To: Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council Regarding the Crisis in Burma

Re: Open Letter from Community Organizations Calling for Action Regarding Burma to Support Ethnic Nationalities and Prioritize Human Rights

Dear Excellences,

We are writing to express our deep concern regarding the continuing attacks and atrocities committed against ethnic minorities in Burma by the Burma military (Burma Army), the brazen coup d’etat executed by the Burma Army on February 1 to subvert the results of a free and fair election and the Burma Army’s retaliation against peaceful protesters since February 1.

The Burma Army’s coup and subsequent violent crackdown on peaceful protesters demonstrate to the world what ethnic minorities have learned from decades of a brutal campaign against them: The Burma Army operates with complete autonomy and is guided only by its own self-interest. We urge the international community to act immediately and decisively to protest the Burma Army’s long-standing and serious violations of the human rights of the people of Burma and to protect ethnic minorities and peaceful demonstrators exercising their fundamental human rights.

Specifically, we would like to draw your attention to the atrocities routinely committed against ethnic groups for decades and which continue unabated. Since January 1 of this year, the Burma Army has displaced over 5326 Karen people, after shelling villages and blocking humanitarian aid. Approximately 130,000 Rohingya continue to fear for their lives as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Rakhine state; fighting incited by the Burma Army has displaced close to 236,000 Rakhine civilians since 2018, and, on January 25, IDPs in Rakhine state were ordered to leave the camps sheltering them and relocate with no place to go. Conflict in Rakhine state has bled into neighboring Chin state, where more than 60,000 Chin IDPs have fled violence. In Burma’s Shan state, clashes led to the destruction and displacement of 1,000 villagers December 2020. As of January 2021, over 104,010 in Kachin and northern Shan state remain in displacement camps nearly a decade after being forcibly driven from their homes due to a ceasefire broken by the Burma Army. Though the Burma Army denied responsibility for the human rights violations documented by the CSOs on the ground, UN, international organizations and many others have proven otherwise. The Army also continues to forcibly conscript villagers as porters and guides, a practice often linked to other violations, including torture and sexual abuses as well as gender-based violence. While there may be less sounds of the guns, in Karenni state, the Burma Army has confiscated some 50,000 acres of land from ethnic Karenni people, even prosecuting farmers who attempted to cultivate their stolen land. Similar issues exist in Mon state, where a single township reported over 7,000 acres being confiscated by the Burma Army. It is evident that the Burma Army commits a multitude of violations, ranging from violence and atrocities to land-grabbing and forced displacement.

This laundry list of atrocities demonstrates that the international community must act now to protect lives in Burma, not only the lives of brave protesters who are exercising their fundamental human rights but also those of ethnic minorities who are threatened every day by military actions.

We, 165 Burma’s ethnic organizations, urge Member and Observer States of the UN Human Rights Council in your February 12th Special Session on the human rights implications of the crisis in Myanmar to adopt a Resolution to:

1. Establish immediate and regular monitoring and evaluation of the situation in Burma, including by dispatching a delegation to Burma (including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar) to observe, document and report on the situation and by requiring regular reporting to the Human Rights Council and other UN mechanisms;
2. Provide immediate humanitarian aid and direct cross-border assistance to adequately address the humanitarian needs of all IDPs and refugees suffering from ongoing Burma Army militarization and offensives;
3. Suspend all political and financial support to the Burma Army and the peace process, including the Joint Peace Fund;
4. Impose immediate sanctions against the Burma Army, both individually and as an institution, and against military-owned and -controlled companies and their affiliates, as recommended by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar;
5. Support the establishment of a comprehensive response to ensure long-term federal democratic and human rights change in the country, including by ensuring support towards constitutional change that would bring the military under civilian control and ensure accountability for grave human rights violations.

Additionally, we call on the United Nations, Human Rights Council and Member and Observer States, both collectively and individually, to pressure the Burma Army to:

1. Stop offensives throughout the country, pull back troops in ethnic areas, respect the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement and proceed with political or tripartite dialogue;
2. Immediately allow all humanitarian aid to affected areas, including ethnic areas;
3. Immediately and unconditionally release State Counsellor Suu Kyi, President Win Myint and all arbitrarily detained political prisoners, including those who won seats in the recent 2020 election;
4. Cease all violence and use of force in response to protests, lift all declarations of Martial Law, curfews and other restrictions imposed under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedures Act and allow for the full exercise of the fundamental right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly;
5. Allow unrestricted access throughout Burma to all internet services, media platforms and other forms of communications;
6. Allow the parliament elected by the will of the people in November 2020 to take office and allow elected representatives to fulfil their mandate without impediment.

We thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent matter.

Should you have question, please contact us at: [email protected].

Sincerely,

Download the letter in PDF.