‘MAKING SANCTIONS WORK’ WHITEPAPER

 

The AJC Secretariat and the Cambridge Pro Bono Project released a new whitepaper on ‘Making Sanctions Work’. The paper explores three opportunities to use sanctions in a more victim-centred way: (1) by ensuring accountability for sanctions violations; (2) developing victims’ funds, financed by the interest of frozen assets or the fines imposed for violations; and (3) by confiscating and distributing frozen assets absent a criminal conviction.

 

AJC SECRETARIAT ATTENDS THE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY RESUMED SESSION

 

From 1 – 5 April, Secretariat Head Dr Priya Pillai attended the Second Resumed Session of the Sixth Committee of the UN General Assembly on the Draft Crimes against Humanity Convention in New York. The Asia Justice Coalition co-hosted a reception on the Draft Articles for civil society members and state representatives alongside fellow members Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch, and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.

 

AJC SUBMISSION ON THE CEDAW COMMITTEE’S GENERAL RECOMMENDATION 40

 

The Secretariat submitted an input to the UN Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) regarding General Recommendation 40 on the equal and inclusive representation of women in decision-making systems. The submission highlights the need for the legal ecosystem to be better reflected within General Recommendation 40.

NAVIGATING PATHWAYS TO WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP IN LAW AND ECONOMICS

 

On 18 April, Dr Priya Pillai participated in a discussion focused on ‘Navigating Pathways To Women’s Leadership in Law and Economics’ co-hosted by Co-Impact and EquiLead.

 

WIJA PROJECT IDEAS MEETING IN DHAKA, BANGLADESH

 

On 24^th April, the Asia Justice Coalition secretariat and the Centre for Peace and Justice co-hosted a day-long discussion on the Women Leaders in International Justice and Accountability (WIJA) Project in Dhaka. Building on the November 2023 Systems Mapping workshop, the meeting explored the avenues and gaps for international justice and accountability in Bangladesh on three Project thematic areas.

 

UN SECURITY COUNCIL SESSION ON THE SITUATION IN MYANMAR

 

On 4 April, AJC secretariat head Dr Priya Pillai attended the briefing of the UN Security Council on the situation in Myanmar, the first open session of the Council since 2019. The recording of the session is available here.

 

‘THE NEED FOR A CONVENTION ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY’

 

Secretariat head Dr Priya Pillai published an article for Lowy Institute's Interpreter on the recently concluded Second Resumed Session on the ILC Draft Articles on Crimes Against Humanity.  Dr Pillai highlights the importance of a global treaty on crimes against humanity and explains how it sits within the international accountability architecture.

BHRN: “THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY MUST ADDRESS THE SITUATION OF MUSLIMS IN BURMA”

 

On 1 April, Burma Human Rights Network released a statement highlighting rampant anti-Muslim violence and sentiment in Myanmar. BHRN called upon the international community, including the United Nations, OIC, United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and ASEAN to advocate for the Muslim community in Myanmar.

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: NEW REPORT ON MENTAL HARM MY TEARS COULD MAKE A SEA

 

On 24 April, Fortify Rights and the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School published a new report (“My Tears Could Make a Sea”: Mental Harm as Genocide Against Rohingya) documenting the severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression among Myanmar’s Rohingya community constituting serious mental harm, defined by the Genocide Convention as an act of genocide.

 

HRW: “THAILAND: HALT FORCED RETURNS TO MYANMAR”

 

On 11 April, AJC member Human Rights Watch called on Thailand to halt all forcible returns of refugees to Myanmar. HRW welcomed the recent decision to not forcibly repatriate 19 children to Myanmar and called for the extension of the same principle to all refugees, highlighting that coercive returns may violate Thailand’s obligations under international law, namely the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the customary prohibition on non-refoulement.

 

AI: “UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL RESOLUTION ON MYANMAR TAKES CRUCIAL STAND AGAINST DEADLY JET FUEL SUPPLY CHAIN”

 

On 4 April, Amnesty International issued a news release welcoming the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution on Myanmar calling on UN Member States to refrain from the export, sale, or transfer of jet fuel to the Myanmar military. According to AI, “[t]his resolution is a step in the right direction to combat the deadly supply chain that enables the Myanmar military to continue its barrage of air strikes in which schools, clinics, religious buildings and other civilian infrastructure have all been targeted.”

 

HRW: “MYANMAR MILITARY FORCIBLY RECRUITING ROHINGYA”

 

On 9 April, Human Rights Watch reported on the abduction and forcible recruitment of more than 1000 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by the Myanmar military from Rakhine State since February 2024. According to HRW, “the military has been sending Rohingya to abusive training for two weeks, then deploying them. Many have been sent to the front lines in the surging fighting between the junta and the Arakan Army.”

FORTIFY RIGHTS: “U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL: REFER MASS INTERNMENT OF MUSLIMS AND OTHER ATROCITIES IN MYANMAR TO ICC”

 

On 4 April, Fortify Rights reported on the mass internment of Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State. According to Fortify, the ongoing confinement of over half a million Rohingya civilians constitutes mass arbitrary detention and an act of genocide under international law.

 

LAW STATEMENT ON ACCOUNTABILITY FOR CRIMES IN MYANMAR

 

On 2 April, coalition member Legal Action Worldwide made a statement at the 55th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council during an interactive Dialogue with Tom Andres, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. In its statement, LAW made two key recommendations – first, sexual and gender-based violence must form a key part of any legal intervention and prosecutorial strategy to hold Myanmar accountable, and second, long-term funding for sexual and reproductive health services and psychological support for survivors across genders be prioritized as a matter of urgency.

 

BHRN: “WORLD LEADERS MUST SPEAK OUT FOR ROHINGYA IN ARAKAN”

 

On 2 April, Burma Human Rights Network issued a statement calling on leaders of ASEAN countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union to speak out for the Rohingya. According to Kyaw Win (Executive Director, BHRN): “The Rohingya are being killed, abused, and exploited while the world’s attention is scattered elsewhere. The international community must act now, enforce the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures against the junta, and put every member on alert that they will prosecuted for any war crimes they’ve committed.”

 

“GENOCIDE AGAINST ROHINGYA IS INTENSIFYING WARNS BURMESE ROHINGYA ORGANISATION UK”

 

On 2 April, AJC member Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK issued a media release to sound the alarm about the intensifying genocide against the Rohingya community amidst a rise in forced recruitment in Myanmar. BROUK urged the Security Council to take immediate steps to enforce the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) provisional measures order. Tun Khin, President of BROUK, was quoted: “The regime has targeted Rohingya for forced recruitment because we are vulnerable. We cannot flee because of the restrictions on movement the junta has imposed on us – Rakhine State is like an open-air prison”.

OTP LAUNCHES NEW POLICY ON COMPLEMENTARITY AND COOPERATION

 

On 25 April, the International Criminal Court’s Office of the Prosecutor launched a new Policy on Complementarity and Cooperation, following an open call for submissions late last year. The AJC Secretariat made a submission, recommending more clarity on the relationship between the OTP and external independent investigative bodies and cooperation with non-States Parties.

 

NEW UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ENVOY ON MYANMAR

 

On 5 April, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced the appointment of Julie Bishop of Australia as his Special Envoy on Myanmar. Ms. Bishop succeeds Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore.

“TÜRK SOUNDS ALARM AMID RISING TENSIONS IN RAKHINE”

 

On 19 April, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk warned that intensified fighting in Rakhine State between the military and the Arakan Army, alongside tensions being fuelled between the Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine communities, pose a grave threat to the civilian population. According to Türk “countries with influence on the Myanmar military and armed groups involved must act now to protect all civilians in Rakhine State and prevent another episode of horrendous persecution of the Rohingya.”.

 

ASEAN FOREIGN MINISTERS’ STATEMENT MYANMAR

 

On 18 April, the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) released a joint statement expressing deep concerns about the recent escalation of conflicts. The statement urged “all parties for an immediate cessation of violence and to exercise utmost restraint, to uphold international humanitarian law, and to take all the necessary measures to defuse tensions and to ensure the protection and safety of all civilians, including foreign nationals and citizens of ASEAN Member States.”