GENEVA (15 June 2022) – The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, will conduct a mission to Malaysia from 17 to 23 June 2022.

“As conditions continue to deteriorate in Myanmar, and the military junta continues its attempts to hide the truth, I remain steadfast in pursuing my mandate to document and report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. I will continue to meet with people from Myanmar including those who have fled the country since the coup,” Andrews said.

The Special Rapporteur will visit Kuala Lumpur, where he will meet representatives of Government, Members of Parliament, UN officials, experts who work on Myanmar and ASEAN foreign policy, as well as representatives of civil society and community-based organisations.

“This visit is the beginning of a project of deeper regional engagement with the ASEAN region in relation to the crisis in Myanmar,” said the expert. “Given the central role of ASEAN regarding Myanmar, I hope to visit a number of other ASEAN member states in the coming months.”

The Special Rapporteur will hold a press conference to share his preliminary observations with the media at 12h00 local time on 23 June 2022 at the Westin Hotel, Kuala Lumpur. Access will be strictly limited to journalists.

ENDS

Mr. Thomas Andrews (United States of America) is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. A former member of the US Congress from Maine, Andrews is a Robina Senior Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School and an Associate of Harvard University’s Asia Center. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and parliamentarians, NGOs and political parties in Cambodia, Indonesia, Algeria, Croatia, Serbia, Ukraine and Yemen. He has been a consultant for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma and the Euro-Burma Network and has run advocacy NGOs including Win Without War and United to End Genocide.

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Comprising the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, Special Procedures is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

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