all parties to Burma?s ethnic armed conflicts. The government
should also provide United Nations and humanitarian agencies unhindered access to all internally displaced populations, and
make a long-term commitment with humanitarian agencies to authorize relief to populations in need.?
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch
Date of publication:
2012-03-19
Date of entry/update:
2012-03-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Internal displacement/forced migration of Kachin, Armed conflict in Kachin State - displacement and the humanitarian situation, Armed conflict in Kachin State - hostilities, Armed conflict in Kachin State - human rights violations, Armed conflict in Kachin State - economic factors associated with the conflict, Discrimination against the Kachin, Discrimination/violence against women: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict, adminstration, development and investment, Burmese refugees in China
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.72 MB
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Description:
"Project Maje?s previous report, ?The North War: A Kachin Conflict Compilation Report? (August 15, 2011) contained background information on the Kachin conflict and a compilation of articles about it from June-July 2011. This new report includes first hand observations from a November 2011 visit to the conflict area, two interviews and a compilation of news articles from August through early December 2011. Both reports are intended for journalists, aid workers and other researchers who may be interested in the in the conflict situation in northern Burma.
"Project Maje hopes that the ongoing situation in northern Burma, including resource extraction and human rights issues in addition to the KIO conflict, will be covered in increasing depth and scope by journalists and other investigators in the future. For a detailed view of the human rights and IDP situations in the conflict area, Project Maje particularly recommends two recent NGO reports:..."
Source/publisher:
Project Maje
Date of publication:
2011-12-20
Date of entry/update:
2011-12-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
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Description:
Executive Summary:
"In September 2011, as the international community discussed easing sanctions on Burma?s
military-backed civilian government, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) conducted an emergency
investigation in Burma?s Kachin State in response to reports of grave human rights violations
in the region. The aims of the study were
1. to independently investigate reported human rights abuses and war crimes; and
2. to assess the humanitarian situation and nutritional status of internally displaced
persons (IDPs) displaced by conflict in 2011.
This report provides the first humanitarian assessment of some of the IDPs living in areas of
Kachin State that are not controlled by the Burmese government. The United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) recently released a report on the health
situation of 5900 IDPs in urban and peri-urban areas of Kachin state that are under Burmese
government control. But no mention was made of the estimated 22,000 displaced people in
other areas of the state. PHR conducted its investigation entirely in these areas; this report will
help to build a more complete picture of the humanitarian situation among internally displaced
persons in politically contested areas in Kachin State.
The human rights investigation provides compelling evidence that the Burmese army (the
Tatmadaw) has committed multiple human rights violations in Kachin State. Between June and
September 2011, the Burmese army looted food from civilians, fired indiscriminately into villages,
threatened villages with attacks, and used civilians as porters, human minesweepers,
and impressed guides. Our findings are consistent with similar reports of human rights abuses
in other ethnic states, and suggest that violations of rights of ethnic nationalities in the country
by the central government are systematic and widespread.
In addition to the human rights investigation, PHR visited six camps and four shelters for displaced
Kachin civilians on the Sino-Burmese border and conducted health and nutrition assessments
from 22-30 September, 2011. The camps fail to meet multiple minimum humanitarian
standards outlined in the Sphere humanitarian guidelines. Camps are overcrowded and there
are insufficient numbers of latrines and water supply points. Camp medical staff reported that
upper respiratory infections and diarrhea were the most common reasons for clinic visits, and
that they experienced shortages in medicine for infants.
Key human rights findings of this report:
• The Burmese army forced Kachin civilians to guide combat units and walk in front of army
columns to trigger landmines. This practice puts civilians at extreme risk of injury and
death and is a war crime.
• The Burmese army regularly pillaged food and supplies from civilians. This practice is
prohibited under customary international humanitarian law.
• The Burmese army fired automatic weapons directly into a civilian village, striking nonmilitary
targets. The intentional direction of attacks against civilians is also recognized as
a war crime in the Rome Statute1, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court.
1. Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, art. 8(2), 17 Jul. 1998, 2187 U.N.T.S. 90, entered into force 1 Jul,
2002.
4
Under Siege in Kachin State, Burma
Key related humanitarian concerns:
• IDP camps are overcrowded and the numbers of latrines and water supply points are
insufficient to ensure that residents? human rights to clean food and water are met. Camp
medical staff reported insufficient supplies of medicine for infants.
• Eleven percent of children under five years old in one camp in Laiza were found to be
severely or moderately malnourished, a situation that the World Health Organization
(WHO) classifies as ?severe? and warrants targeted supplementary feeding programs.
• Very little aid reaches IDP camps, and groups caring for them face challenges in providing
food, medicine, and shelter. The most vulnerable populations—those in rural areas and
near the border—have not received any official humanitarian aid; they are only receiving
aid from community-based organizations, which have largely been ignored by the
international donor community.
This investigation suggests that the incremental political changes in central Burma have not
translated into improved livelihoods or improved the human rights situation of ethnic populations
living along Burma?s frontiers. The government of Burma has announced greater freedoms,
including unblocking some internet websites and limiting censorship in the press, and
releasing Aung San Suu Kyi and a fraction of the other political prisoners in the country. Some
in the international community have asserted that political change has come to Burma; however,
these changes largely are confined to the urban, primarily ethnic Burman, population. For
many of the peoples of Burma facing conflict and abuse, including the Kachin peoples, the brutality
of the old regime remains an omnipresent threat.
PHR?s findings come at a crucial moment when the international community is considering
easing sanctions on Burma in response to its positive steps towards what Senior General Than
Shwe has called ?disciplined democracy.? PHR welcomes the stated commitment of the government
to greater openness and urges the international community to ensure that the rhetoric
translates into positive action for all people in Burma. The Kachin and other groups continue to
endure grave human rights violations at the hands of the Burmese army. True progress must be
measured by thorough analysis of the extent of the government?s abuses and by establishing a
system through which perpetrators are held accountable for their actions..."
Creator/author:
Bill Davis, Ma, MPH
Source/publisher:
Physicians for Human Rights
Date of publication:
2011-11-00
Date of entry/update:
2011-12-02
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Kachin, Armed conflict in Kachin State - displacement and the humanitarian situation, Armed conflict in Kachin State - human rights violations
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
457.61 KB
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Description:
Executive Summary:
"On 9 June 2011, civil war broke out in northern Burma between the Burma Army and the Kachin
Independence Army (KIA), ending a 17-year long ceasefire agreement. This report presents data
collected from a Partners investigation in southern Kachin State, Burma in October 2011. The
testimony of witnesses and on-site photographs reveal multiple acts perpetrated by Burma Army
battalions 74 and 276 against ethnic Kachin civilians that potentially amount to war crimes and other
extreme crimes. These acts include torture, extrajudicial killing, the specific targeting of civilians,
human shielding, unlawful arrest, unlawful detention, forced labor, forced relocation, displacement,
property theft and property destruction.
Witnesses reported that Burma Army soldiers entered Nam Lim Pa village on 8 October 2011.
Men were arrested and detained for forced labor. Women and children were detained in the Roman
Catholic church compound against their will and without provocation or expressed reason.
Violent injuries demonstrate signs of extreme physical abuse and strongly suggest the intentional
infliction of severe pain or suffering while in custody. Civilian casualties included torture and execution.
Eyewitness reports indicate no Kachin Independence Army presence during the time of the attacks.
Villagers were forcibly relocated and displaced by armed soldiers. Houses, offices and churches
were robbed and vandalized, all without justification. At least one home was robbed and burned to
the ground while its owner was arrested and detained.
The results from this fact-finding mission to Kachin State reveal evidence of crimes that potentially
amount to war crimes, perpetrated by the Burma Army against ethnic Kachin civilians and their
properties in October 2011. Based on the incidents documented in this report, the Burma Army
is in contravention of its legal obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.
Considering the nature and scale of these acts in combination with documented abuses in the broader
civil war in Kachin State, the actions of the Burma government and the Burma Army may also amount
to other serious violations, including crimes against humanity. Those responsible must be brought to
justice and held accountable for their actions. Partners makes the following key recommendations:..."
Source/publisher:
Partners Relief & Development
Date of publication:
2011-11-27
Date of entry/update:
2011-11-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.98 MB
Local URL:
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Description:
Executive Summary: "At the same time as Thein Sein?s government is engaging in public relations maneuvers designed to make it appear that reform is taking place, its army is perpetrating atrocities against the Kachin people on a widespread and systematic basis. Seven months after the November 2010 elections and four months after the convening of parliament which, in the words of the ruling generals, ?completed the country?s transition to a multiparty democracy,? the regime launched a new war in Kachin State and Northern Shan State. After a seventeen year ceasefire, the renewed conflict has brought rampant human rights abuses by the Burma Army including, rape, torture, the use of human minesweepers and the forced displacement of entire villages.
Human rights abuses in Burma are prevalent because of the culture of impunity put in place at the highest levels of government. The Burmese regime continuously fails to investigate human rights abuses committed by its military and instead categorically denies the possibility that abuses are taking place. Attempts to seek justice for the crimes committed against the Kachin people have resulted in responses ranging from ?we do not take responsibility for any landmine injuries? to ?the higher authorities will not listen to your complaint?.
These human rights violations have led villagers to flee approaching troops, creating tens of thousands of internally displaced persons. The Burmese regime has refused to allow aid groups working inside the country to provide relief to the majority of these displaced people and international groups have failed to provide sufficient cross-border aid, creating a growing humanitarian crisis.
While the international community ?waits and sees? whether the Burmese regime will implement genuine democratic reforms, the Kachin people are suffering. The time for waiting and seeing is over: now is the time for the world to act. We call on the international community to:
Demand that the Burmese regime put an end to the atrocities against the Kachin people.•
Provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons and refugees fleeing • the conflict to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.
Support the establishment by the United Nations of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes • against humanity and war crimes in Burma
Source/publisher:
Kachin Women?s Association Thailand (KWAT)
Date of publication:
2011-10-07
Date of entry/update:
2011-11-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Armed conflict in Burma -- offensives, Discrimination against the Kachin, Armed conflict in Kachin State - hostilities
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
862.07 KB
Local URL:
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Description:
"This is a resource compilation report which is intended for journalists, aid workers and other researchers who may be interested in the in the June/July 2011 conflict between the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and Burma?s military regime in Kachin State, Burma. News stories and documents related to the conflict are categorized and reproduced or linked here, with a list of background information sources. They are in chronological order within each category.
Project Maje hopes that the ongoing situation in northern Burma, including resource extraction and human rights issues in addition to the KIO conflict, will be covered in increasing depth and scope by journalists and other investigators in the future..."
Source/publisher:
Project Maje
Date of publication:
2011-08-00
Date of entry/update:
2011-08-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Discrimination against the Kachin, Armed conflict in Burma -- offensives, Armed conflict in Kachin State - hostilities
Language:
English
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Description:
Executive Summary: "In May 2008, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) held a referendum in
which citizens of Burma were asked to vote on a new national constitution for the country.
This report provides an overview of that process and offers a detailed assessment of the
conduct of the referendum within Kachin State, and northern Shan State. Based on that
assessment, this report concludes that the referendum was a sham ? the Kachin State
Referendum Commission clearly intended to ensure the approval of the draft constitution
regardless of public sentiment. Officials engineered victory through the pervasive abuse of
voters? basic rights and engaged in widespread fraud. In short, the May 2008 referendum is
not a legitimate measure of citizens? consent to be governed, but rather a reflection of the
government?s determination to impose its rule regardless of public sentiment. As the fourth
?step” in the ?Road Map to Democracy”, the conduct of the referendum is illustrative of
?Disciplined Democracy” and bodes poorly for the promised elections in 2010.
The Institute for Political Analysis and Documentation (IPAD) has produced this report in
order to raise the public?s awareness about the illegitimate character of the referendum.
IPAD is an independent policy research and training center devoted to Burma. Founded in
January 2008, IPAD promotes democracy, human rights and accountable governance through
a range of initiatives including political analysis, human rights documentation, and grassroots
roots training initiatives."...N.B. A Google search found no website or publications other than "No Real Choice" by IPAD, which in the press release states that: "IPAD promotes democracy, and
accountable governance in
Burma through a range of
initiatives including political
analysis, human rights
assessments, and grassroots
roots training initiatives."
Source/publisher:
Institute for Political Analysis and Documentation (IPAD)
Date of publication:
2009-05-08
Date of entry/update:
2009-05-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
7-Step Roadmap (Step 4): Adoption of the constitution through national referendum. (commentary), Discrimination against the Kachin, Popular participation rights: reports of violations in Burma
Language:
English, Burmese
Format :
pdf pdf pdf
Size:
1.31 MB 804.06 KB 122.38 KB
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Description:
Interviews with Refugees from Burma on Guam, including recent interviews with Chin and Kachin refugees.
"During the past year, nearly a thousand refugees from Burma have arrived on the island of Guam,
a United States territory in the Pacific Ocean. They are seeking asylum in the US, having fled
extraordinary levels of persecution in their homeland. Most are from northern Burma, especially
the Chin State...
This report consists of interviews with a small cross section of the Guam asylum seekers. It is to
some extent representative of their demographics, in terms of ethnicity and gender. The
interviewees have given us a great bounty of significant new information and details about recent
conditions in Burma...
Numerous topics are covered in these 17 interviews. There is front-line information about the
AIDS epidemic which is making its grim progress into the remote mountains of Burma, and the
efforts to evade the regime?s denial about it..."
Creator/author:
Edith Mirante
Source/publisher:
Project Maje
Date of publication:
2001-03-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Chin (Zo)- economic, social, cultural, political, Kachin (economic, social, cultural, political), Discrimination against the Kachin, Discrimination against the Chin (Zo) -- websites and reports
Language:
English
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