AJC – CPJ: ‘VALUES & INTERESTS’ REPORT RELEASE AND PANEL DISCUSSION

 

On 21 May, the Asia Justice Coalition and the Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University, Bangladesh, held a panel discussion to mark the release of the three country reports – Malaysia, Bangladesh, and Indonesia- studying political will and accountability measures for international crimes in Asia, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This project examines the concept of political will through the lens of values and interests in three States. While each country report addresses distinct political dynamics, all are anchored in policy responses related to crimes experienced by the Rohingya. 

 

AJC – CPJ: INTERNATIONAL CONSULTATION ON THE SITUATION IN MYANMAR

 

On 20 May, the delegation of the European Union to Malaysia, the Asia Justice Coalition, and the Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University, Bangladesh, co-organised a closed-door international consultation on ‘The Situation in Myanmar: Opportunities for Collaboration on Justice and Accountability' in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The consultation witnessed two panels focusing on 1) the current situation in Myanmar and Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and 2) opportunities for collaboration on justice, including the relevance of the new Ljubljana–The Hague Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance and progress toward a Crimes Against Humanity treaty.

AJC – CPJ: FEMINIST JUDGMENT WRITING WORKSHOP

 

On 7 May 2025, the Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University, Bangladesh, conducted an online judgment writing workshop as part of the Asia Justice Coalition’s Women Leaders in International Justice and Accountability: Increasing Avenues to International Justice and Accountability through Women-Centered, Women-Led Legal Interventions (WIJA) project. A total of 15 participants attended the workshop, including two senior and seven junior legal practitioners involved in the Feminist Judgment Re-writing Project.

HRW: ‘10 YEARS OF ROHINGYA REFUGEES STRANDED AT SEA’

 

On 26 May, ahead of the 46^th ASEAN Summit and the high-level meeting on the Rohingya at the U.N. General Assembly in September, Human Rights Watch called upon ASEAN governments to end pushbacks on land and at sea, screen and identify victims of trafficking, provide Rohingya with access to protection, and ensure they are not forcibly returned to Myanmar, where they face persecution, and hold the Myanmar military accountable for its unremitting abuses against the Rohingya.

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: LAWYERS COUNCIL LAUNCHES PROBE INTO FATAL TORTURE OF MYANMAR NATIONAL IN THAILAND

 

On 23 May, Fortify Rights reported that the Lawyers Council of Thailand under the Royal Patronage formally established a working group of lawyers to investigate the torture and killing of Aung Ko Ko, a 37-year-old Myanmar national. The move follows a public complaint submitted by Fortify Rights detailing evidence of torture by Thai soldiers near the Thailand-Myanmar border. According to Matthew Smith (Chief Executive Officer, Fortify Rights), “As a sitting member of the U.N. Human Rights Council, Thailand has the opportunity and obligation to uphold the highest human rights standards.”

 

BHRN & BROUK: ‘MALAYSIA MUST LEAD ASEAN WITH PRINCIPLE, NOT HYPOCRISY, TO ADDRESS THE MYANMAR CRISIS’

 

On 21 May, Burma Human Rights Network and Burma Rohingya Organisation UK, along with other CSOs, wrote a public letter calling upon Malaysia to unify and steer ASEAN to immediately and unequivocally sever all ties with the junta and adopt a stronger, more principled stance and take concerted efforts to address the intensifying multifaceted crisis in Myanmar. The letter condemned the recent meeting with Min Aung Hlaing and called on ASEAN to recognize and engage with the legitimate representatives of the Myanmar people, the NUG and EROs, as well as Myanmar civil society. 

 

AJAR RECEIVES THE 2025 GWANGJU PRIZE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

 

On 18 May, Asia Justice and Rights was awarded the 2025 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the May 18 Memorial Foundation. In recognising AJAR, the Foundation stated, ‘Asia Justice and Rights is an organization that has worked to protect survivors, investigate the truth and build peace in Southeast Asia, in the face of military violence and human rights violations. Asia Justice and Rights dedication has not only advanced democracy, human rights and peace in the world but also has exhibited the spirit of resistance and great solidarity with the May 18 Democratic Uprising.”

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: ‘IMPOSE REGIONAL AVIATION FUEL EMBARGO ON MYANMAR JUNTA’

 

On 14 May, Fortify Rights called upon Malaysia to initiate emergency measures within the regional bloc to ban the sale and transfer of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military junta, following the junta’s latest deadly airstrike on a packed school building. The attack killed at least 22 children between the ages of seven and 16, as well as two adult teachers, and at least 100 others were reportedly wounded in the attack.

 

AI: LIFE-SAVING EDUCATION FUNDING MUST BE RESTORED FOLLOWING USAID CUTS IN MYANMAR

 

On 8 May, Amnesty International called upon the United States and other governments to urgently find funding for education programmes in Myanmar that were a lifeline for students, teachers and families in the war-torn country. The US-funded education programmes, enacted after the coup, supported Myanmar students studying at Southeast Asian universities; online higher education initiatives; and basic education services for children in ethnic, remote and rural communities. According to Amnesty, “Testimony from teachers and students…showed the impact on Myanmar students of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to foreign aid, which included the termination of more than US$70 million in funding for education programmes in Myanmar”.

FORTIFY RIGHTS: ‘MALAYSIA - LEAD ASEAN TO FORGE BLOC-WIDE AVIATION FUEL EMBARGO ON MYANMAR JUNTA’

 

On 22 May, Asia Justice Coalition member Fortify Rights called upon Malaysia to use [...] the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and the ASEAN Troika meeting to spearhead coordinated and decisive regional measures to apply maximum pressure on the Myanmar military junta to end its mounting atrocities. According to Fortify, ‘[s]uch measures should include an immediate region-wide embargo on aviation fuel and arms to the Myanmar military junta and continue to exclude illegitimate junta representatives from ASEAN’.

 

AJAR: ‘OPEN LETTER TO THE ASEAN CHAIR ON THE INCLUSION OF REFUGEE PROTECTION IN ASEAN VISION 2045’

 

On 9 May, Asia Justice and Rights, along with other civil society organisations, wrote a public letter to the ASEAN Chair Malaysia to include refugee protection and institutionalising refugee protection as a strategic and sustained policy in the ASEAN Vision 2045 during the 46th ASEAN Summit. The letter further called upon ASEAN to establish a Special Committee on Refugees, comprising Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, and adopt a coordinated and inclusive regional mechanism to address conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence and ensure that children and youth from refugee communities are fully included in national education systems across the region.

 

LAW: ‘JUSTICE FOR SEXUAL CRIMES AGAINST THE ROHINGYA’ PODCAST

 

On 8 May, Ishita Kumar (Legal and Programme Adviser (Rohingya Crisis), Legal Action Worldwide) was in conversation with Asymmetrical Haircuts. The podcast explored Argentina’s universal jurisdiction case against Myanmar officials, including Aung San Suu Kyi, accused of genocide against the Rohingya. It also highlighted the role of Rohingya women, especially Shanti Mohila from Cox's Bazar, in their efforts for truth, justice, and accountability.

 

GCR2P MYANMAR ATROCITY ALERT

 

On 8 May, Asia Justice Coalition member Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect released its Atrocity Alert highlighting the 30^th April UN Security Council private briefing on the crisis in Myanmar. According to GCR2P, “While the meeting was a welcome development, the Council has only met publicly on the situation twice since April 2024, and no resolution has been adopted since December 2022 despite long-standing negotiations on a new text…It is long past time for the Council to overcome its divisions and adopt a robust resolution that provides a clear path toward accountability for atrocities in Myanmar.”

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: ‘PROTECT UNACCOMPANIED REFUGEE CHILDREN, PROVIDE LEGAL STATUS, PREVENT DETENTION’

 

On 8 May, following the disappearance of six Rohingya refugee children from a government-run shelter in Chiang Mai on March 21, 2025, Fortify Rights called upon the Government of Thailand to ensure that all refugee children in the country have access to legal status and human rights-based alternatives to detention. According to Fortify, “By failing to provide refugee children with legal status and protection, the Thai government is exposing them to exploitation, abuse, and even disappearance. Thailand has an opportunity to show regional leadership by upholding its human rights obligations and ensuring every refugee child is protected—not punished—for seeking safety”.

‘ASEAN LEADERS’ STATEMENT ON AN EXTENDED AND EXPANDED CEASEFIRE IN MYANMAR’

 

On 27 May, ASEAN leaders reiterated that the Five-Point Consensus remains the main reference to address the political crisis in Myanmar and that it should be implemented in its entirety…The statement urged all parties to immediately cease acts of violence against civilians and public facilities and called for the sustained extension and nationwide expansion of the ceasefire in Myanmar… to create a safe and conducive environment in ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid and assistance.

 

‘UN REPORT MAPS PATHWAY TO FULFIL ASPIRATIONS FOR PEACE, INCLUSIVITY AND DEMOCRACY’

 

On 26 May, the OHCHR released a new report to be presented to the Human Rights Council on 1 July 2025 and called for renewed international resolve to end the military’s stranglehold on power and to support the democratic aspirations of the Myanmar people. The report underscores the importance of tackling the root causes of the crisis, including unchecked political and economic power concentrated in the military’s hands, generalised impunity, instrumentalization of laws and institutions to serve military interests, and an overall system of governance based on structural racial discrimination, exclusion and division. It identifies four key areas to the path forward: accountability, good governance, sustainable development and the actions of international and regional stakeholders.

‘UNHCR FEARS EXTREME DESPERATION LED TO DEATHS OF 427 ROHINGYA AT SEA’

 

On 23 May, UNHCR expressed grave concern about reports of two boat tragedies off the coast of Myanmar earlier this month, with estimates that 427 Rohingya perished at sea. According to UNHCR, “The dire humanitarian situation, exacerbated by funding cuts, is having a devastating impact on the lives of Rohingya, with more and more resorting to dangerous journeys to seek safety, protection and a dignified life for themselves and their families… The latest tragedy is a chilling reminder that access to meaningful protection, especially in countries of first asylum, as well as responsibility sharing and collective efforts along sea routes, are essential to saving lives.”

 

‘TÜRK WARNS OF UNREMITTING VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS IN MYANMAR’

 

On 2 May, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, warned of unremitting violence against civilians in Myanmar. According to OHCHR, ‘since the earthquake and as of 29 April, the military has reportedly launched at least 243 attacks, including 171 air strikes, with over 200 civilians reportedly killed’. The High Commissioner reiterated that the military must immediately stop all attacks on civilians and civilian objects.