AJC’S JURISDICTION BRIEF FOR INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE IN ASIA - REPUBLIC OF KOREA

On 2 October, the Asia Justice Coalition secretariat published its first of nine Jurisdictional Briefs for International Justice in Asia: The Republic of Korea. This brief canvasses Korean criminal and civil law that could be useful to support survivors of atrocity crimes in Asia. It includes a summary of the Korean legal system and a review of relevant legislation and case law.

BHRN, BROUK, AJAR: ‘THE UN MUST HOLD THE MILITARY JUNTA ACCOUNTABLE’

On 18 October, AJC members Burma Human Rights Network, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, and Asia Justice and Rights along with 440 other CSOs called on UN Member States to immediately actualize a UN Security Council resolution to take decisive action to hold the military junta accountable for atrocities in Myanmar as Myanmar’s crisis reaching the point of unfathomable devastation.

FORTIFY RIGHTS: THAILAND TO ENSURE HEALTHCARE FOR MYANMAR REFUGEES

On 26 October, Fortify Rights called on the Government of Thailand to prevent the arbitrary arrest and extortion of Myanmar refugees seeking access to healthcare and provide protective legal status to refugees in Thailand. A new investigation by Fortify Rights exposes how Myanmar refugees seeking healthcare face arrest and extortion by Thai authorities in the border town of Mae Sot.

AJC BRIEFING PAPER ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONVENTION

On 10 October, the Asia Justice Coalition secretariat published a Briefing Paper on Asian States’ Position on the Crimes Against Humanity Convention documenting the movement on the Draft Articles at the UN General Assembly Sixth Committee - what has happened so far and what to expect going forward. The paper also highlights the position of Asian States and calls on them to support the passage of the Draft Articles in the Sixth Committee. 

AI: ‘28 CIVILIANS KILLED IN MILITARY AIR STRIKE – NEW INVESTIGATION AND WITNESS TESTIMONY’

On 13 October, based on its investigation, Amnesty International found that the 9 October air strike attack on a displaced persons camp by the Myanmar military that killed at least 28 civilians may amount to a war crime. According to Amnesty International, the attack (almost certainly used an unguided bomb) failed to distinguish between military objectives and civilians or civilian objects and constituted an indiscriminate attack.

FORTIFY RIGHTS: U.N. MEMBER STATES MUST COORDINATE A GLOBAL ARMS EMBARGO ON MYANMAR

On 11 October, in the wake of a Myanmar junta attack on displaced persons and other residents in Kachin State, Fortify Rights called on U.N. Member States to urgently coordinate a global arms embargo on Myanmar, and the U.N. Security Council to refer the situation in the country to the International Criminal Court.

HRW: ‘AIRSTRIKE ON VILLAGE AN APPARENT WAR CRIME’

On 17 October, Human Rights Watch, based on witness interviews and a review of images and videos of the attack, found that the Myanmar military ‘initially conducted an airstrike on the village, then fired a barrage of ground-launched mortars or artillery’. According to HRW, ‘Myanmar military’s repeated strikes and shelling of a village filled with displaced people were either unlawfully deliberate or indiscriminate’ and called on the concerned governments to work together to impose real economic restrictions and meaningful blockages of weapons, fuel, and materiel.

GJC, GCR2P, HRW, AI, LAW: JOINT CALL TO ADVANCE GENDER JUSTICE IN THE DRAFT CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONVENTION

On 5 October, the Global Justice Center, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Legal Action Worldwide, and other CSOs wrote a joint letter to UN Member States to advance gender justice in the draft Crimes Against Humanity Convention and approach the development of a new treaty with a gender-competent, survivor-centric, and intersectional lens. The letter also urged States to ensure that the treaty-making process is inclusive and witness robust participation by women and gender minorities in the delegations in all stages.

BHRN: LANDMARK VISIT BY ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS MINORITY GROUPS FROM BURMA

In October, Kyaw Win (Director, Burma Human Rights Network) and representatives of a diverse cross-section of Burmese ethnic and religious minority groups, concluded an important diplomatic visit to New York as part of their intensified engagement with the international community. The visit covered a series of meetings, including with the UN Security Council, the Office of the UN Special Envoy, ASEAN members Malaysia, Indonesia, and Myanmar, the EU, and OIC.

AJC SECRETARIAT ACTIVITIES

On 30 October, Asia Justice Coalition secretariat head Dr Priya Pillai secretariat head Dr Priya Pillai participated in a panel discussion on ‘Centering victims in multilateral conventions on atrocity crimes’ at the International Bar Association Annual Conference. Previously, on 21 October, Dr. Pillai also spoke on the American Branch of the International Law Association’s International Law Weekend 2023 panel on ‘The ICC's Gender Persecution Policy: Definitions; Implementation; Way Forward'. On 11 October, Aakash Chandran, Legal Advocacy and Communications Manager, participated in the Asia-Pacific Regional Dialogue on Human Rights hosted by OHCHR and delivered a statement calling for accountability for atrocity crimes in Asia.

RFA: NEW UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION CASE AGAINST THE MYANMAR MILITARY IN THE PHILIPPINES

On 25 October, Radio Free Asia reported that five Myanmar nationals have asked ‘the Philippines’ Department of Justice to open a war crimes investigation into 10 members of the Burmese junta for a range of alleged atrocities, including the killing of civilians, mutilation of bodies and torching hundreds of homes and churches’ in Chin State.

‘UN EXPERT URGES MEMBER STATES TO STRENGTHEN “GROWING TREND” OF COORDINATED ACTION AS HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN CRISIS DEEPENS’

On 24 October, Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, presented his new report at the UN General Assembly Third Committee in New York. He called on Member States to put an end to the supply of arms, money, and aviation fuel, and stop extending other forms of material or diplomatic support.

AP: ‘UN REFUGEE CHIEF SAYS ROHINGYA WHO FLED MYANMAR MUST NOT BE FORGOTTEN DURING OTHER WORLD CRISES’

On 17 October, the Associated Press reported that the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, stated that the ‘financial contributions for Rohingya relief have declined, and the U.N.’s mission plan for this year is “barely 40% funded,” a sharp drop from about 60%-70% in previous years’. According to Grandi, ‘“voluntary, dignified return to Myanmar” by the Rohingya refugees is the most desirable solution, but acknowledged there are “many challenges that need to be overcome’.

ICJ FIXES TIMELINE FOR THE SECOND WRITTEN SUBMISSION

On 16 October, the International Court of Justice fixed May and December 2024 as the deadline for the second set of written pleadings in The Gambia v. Myanmar case on the Genocide Convention.

AP: ‘MYANMAR’S TOP COURT DECLINES TO HEAR SUU KYI’S SPECIAL APPEALS IN ABUSE OF POWER AND BRIBERY CASES’

On 6 October, the Associated Press reported that ‘Myanmar’s Supreme Court declined to hear special appeals from the country’s ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi against her convictions in six corruption cases where she was found guilty of abusing her authority and accepting bribes’.

‘ILO MYANMAR COMMISSION OF INQUIRY FINDS FAR-REACHING VIOLATIONS OF FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION AND FORCED LABOUR CONVENTIONS’

On 4 October, the International Labour Organization’s Commission of Inquiry for Myanmar concluded that the actions taken by the military authorities since February 2021 have resulted in far-reaching restrictions on the exercise of basic civil liberties and trade union rights, as well as in the incapacity of trade unionists to engage in trade union activities. The Commission of Inquiry urges the Myanmar military authorities to immediately cease all forms of violence, torture and other inhumane treatment against trade unionists, and to end all forms of forced or compulsory labour. Myanmar has three months to announce whether or not it accepts the recommendations; and if not, whether it proposes to refer the matter to the International Court of Justice.