Civil society urges GANHRI members to remove the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC)
Civil society urges GANHRI members to remove the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission
GANHRI recommends the removal of the accreditation status of the junta-controlled Commission
[9 December 2024] The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) (Working Group) and the Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) welcome a long-awaited recommendation by the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) to revoke the accreditation of the junta-controlled Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC). We strongly urge GANHRI members to immediately remove the MNHRC’s accreditation and expel the MNHRC from its platform.
On 20 November, the SCA released its report recommending the removal of MNHRC’s accreditation, citing that it “is operating in a manner that seriously compromises its independence.” This recommendation was made following a Special Review of MNHRC’s accreditation in March 2024, which concluded that the MNHRC lacked independence, failed to address human rights violations, lacked cooperation with civil society and the international human rights system, and had a non-transparent selection process for commissioners.
After the one-year period given to the MNHRC to provide evidence of its compliance with the Paris Principles—the international standards for NHRIs to be considered independent and effective—the SCA reiterated that “the MNHRC has not demonstrated its compliance with the minimum requirements of the Paris Principles.”
Following this recommendation, the MNHRC has appealed the decision during the 20-day appeal period, which ends on 10 December. Nevertheless, the junta-controlled MNHRC has proven itself to be ineffective, partial, and non-compliant with the Paris Principles. We call on all members of GANHRI to uphold the recommendation of the SCA and refrain from supporting the MNHRC’s appeal. Failing to remove the MNHRC delays justice for Myanmar’s people, enables continued junta abuses, and undermines GANHRI’s credibility as a global human rights authority.
The SCA’s overdue recommendation follows nearly four years of sustained efforts and repeated appeals by the Working Group, ANNI, and our local, regional, and international partners. In our joint submissions to GANHRI dated 23 February 2023 and 31 May 2023, the Working Group, ANNI, and Myanmar civil society have advocated for the removal or suspension of the junta-controlled MNHRC from GANHRI, along with its affiliated regional networks: the Asia Pacific Forum (APF) and the Southeast Asia National Human Rights Institution Forum (SEANF).
Khin Ohmar, Chairperson of Progressive Voice, member of the Working Group, said: “We welcome the GANHRI-SCA’s principled recommendation to remove the MNHRC from its platform. The findings made by the GANHRI-SCA accurately reflect the fact that the military junta-controlled MNHRC can never be independent, impartial, or effective, which has been proven over the past decade and especially over the past four years as it acted as a smokescreen for the military’s international crimes, including genocide against Rohingya, and crimes against humanity and war crimes against other ethnic communities across the country.
“Moving forward, we fully expect APF and SEANF to align themselves with this decision and immediately remove the MNHRC from their platforms, as well as end all engagements with the MNHRC.”
Mary Aileen Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA, which serves as the Secretariat of ANNI, said: “GANHRI’s swift removal of the MNHRC’s accreditation is imperative to ensure accountability and justice in Myanmar are not further delayed.”
Bo Bo, Executive Director of Generation Wave, member of the Working Group, said: “GANHRI’s long-awaited decision to remove the MNHRC from its platform is not only a principled step forward, but also affirms the network’s mandate to protect and promote human rights.
“Myanmar civil society has been working tirelessly with the National Unity Government (NUG) to establish an NHRI that is fully compliant with the Paris Principles under the Union Human Rights Commission Bill submitted to the NUG, National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), and Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) by the Working Group. GANHRI, APF, and SEANF must be prepared to recognize, support, and invite to their networks a new human rights commission set up by the interim federal government of Myanmar.”
For more information, please contact:
- The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar); [email protected]
- ANNI Secretariat, FORUM-ASIA; [email protected]
About the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI)
The Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) was established in December 2006. It is a network of Asian non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders working on issues related to National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). ANNI currently has 33 member organisations from 21 countries or territories. ANNI members work on strengthening the work and functioning of Asian NHRIs to better promote and protect human rights as well as to advocate for the improved compliance of Asian NHRIs with international standards, including the Paris Principles and General Observations of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of NHRIs (GANHRI). The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) has served as the Secretariat of ANNI since its establishment in 2006.
More information at http://l.forum-asia.org/ANNI
About the CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar)
The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) advocates for the establishment of a new NHRI—tentatively named the Union Human Rights Commission—to replace the illegitimate MNHRC which has aligned itself with the illegal military junta. The Working Group was previously known as the ‘CSO Working Group on MNHRC Reform.’ Currently, it consists of 20 Myanmar civil society organizations. From its founding in 2019 until the attempted coup in February 2021, the Working Group consistently advocated for an effective MNHRC that demonstrated a commitment to the international standards set forth in the Paris Principles.
More information at https://www.facebook.com/WGonNHRIBurma
