European Karen Network (EKN) calls on members of the Human Rights Council to support a recommendation by Mr. Tomás Ojea Quintana, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, that the UN consider setting up an inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the Burmese dictatorship. (more…)

Hundreds of villagers from both Burma and Thailand joined affected peoples from around the world in marking International Day of Action for Rivers yesterday as plans by China, Thailand and India steam ahead to dam all of Burma’s major rivers. (more…)

New York – Newly issued laws in preparation for 2010 elections in Burma are designed to exclude the main opposition party and ensure a victory for the ruling military, Human Rights Watch said today. (more…)

Paris-Bangkok – The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) expresses its deep concern regarding recent reports of detention and forced deportation of a large number of migrant workers, especially along the Thai-Burma border. (more…)

A Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and BurmaInfo (Japan) team returned from a fact-finding visit to the Thai-Burmese border last week with fresh evidence of gross human rights violations in eastern Burma that amount to “crimes against humanity”. (more…)

Karen communities in 10 countries are joining forces for a global day of action on Tuesday 9th March, calling on the international community to take action to stop new attacks by the Burmese Army against Karen civilians. Since mid January more than 2,000 civilians have been forced to flee new attacks. (more…)

Ha Noi – ASEAN will accelerate aid delivery to Myanmar’s Cyclone-Nargis affected population and hand over the coordination structure for post-Nargis recovery efforts to the Government of Myanmar as it prepares to complete its humanitarian operations in the country in July 2010. The decision was made at the 7th Meeting of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force (AHTF) held in Ha Noi today. (more…)

While we, the Karen National Union (KNU), welcome UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s expression of concern regarding new attacks on the Karen people, we do not believe that this alone is an adequate response to the current crisis. (more…)

Ignoring its stated commitments to social responsibility in foreign investment projects, the Chinese government has failed to reply to numerous public appeals from affected peoples and petitions submitted by overseas Kachin to Chinese embassies in five countries to stop the Irrawaddy-Myitsone dam project in Kachin State, Burma. (more…)

Paris-Bangkok, March 1, 2010. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (Altsean-Burma) strongly condemn the decision by Burma to reject Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal against the extension of her house arrest. FIDH and Altsean-Burma consider this latest development as another proof of the regime’s disinterest in engaging in true democratic reform. (more…)

On March 2, 2010, Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams will host the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma in New York City. This quasi-legal event will feature the compelling testimony—for the first time ever—of 12 women from Burma who have suffered rape, torture and other crimes at the hands of the military junta. A few of these women are colleagues of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition, still under house arrest. (more…)

The denial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal against her sentencing in August 2009 was condemned today by Foreign Office Minister Ivan  Lewis, although he said it came as no surprise. (more…)

Walking Amongst Sharp Knives reveals previously unreported abuses taking place against ethnic Karen women in Burma. (more…)

Bangkok – The Thai government should swiftly act to end police abuse and discriminatory laws and policies against migrant workers and their families, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. The February deadline for more than a million migrant workers to enter the “nationality verification” process or face immediate deportation creates the risk of further abuses and should be postponed until it can be carried out in a fair manner. (more…)

A new report released today by The Arakan Project states that an unprecedented crackdown by the Bangladesh government on Rohingyas from Burma is creating a grave humanitarian crisis for tens of thousands of refugees.  The report “Unregistered Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh: Crackdown, forced displacement and hunger” calls on the Bangladesh authorities to immediately cease mass arrests and forced displacement of unregistered Rohingya asylum seekers and ensure that they are adequately protected and provided with access to food. (more…)

Burma Partnership launched a new website today, designed to be a useful tool for governments, journalists, researchers, and especially activists from Burma and all over the world. The site is available at www.burmapartnership.org. (more…)

Myanmar’s government must halt its repression of ethnic minority activists before forthcoming national and local elections, Amnesty International warned in a major report released on Tuesday. (more…)

UNISON, the UK’s leading public sector trade union, has written to MPs, asking them to support an Early Day Motion calling for a UN Commission of Inquiry to be set up into crimes committed by the Burmese Government, against its own people. (more…)

The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed a statement by Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis MP that; “The UK will not support any easing of sanctions in the absence of tangible progress on the ground.” (more…)

Over 70 houses, a mobile health clinic and two schools in eastern Burma have been burnt down by army patrols stepping up the offensive on Karen villagers, according to the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP.) (more…)