AJC STATEMENT MARKING THE 5^th ANNIVERSARY OF ROHINGYA REMEMBERANCE DAY

 

On 25 August, Asia Justice Coalition released a statement marking the 5^th anniversary of the forced displacement of over 730,000 Rohingya from Rakhine State because of the so-called ‘clearance operations’ by the Myanmar military. Five years later, there has been little progress in furthering their cause for justice and accountability. The Coalition expressed its deep concern and disappointment with the lack of international action in providing redress to the Rohingya and the people of Myanmar.

 

ROUTLEDGE EDITED VOLUME ON ROHINGYA CRISIS

 

'The Rohingya Crisis: Humanitarian and Legal Approaches', a Routledge volume edited by Asia Justice Coalition secretariat head Dr. Priya Pillai, Manzoor Hasan OBE (CPJ, BRAC), and Prof. Mansoob Murshed (ISS) is forthcoming in December 2022. The edited volume addresses the broader aspects of the political and social landscape, human rights violations, accountability and advocacy efforts, and humanitarian challenges faced by the Rohingya from Myanmar.

 

HRW: ‘JAPAN-TRAINED GENERAL LINKED TO ABUSIVE FORCES’

 

On 10 August, Human Rights Watch reported that Brig. Gen. Tin Soe, a Myanmar army general who received military training in Japan has been implicated in serious abuses in ethnic minority areas - Shan and Karenni (Kayah) State. HRW called upon the Japanese government to immediately halt its training program with Myanmar and investigate whether program participants have been involved in operations violating the laws of war.

AJC MEMBERS CALL FOR RENEWED FOCUS ON JUSTICE & ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE ROHINGYA

 

On 25 August 2017, the Myanmar military began its so-called ‘clearance operation’ in Rakhine State and forcibly displaced over 730,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh while 600,000 remained in the country. AJC members Human Rights Watch, Legal Action Worldwide, Fortify Rights, Asia Justice and Rights, Amnesty International, CPJ, BROUK, Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN), called for urgent measures for justice and accountability for the Rohingya.

 

CPJ–ICJ WEBINAR SERIES: SESSION 11– ‘STRATEGIC HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY’

 

On 10 August, the Refugee Studies Unit at the Centre of Peace and Justice (CPJ-BRAC) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) held the eleventh session of its webinar series. The session supported by the Asia Justice Coalition was addressed by Kingsley Abbott (Director of Global Accountability & International Justice, ICJ) on ‘Strategic Human Rights Advocacy’. The recording of the event with Rohingya translation is available here.

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: ‘A CHANCE TO BREATHE: A PHOTOGRAPHY BOOK BY ROHINGYA REFUGEES’

 

On 25 August, Fortify Rights released a book titled A Chance to Breathe with exclusive photography and poetry by three Rohingya refugees living in one of the world’s largest refugee camps located in Cox’s Bazar District, Bangladesh.

AI: 'ASEAN APPROACH REQUIRES A REBOOT TO END HORRIFIC CRIMES BY THE MYANMAR MILITARY'

 

On 8 August, marking the 55^th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Amnesty International called on the regional bloc to acknowledge the failure of its five-point plan published in April 2021 to end the violence and increasing human rights violations in Myanmar and immediately demand action from the Myanmar military.

 

HRW: ‘BANGLADESH: UN RIGHTS CHIEF SHOULD RAISE CONCERNS’

 

On 10 August, Human Rights Watch called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet to ensure that refugees are able to speak to her freely, without oversight by Bangladesh authorities, and call for the protection of refugee rights during her visit to Bangladesh (14-18 August).

 

AI: 'DETAINEES TORTURED TO CRUSH OPPOSITION TO COUP'

 

On 2 August, based on 15 interviews, Amnesty International released a briefing documenting how authorities in Myanmar’s prisons and interrogation centres routinely subject people detained for resisting the 2021 military coup to torture and other cruel or degrading treatment.

HRW: 'ASEAN GOVERNMENTS NEED TO ACT ON MYANMAR'

 

On 2 August, in the light of the execution of four opposition activists by Myanmar’s military, Human Rights Watch called on ASEAN leaders to move beyond condemnation and take meaningful action against Myanmar. It also called upon the democratic governments including those of the Quad (Australia, India, Japan and the United States) and the European Union, who have been hiding behind “ASEAN centrality” as an excuse to justify their own inaction, to take tougher measures.

 

AJC SECRETARIAT ACTIVITIES

 

On 11 August, AJC secretariat senior legal fellow Jennifer Keene-McCann spoke on possible universal criminal jurisdiction fora in Asia at a International Commission of Jurists practitioner workshop. On 25 August, secretariat head Dr. Priya Pillai presented at the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness, Melbourne Law School on the links between mass atrocities and statelessness. On 29 August, the secretariat fellows Jennifer Keene-McCann and Aakash Chandran facilitated two sessions on ‘responsibility and refugees’ at the CPJ, BRAC short course on refugee studies.

UK & GERMANY TO INTERVENE IN ICJ ROHINGYA GENOCIDE CASE

 

On 25 August, Germany and United Kingdom confirmed their intention to intervene in the Genocide Convention Rohingya case at the International Court of Justice ( The Gambia v. Myanmar).

 

UN SPECIAL ENVOY VISITS MYANMAR

 

On 16 August, the United Nations special envoy Noeleen Heyzer visited Myanmar for the first time since her appointment last year. She met with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his senior advisors in Nay Pyi Taw and urged them to urgently support an effective and peaceful Myanmar-led political pathway to return to civilian rule based on the will and the needs of the people.

 

‘MYANMAR GENERALS BANNED FROM ASEAN UNTIL PEACE PLAN PROGRESS’

 

On 10 August, Al Jazeera reported that the ASEAN Foreign Ministers have agreed to continue to bar the Myanmar military from the regional bloc’s meetings and have expressed their ‘deep disappointment’ on the lack of progress on the implementation of the 2021 Five-Point Consensus.

AUNG SAN SUU KYI CONVICTED BY MILITARY COURT

 

On 15 August and 2 September, Al Jazeera reported that the former State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi was convicted for additional 6 years on the charges of corruption and further 3 years with hard labour on the grounds of electoral fraud respectively.

 

IIMM: ‘EVIDENCE OF CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN MYANMAR ESCALATE’

 

On 9 August, the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar presented its annual report to the UN Human Rights Council. According to the report, crimes against humanity continue to be systematically committed in Myanmar, with ongoing conflicts severely impacting women and children. The Mechanism has collected more than three million information items from almost 200 sources.

 

‘MYANMAR JUNTA EXTENDS EMERGENCY RULE, CITES NEED FOR STABILITY’

 

On 1 August, Reuters reported that the Myanmar military has extended the state of emergency in the country by six months after the approval by the military’s national defence and security council.