ASIA JUSTICE COALITION SECRETARIAT PARTICIPATES IN EXPERT MEETING ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONVENTION

Secretariat head Dr Priya Pillai participated and briefed members of the United Nations General Assembly Sixth Committee as a part of the Expert Meeting on Crimes Against Humanity Convention. The second resumed session of the Sixth Committee will take place in New York from 1 to 5 and 11 April 2024. Check Asia Justice Coalition’s Briefing Paper here.

LECTURE AT THE AU SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

At the invitation of Christie Jones, Executive Director of the International Association of Women Judges, Secretariat Head Dr Priya Pillai addressed students at the AU School of International Service. She spoke about the work of the Asia Justice Coalition, Women, Peace & Security, Transitional Justice, and more.

OHCHR CONFERENCE ON ACCOUNTABILITY AVENUES FOR INTERNATIONAL CRIMES

On 21 October, Secretariat head Dr. Priya Pillai participated in a panel discussion on ‘Current international trends to advance accountability for international crimes’ hosted by OHCHR, Korea as a part of a two-day conference entitled ‘Moving forward on the COI+10: Accountability avenues for international crimes’.

BROUK: “THREE YEARS OF ONGOING GENOCIDE”

On 1 February, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK issued a media release marking the third anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar and reiterated their past calls for the international community to step up and advocate for victims of the Myanmar military. According to Tun Khin (President, BROUK), “There should be nowhere for military chief Min Aung Hlaing to hide. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Burma on this day, and call on the international community to step up sanctions, including sanctions on aviation fuel, increase aid, and use all available pressure points to help defeat the military”.

FORTIFY RIGHTS: “URGENT CALL FOR SWIFT ACTION AGAINST THE MILITARY JUNTA”

On 1 February, Fortify Rights called on the UN Security Council to take concrete actions against the Myanmar military junta in an open letter signed by 462 Civil Society Organisations. The letter highlighted the gravity of the mass atrocity crimes committed by the military junta and called on the international community to intervene.

AJAR: “THREE YEARS ON, THE MYANMAR PEOPLE COURAGEOUSLY PUSH BACK AGAINST THE JUNTA”

On 2 February, Asia Justice and Rights urged ASEAN to take concrete actions against the Myanmar military junta and celebrated the resilience of the Myanmar people’s resistance movement. According to AJAR, “The military junta’s systematic and widespread violence endured by all of Myanmar’s population including the Rohingya is intensifying. The military junta’s war crimes and crimes against humanity have led to the immense suffering of the people of Myanmar. These acts can never be justified, and the military junta must be held to account through justice and accountability mechanisms.”

BHRN: “BURMESE ARMY FORCIBLY RECRUITING ROHINGYA BY THREATENING TO CUT FOOD RATION”

On 28 February, the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) raised alarm over the junta's recent attempt at forcing the Rohingya to join their failing war effort. According to Kyaw Win (Executive Director, BHRN), “The Rohingya in Sittwe have been confined to these camps for over a decade without a foreseeable way out. Now, the junta is exploiting the desperate situation they created and intimidating the Rohingya to join their failing war effort. It is unconscionable and cruel. The Burmese military is violating the provisional measures set by the International Court of Justice each day the war in Arakan rages, and they must be held accountable.”

BROUK: “UNSC MUST ACT ON INCREASED ATROCITIES AGAINST ROHINGYA - DON'T REPEAT PAST MISTAKES”

On 28 February, the Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK joined other Rohingya organisations to call on the UN Security Council to not repeat the same mistake in failing to act before the military offensives of 2016 and 2017 and convene an urgent meeting to discuss the escalating crisis in Rakhine State, Burma. In the light of forceful conscription of the Rohingya by the Myanmar military, the letter urges the British government as the penholder on Burma to urgently convene a meeting of the Security Council on Burma’s non-implementation of the provisional measures set out by the International Court of Justice, and the escalating crisis in the State.

AI – “MYANMAR: MILITARY AIR STRIKES THAT KILLED 17 CIVILIANS ‘MUST BE INVESTIGATED AS WAR CRIMES’”

On 8 February, Amnesty International reported on airstrikes in the Sagaing region that killed 17 people, and injured at least 20. According to AI, “The world cannot continue to look the other way while the Myanmar military relentlessly attacks civilians and civilian targets, including churches, schools and hospitals. Countries and companies around the world must stop the flow of jet fuel to the military, to protect civilians from further catastrophe. These attacks must be investigated as war crimes, and the UN Security Council should refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. The perpetrators of these crimes under international law must be brought to justice.”

HRW – “JAPAN COURT FINDS ROHINGYA ETHNICITY GROUNDS FOR REFUGEE STATUS”

In a dispatch on 8 February, Human Rights Watch detailed how the Nagoya High Court ordered the Japanese government to grant refugee status to an ethnic Rohingya asylum seeker from Myanmar. The high court concluded that there is “objective fact to feel fear of persecution” because the Myanmar military has “committed ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya” since the 2021 military coup.

FORTIFY RIGHTS – “BANGLADESH: INVESTIGATE FLEEING MYANMAR JUNTA-FORCES, COORDINATE WITH INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT”

On 8 February, Fortify Rights called on the Government of Bangladesh to investigate the newly arrived Myanmar Border Guard Police (BGP) for possible crimes against Rohingya people, and coordinate with the ongoing ICC investigation. According to Fortify Rights, “Bangladesh should avoid any hasty returns of these officers and instead give them any aid and protection they might need and investigate their possible roles in atrocity crimes in Myanmar […] It would be in the interest of other Myanmar military, police and border guards to come forward and cooperate with international justice mechanisms.”

HRW: “MYANMAR: ROHINGYA AT RISK IN RAKHINE FIGHTING”

On 9 February, Human Rights Watch reported on a surge in fighting in Rakhine State, highlighting civilian casualties and large-scale displacement since the end of an unofficial ceasefire last November. According to HRW, “Myanmar military and opposition forces need to do all they can to minimize civilian casualties and destruction of homes and property […] Rohingya villages that were devastated by military atrocities in 2017 are again at grave risk of attack.”

LAW – “SHANTI MOHILA HONOURED AS ONE OF RAPHAEL LEMKIN ‘CHAMPIONS OF PREVENTIONS’”

On 19 February, Legal Action Worldwide announced that “Shanti Mohila”, a Rohingya women-led entity based in the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, was honoured with the title of Raphael Lemkin Champion of Prevention.

FORTIFY RIGHTS – “ICC MEMBER STATES: ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS IN MYANMAR”

On 13^th February, Fortify Rights called on ICC member states to refer the situation in Myanmar to the Chief Prosecutor under Article 14 of the Rome Statute. According to Fortify Rights, “The laws of war apply to the junta’s forces and all parties to the conflict and, whenever possible, civilians must be warned of incoming attacks, […] The junta’s atrocity crimes are a daily occurrence. ICC member states should urgently refer the situation to the Court and send a message to the junta that these attacks are unacceptable.”

MLA CONVENTION SIGNING CONFERENCE

From 14-15 February, a signing conference was held for the new Ljubljana – The Hague Convention, ensuring enhanced and coordinated mutual legal assistance for the investigation and prosecution of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Check Asia Justice Coalition’s advocacy initiatives on the MLAT Convention here.

“MYANMAR: MILITARY JUNTA EVEN GREATER THREAT TO CIVILIANS AS IT IMPOSES MILITARY DRAFT, WARNS UN EXPERT”

On 21 February, the Myanmar military junta imposed a draft that makes citizens eligible for conscription into the armed forces. “Professional” men and women can be conscripted up to the ages of 45 and 35 respectively. Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, warned that the military junta poses an even bigger threat to civilians and called for international action: “While wounded and increasingly desperate, the Myanmar military junta remains extremely dangerous […] As the junta forces young men and women into the military ranks, it has doubled down on its attacks on civilians using stockpiles of powerful weapons.”

SARAH H. CLEVELAND APPOINTED JUDGE AT THE ICJ

Judge Sarah H. Cleveland was appointed to the International Court of Justice. As of now, only four out of fifteen judges at the ICJ are women: Sarah H. Cleveland (USA), Xue Hanquin (China), Hilary Charlesworth (Australia), and Vice-President Julia Sebutinde (Uganda). Of the 115 judges elected to the ICJ through its 79-year history, only 6 have been women – a mere 5.2%. Only one Asian woman has ever been elected to the World Court: Xue Hanquin.

DHAKA TRIBUNE – “BGB PUSHES BACK BOAT CARRYING 65 ROHINGYAS”

On 6 February, Dhaka Tribune reported the pushback of a boat carrying 65 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. Border Guard Bangladesh Director General Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui confirmed the pushback. Meanwhile, a total of 264 Myanmar security personnel have surrendered.