AJC PARTICIPATION AT THE FEMNET CONVENING ON WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP IN LAW

 

From 14 to 16 July, Sangeetha Yogendran, Senior Program Manager, participated in the FEMNET convening on “Women in Leadership in Law" (WILL) in Nairobi, Kenya. The WILL Convening brought together women leaders, jurists, lawyers, researchers, subject-matter experts, and journalists from diverse backgrounds and across generations from Africa and beyond. The Convening provided a space and opportunity to share lived experiences of the journey towards leadership by unpacking the systemic barriers encountered along the way as well as celebrating their personal wins and lessons learned from the losses.

 

ADVANCING INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN ASIA

 

On 17 July, to mark the International Justice Day, the Asia Justice Coalition published a video showcasing the creative and robust engagement with international accountability by its partners in Asia. The diverse work showcased includes the application of universal jurisdiction in Indonesia, the potential Article 14 referral of the Myanmar situation to the International Criminal Court, the examination of international standards within international criminal law in Asia, Malaysia's engagement with the International Court of Justice, corporate criminal accountability, transitional justice initiatives, and the advancement of the Crimes Against Humanity Convention.

ANZIL CONFERENCE PANEL

 

On 2 July, Senior Law and Policy Advisor Jen Keene-McCann, alongside colleagues from across the Coalition and the region, participated in the 32nd Annual Conference of the Australia and New Zealand Society of International Law, held under the theme ‘International Law: Silence, Forgetting and Remembrance’. The panel, titled ‘Bolstering Accountability for Atrocity Crimes in the Asia-Pacific and Oceania Regions’, featured a video compilation that showcased strategic accountability efforts in the region—important work that is often overlooked. 

 

‘A FUTURE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONVENTION AND ASIA: A NEW TOOL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY’

 

On 29 July, the Legal Advocacy and Communications Manager, Aakash Chandran, published a blog post mapping the position of Asian States calling for a diplomatic conference on the Crimes Against Humanity Convention. The post urges further Asian States to take the lead, center regional experiences, strengthen the Draft Articles, and ensure participation of all CSOs, including non-ECOSOC organisations & experts moving ahead.

 

AJC–CPJ: WIJA WORKSHOP ON RIGHTS OF REFUGEES & MINORITIES

 

On 16 July, the Capacity Building Unit of the Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University, organiSed a one-day participatory workshop titled “Practitioners’ Workshop on Refugee and Plainland Ethnic Minority Rights” under the Women Leaders in International Justice and Accountability (WIJA) project. The workshop aimed to bring together young and emerging practitioners interested in getting a deeper understanding of the legal frameworks to protect the rights of refugees and plainland ethnic minorities in the fields of access to justice and right to education in Bangladesh.

GJC: ‘Q&A: DOCUMENTING REPRODUCTIVE VIOLENCE IN CONFLICT AND CRISIS’

 

On 28 July, the Global Justice Center published a Q&A based on its joint report with UN Women detailing challenges and offering legal guidance to improve the documentation of reproductive violence in crisis and conflict by UN international investigations.

 

GCR2P: ‘SUMMARY OF THE 2025 UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY PLENARY MEETING ON THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT’

 

On 28 July, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect published a summary of the UN General Assembly plenary meeting on the “Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” on 25 June and 1 and 25 July. During the meeting, one regional organization (the European Union) and 58 members spoke on behalf of 99 countries and one observer mission on how to strengthen atrocity prevention, address implementation gaps, and adapt R2P to today’s global landscape. Watch the full session here.

 

HRW: ARAKAN ARMY OPPRESSES ROHINGYA MUSLIMS IN MYANMAR

 

On 28 July, AJC member Human Rights Watch reported that the Arakan Army is carrying out policies of oppression against the Rohingya similar to those long imposed by the Myanmar military in Rakhine State. HRW called upon the Arakan Army to end its discriminatory and abusive practices and comply with international law. Based on the interviews with 12 Rohingya refugees who had fled to Bangladesh from Buthidaung township in northern Rakhine State, HRW reported on the Arakan Army’s restrictions on livelihoods and agriculture, compounded by extortion and exorbitant prices, which have exacerbated the severe food shortages and the junta’s blockade on aid, in place since late 2023. 

 

INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT TO INVESTIGATE ARAKAN ARMY WAR CRIMES AGAINST ROHINGYA

 

On 23 July, Fortify Rights called upon the International Criminal Court to investigate war crimes, including abductions, torture, killings, and beheadings of Rohingya civilians committed by the Arakan Army, a powerful ethnic resistance force fighting the Myanmar military junta in Rakhine State, Myanmar. A new investigation by Fortify Rights documents how the Arakan Army, which currently controls much of Rakhine State, has committed serious violations of the laws of war in ad-hoc detention centers and villages under its control.

 

ICJ: A CALL FOR PROTECTION AND JUSTICE IN MYANMAR

 

On 1 July, Asia Justice Coalition member Zar Li Aye (a human rights lawyer from Myanmar and National Legal Advisor at the International Commission of Jurists) published a video detailing how legal professionals in Myanmar have faced escalating threats since the military coup of February 2021. She called for urgent support for safety, for profession, and for justice in Myanmar.

GCR2P: 'THE PERILS OF LOOSENING HATE SPEECH PROTECTIONS'

 

On 18 July, ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect published a commentary on ‘The Perils of Loosening Hate Speech Protections’. Building on two case studies of Myanmar and Ethiopia, GCR2P urges governments, tech companies, international institutions and civil society organizations to work together to create digital spaces that uphold international law and protect human dignity. According to GCR2P, “ Unchecked hate speech on social media is not merely a risk, it is a proven driver of atrocity crimes. By recommitting to robust content moderation and global accountability, we can ensure that the digital sphere does not undermine, but rather supports our shared responsibility to protect.”

 

HRW: NEW REPORT ON TREATMENT OF MYANMAR NATIONALS IN THAILAND

 

On 14 July, Human Rights Watch released a new report entitled "‘I’ll Never Feel Secure’: Undocumented and Exploited Myanmar Nationals in Thailand". The 48-page report examines how the Thai police frequently stop and interrogate Myanmar nationals and extort them with the threat of arrest and detention if they fail to pay bribes. According to HRW, “Thailand should implement a system to allow Myanmar nationals the opportunity to apply for legal residency in the country, permitting them the right to work, and giving them access to healthcare and education service.”

 

ICJ: ‘UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL STRUGGLES TO FULFIL ITS MANDATE IN THE MIDST OF GLOBAL ATTACKS ON HUMAN RIGHTS, THE RULE OF LAW AND MULTILATERALISM’

 

On 9 July, the International Commission of Jurists welcomed the addition of important new language in the resolution on the rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities. Nevertheless, the ICJ joined a number of States in denouncing the failure to include the imperative of ending arms transfers to Myanmar, but including language effectively aimed at putting pressure on Rohingya people to return to Myanmar from their refuge in Bangladesh and elsewhere. The ICJ joined others in denouncing the atrocity crimes committed by the military and the fact that the judiciary has been completely subsumed by them, and independent lawyers are facing severe restrictions and threats.

 

LAW: ‘POSITIVE STEP TOWARDS REPARATIONS FOR VICTIMS AND SURVIVORS FROM MYANMAR MADE AT THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL’

 

On 4 July, Legal Action Worldwide welcomed the Human Rights Council resolution on human rights of Rohingya and other minorities in Myanmar. According to LAW, “The resolution, for the first time, explicitly called upon Myanmar to ensure “reparations” for the victims and survivors of the past and ongoing grave human rights violations and atrocity crimes committed at the hands of the Myanmar military”. It further urged the penholders and member states to align with victims and survivors’ priorities and emphasize the need for reparations.

AP: ‘MYANMAR ENDS STATE OF EMERGENCY AND MILITARY LEADER SWITCHES ROLES TO PREPARE FOR POLLS’

 

On 30 July, the Associated Press reported that Myanmar’s military government is ending the state of emergency it first declared after seizing power 4 1/2 years ago and restructuring its administrative bodies to prepare for a new election at the end of the year. The existing administrative bodies formed after the army takeover, including the State Administration Council, have been dissolved and all government functions have been handed to the National Defense and Security Council, with Min Aung Hlaing, the acting president, as its key member.

 

SPECIAL PROCEDURES AND EXPERT VACANCIES AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

 

The UN Human Rights Council will appoint mandate holders for 16 Special Procedures and Expert Mechanism positions, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, during its upcoming 61st session (tentatively scheduled for 23 February–3 April 2026). The deadline for application is 28 August, 2025.

REUTERS: ‘US LIFTS SOME MYANMAR SANCTIONS, SAYS NO LINK TO GENERAL'S LETTER TO TRUMP’

 

On 25 July, Reuters reported that the United States lifted sanctions designations on several allies of Myanmar's ruling generals that had been imposed under the former Biden administration. A notice from the U.S. Treasury Department said KT Services & Logistics and its founder, Jonathan Myo Kyaw Thaung; the MCM Group and its owner Aung Hlaing Oo; and Suntac Technologies and its owner Sit Taing Aung; and another individual, Tin Latt Min, were being removed from the U.S. sanctions list. The Treasury Department declined to say why the individuals had been removed from the list.

 

ICJ ALLOWS INTERVENTION FROM FOUR MORE STATES IN THE MYANMAR GENOCIDE CASE

 

On 25 July, the International Court of Justice held unanimously that the declarations of interventions filed by the Republic of Slovenia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Kingdom of Belgium, and Ireland are admissible under Article 63 of the ICJ Statute in The Gambia v. Myanmar case under the Genocide Convention. The Court also fixed 25 September 2025 as the time limit for the filing of the written observations.

 

UNHCR: ‘BANGLADESH HAS WELCOMED 150,000 ROHINGYA REFUGEES IN LAST 18 MONTHS’

 

On 11 July, UNHCR reported that humanitarian partners are mobilizing to respond to the needs of up to 150,000 Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh over the last 18 months. According to UNHCR, “With the acute global funding crisis, the critical needs of both newly-arrived refugees and those already present will be unmet, and essential services for the whole Rohingya refugee population are at risk of collapsing.”