WIJA SYSTEMS MAPPING WORKSHOP IN SRI LANKA

 

On 3 - 6 June 2024, the Asia Justice Coalition and the Women’s Education and Research Center jointly organized a two-day systems mapping workshop for emerging women legal practitioners in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The participants discussed challenges and barriers in international law and focused on three thematic areas: the rights of refugees, migrants, and IDPs; international criminal justice mechanisms; and transitional and restorative justice. The WIJA project aims to increase avenues to international justice and accountability through women-centered and women-led legal interventions.

 

 

ICC - NGO ROUNDTABLES 2024

 

From 24 – 29 June, the Asia Justice Coalition secretariat participated in the International Criminal Court – NGO Roundtables co-convened by the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC). The Roundtables provided an opportunity to engage with the Court’s principals and officials from various organs and departments, on all matters related to the situations before the Court, including Myanmar/Bangladesh.

BROUK: “ARGENTINE PROSECUTOR SEEKS ARREST WARRANTS FOR ROHINGYA GENOCIDE”

 

On 28 June, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK welcomed the Argentine Prosecutor’s petition to the Argentinian Court to issue multiple arrest warrants in the Rohingya Genocide universal jurisdiction case. This petition follows BROUK's December 2023 ´warrants request against multiple individuals, including Min Aung Hlaing. According to Tun Khin, “the decision to request arrest warrants sends a clear message to the Burmese military that they will not be able to escape accountability for their crimes.”

 

LAW STATEMENT AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

 

On 18 June, Legal Action Worldwide delivered a statement at the 56^th session of the Human Rights Council’s Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner’s Report on Myanmar. It expressed its deep concern with the Myanmar military’s systematic campaign to fuel ethnic tension leaving Rohingya more vulnerable to intercommunal violence. LAW called on member states to immediately refer the situation to the Security Council to identify concrete preventative measures.

 

AJAR COMMEMORATES WORLD REFUGEE DAY WITH SERIES OF EVENTS HIGHLIGHTING MYANMAR CRISIS

 

On 13 June, Asia Justice and Rights and its partners held a series of events throughout the month to raise awareness and understanding of the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. The events included film screenings on the situation in Myanmar, panel discussions, and art exhibitions across Southeast Asian countries.

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: “INVESTIGATE CIVILIAN KILLINGS IN KARENNI STATE, HOLD PERPETRATORS ACCOUNTABLE”

 

On 20 June, Fortify Rights called on the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) and the Interim Executive Council (IEC) of Karenni State to investigate the killings of three women and their three children and hold the perpetrators of the killings accountable.

FORTIFY RIGHTS FILES COMPLAINT WITH U.N. WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION

 

On 30 May, Coalition member Fortify Rights filed a 20-page submission to the UN Human Rights Council Working Group for the unconditional release of Mohammad Arfat, a Rohingya refugee and human rights defender from Myanmar arbitrarily detained for more than three years.

 

BROUK RELEASE REPORT ON THE INTENSIFYING ROHINGYA GENOCIDE

 

On 25 June, Coalition Member Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK released a new report entitled ‘The Intensifying Rohingya Genocide’. The report sets out how the Rohingya have been targeted as part of the Myanmar military’s intensifying genocidal campaign, against the backdrop of a brutal and increasingly complex war in Rakhine State between the Myanmar military and its proxies and the Arakan Army.

 

LAW VIDEO ON SEXUAL & GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ROHINGYA IN MYANMAR

 

Legal Action Worldwide published a video documenting the work behind the report “Every Day I Remember They Destroyed My Life – The Long-Term Physical and Psychosocial Consequences of Genocidal Sexual and Gender-Based Violence the Myanmar Military Committed against the Rohingya in its 2017 ‘Clearance Operations’".  LAW finds reasonable grounds to believe that the Myanmar military’s conduct in 2017 can be legally characterized as genocide as set out in Article 2 of the Genocide Convention, to which Myanmar is a party.

 

GJC: “REPRODUCTIVE VIOLENCE AGAINST THE ROHINGYA – A PERSPECTIVE ON MYANMAR”

 

On 7 June, Coalition member Grant Shubin (Senior Legal Advisor, GJC), along with Wai Wai Nu, the Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Peace Network, published a blog post calling for accountability for reproductive violence committed by the Myanmar military against the Rohingya as a part of the symposium on reproductive violence in international law.

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL DEEPLY CONCERNED BY INCREASING VIOLENCE ACROSS MYANMAR

 

On 6 June 2024, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement expressing his deep concern about the increasing violence across Myanmar and strongly condemning the recent attacks by the Myanmar military that have reportedly killed scores of civilians, including in Rakhine State and Sagaing Region. The Secretary-General called on all parties to the conflict to exercise maximum restraint, prioritize the protection of civilians in accordance with international humanitarian law, and prevent further incitement of communal tension and violence.

 

UNSR REPORT ON THE ROLE OF FOREIGN BANKS IN FACILITATING PROBABLE WAR CRIMES AND CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY

 

On 26 June, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews, released his new report, 'Banking on the Death Trade: How Banks and Governments Enable the military junta in Myanmar'. The report identifies 16 banks in seven countries that have processed transactions linked to the junta’s military procurement in the past two years and an additional 25 that have provided correspondent banking services to Myanmar’s state-owned banks that are controlled by the junta.

UNSR ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT ON TRAFFICKING AT SEA

 

The UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children Prof. Siobhán Mullally, presented her report 'trafficking in persons, mixed migration, and protection at sea' at the UN Human Rights Council. Prof. Mullally highlighted the critical situation facing Rohingya refugees, many of whom are at risk from trafficking at sea, including many child refugees. According to her, nearly 4,500 Rohingya embarked on perilous sea journeys in 2023, and 569 were reported dead or missing. Compared with a year earlier, the number of people leaving the shore increased by 21 per cent, while the number of dead or missing rose by 63 per cent."